Overview

• The 2–1 Fifth Circuit ruling reverses a lower court and bars President Walter Wendler from enforcing West Texas A&M’s prohibition while the case proceeds.
• The court held that drag performances are expressive conduct and that Legacy Hall functions as a designated public forum, triggering strict-scrutiny protections.
• Spectrum WT, the student group that sued in 2023 after Wendler canceled a charity drag show and compared drag to blackface, can hold on-campus shows during litigation.
• Judge James Ho dissented, arguing drag is not inherently expressive and warning the ruling could affect policies such as women’s sports.
• A March ruling by Judge Lee H. Rosenthal blocking the Texas A&M System’s blanket drag ban and fresh letters from FIRE and the ACLU of Texas press the University of North Texas to end its ongoing campus “pause.”