Overview
- The Bush School canceled Leonard Bright’s Ethics and Public Policy class three days into the semester after it met once, with the university directing enrolled students to alternative courses.
- Dean John Sherman told faculty the course was not altered but was canceled because Bright did not provide requested information, noting another Bush School course proceeded after securing an exemption with a detailed syllabus.
- Bright disputes the claim, saying race, gender and sexuality issues would surface throughout the course rather than on specific dates, and he criticized the process as the A&M AAUP chapter president.
- University officials say they issued written guidance, timelines and a review framework, set a Friday deadline for department submissions, and expect to identify affected courses before the Jan. 28 add‑drop cutoff.
- The policy followed a secretly recorded classroom exchange about gender identity and restricts advocacy in the core curriculum, with exemptions possible elsewhere, leading to syllabus changes including dropped Plato readings and limits on texts with major LGBTQ plot lines; no law bars such classroom discussions.