You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
The Supreme Court will not review a case brought by a student organization at a public university in Texas that sought to hold a drag show on campus despite the president’s objections, the The New York Times reported on Friday. The students, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, filed an emergency application on March 4 for their case to be considered.
The incident in question took place about a year ago at West Texas A&M University; an LGBTQ+ student organization tried to host a drag performance to raise money for suicide prevention. President Walter Wendler cancelled it, calling drag shows derisive and misogynistic.
The students held the show off campus but are hoping to host this year’s event on campus once more. Last September, the students sought a preliminary injunction on the grounds that Wendler had violated their First Amendment rights; a federal district court judge denied their request. The plaintiffs asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to expedite their appeal so it could be heard before this year’s scheduled show, but the court refused. That’s when they elected to file an emergency application with the Supreme Court.
