University of Texas Board of Regents Prohibits Drag Shows on Campus

On Friday, the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System announced that drag shows would no longer be permitted on its campuses. The reason was that the university must comply with state and federal standards.

It is unacceptable for our public university buildings, which are funded by taxpayers, to be used as locations for drag shows. As per Chron, the chairman of the University of Texas Board of Regents, Kevin P. Eltife,  said that "our schools will not sponsor them." In addition, Eltife noted that the board will take additional measures if it is required to comply with the policy.

Eltife referred to an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump in January. This order restricts the use of public funding for what he referred to as the "promotion of gender ideology."

In the past, drag shows have been held on several campuses within the University of Texas. A drag performance was featured at the "Queer, Sex and Power Work" event that was held by an LGBTQ student club at the University of Texas at Arlington. The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Arlington have previously hosted events comparable to this one.

A restriction of a similar nature was enforced by the Texas A&M University System last month, which made it illegal to hold drag events on any of its eleven campuses. This ruling resulted in a lawsuit being filed by a student organization representing LGBTQ students, who argued that the restriction violates their right to free speech.

Judge Tim O'Hare of Tarrant County openly supported the UT ban, admitting on social media that he had asked the board to take action.

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