The president of West Texas A&M University is undergoing a no-confidence vote after canceling a drag show last month.
“We do not take this step lightly,” Ashley Pinkham, faculty senate president, wrote Monday in a letter to the various professors at West Texas A&M, according to The Texas Tribune.
“However, we believe that the mission to provide intellectually challenging, critically reflective, and inclusive academic programs at a well-respected, high-quality institution of higher education is at jeopardy. We believe we must act now to restore the reputation of West Texas A&M University.”
Leaders from the faculty senate claimed President Walter Wendler had shown “divisive misogynistic, homophobic and non-inclusive rhetoric that stands in stark contrast with the Core Values of the university,” according to a resolution obtained by The Texas Tribune.
But Wendler said at the time of the cancellation that he did not approve of drag shows because they themselves are discriminatory.
“Drag shows stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against womanhood,” Wendler said, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. “Drag shows are derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.”
His comments prompted backlash as more than 8,000 people at the time signed a Change.org petition to save the drag show. Presently, the signature count stands at nearly 14,000.
“We, the students of WTAMU, hope to bring this issue to Dr. Wendler’s attention and urge him to reinstate the drag show on-campus,” the petition read, though it asserted, “We are holding this drag show whether we have his support or not.”
An LGBTQ group on campus sued Wendler and the university, alleging that their first amendment rights had been violated. However, a judge refused to immediately reinstate the drag show, and the case is still pending.
The faculty’s vote began Monday and will continue through Friday afternoon. A vote of no-confidence is mostly symbolic as it is not binding.
