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NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 18, 2025 — In a victory for student expression on campus, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today overruled a lower court to halt an unconstitutional ban on student drag performances at West Texas A&M University.

In March 2023, West Texas A&M President Walter Wendler announced that he was unilaterally canceling a planned campus drag show hosted by LGBTQ+ organization Spectrum WT to raise money for suicide prevention. In a campus-wide email, Wendler said that he was canceling the event because he believes it offends and demeans women.

As a public official at a state university, the First Amendment bars Wendler from censoring a performance based on nothing more than his personal disapproval. But astonishingly, Wendler admitted he was canceling the show even though “the law of the land appears to require” him to allow it.

The FIREquickly jumped into action, filing a lawsuit against Wendler and West Texas A&M on behalf of Spectrum WT, its president Bear Bright, and vice president Marcus Stovall. ������ýapp�ٷ�’s lawsuit seeks to halt Wendler’s unlawful censorship and obtain damages for violating the students’ clearly established First Amendment rights.

In September 2023, the district court denied ������ýapp�ٷ�'s motion for a preliminary injunction. While the case made its way through the courts, Wendler canceled a second drag show planned by Spectrum WT in March 2024.

�մǻ岹��’s ruling from the Fifth Circuit overturns the district court’s ruling and places a temporary hold on Wendler’s enforcement of his illegal directive, allowing Spectrum WT and any other student organization to put on drag shows while litigation continues.

The majority opinion from Judge Leslie H. Southwick found a substantial likelihood that Spectrum WT’s First Amendment claims would prevail on the merits.

“Because theatrical performances plainly involve expressive conduct within the protection of the First Amendment, and because we find the plaintiffs’ drag show is protected expression,” the Fifth Circuit held Wendler’s censorship failed to pass constitutional muster. 

“FIREis pleased that the Fifth Circuit has halted President Wendler’s unconstitutional censorship and restored the First Amendment at West Texas A&M,” said FIRESupervising Senior Attorney JT Morris. “This is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors.”

The FIRE(������ýapp�ٷ�) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIREeducates Americans about the importance of these inalienable rights, promotes a culture of respect for these rights, and provides the means to preserve them.

CONTACT:

Alex Griswold, Communications Campaign Manager, ������ýapp�ٷ�: 215-717-3473; media@thefire.org