Good morning,

In yesterday's One Click Survey, we asked readers about the president of Texas A&M. You'll find below the survey results and a sampling of responses.

This is the Texas Minute for Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

EXPOSED: University of Houston's Links to Chinese Military

• A new congressional report found that the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Houston have concerning connections with the Chinese military-industrial complex. Robert Montoya has the details.
      
• The University of Houston partners with Dalian Maritime University to run the Houston International Institute, a joint engineering operation. The U.S. Congress’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has found this arrangement problematic because of Dalian's involvement with the Chinese military. 
     
• The University of Houston is downplaying the risks, saying the relationship does not include any "research activities." Yet a spokesman for the congressional committee told Texas Scorecard that “the ties often go beyond classroom teaching” to include a submarine engineering research program.
        
• Meanwhile, the University of Texas at Arlington is being criticized by Members of Congress for its relationship with Xi’an Jiaotong University, which is a known CCP recruiting ground for hackers.

Legislature To Examine Higher Ed Free Speech Issues in Wake of Charlie Kirk Assassination

• Joint select committees in the Texas Legislature are being formed to examine free speech and civil discourse in higher education, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows citing the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as proof of an urgent problem. Brandon Waltens has the story.

      
• Burrows stressed that the assassination and the way some on college campuses responded to it demand immediate attention. Videos from campuses around Texas circulated on social media last week of students and staff cheering Kirk's murder.
      
• Lawmakers argue more must be done to ensure Texas campuses protect open discourse and the First Amendment rights of students and faculty.

RELATED NEWS

• At a campus prayer vigil, Camryn Giselle Booker was arrested for shoving several people, including an elderly veteran and a mother with a young child.
      
• In a statement, Texas Tech acknowledged she was no longer a student there. "Any behavior that denigrates victims of violence is reprehensible, has no place on our campus, and is not aligned with our values."

Lawmaker Claims New Audio Proves TAMU President Knew Student Was ‘Threatened’ by Faculty

• Embattled Texas A&M President Mark Welsh is facing new calls for his job. This comes following disclosures that he knew about threats issued against a student who complained about a controversial LGBT curriculum.
     
• In an audio recording posted by State Rep. Brian Harrison (R–Midlothian), a student told Welsh a month ago that a department head had threatened her over recordings she had taken of a class. She said the department head told her the student handbook prohibits that activity despite Texas being a one-party consent state.
   
• The current dispute began last week when Harrison posted several items of concern from this children’s literature class, including discussion of how to present concepts such as “gender unicorns,” “gender expression,” and “gender identity” to children as young as three. Welsh defended this content, saying it was necessary if someone wanted to be a school superintendent or psychiatrist.

Elementary Teacher Charged With Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child

• Erin Anderson reports that a first-grade teacher in the Splendora Independent School District has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a child. 
     
• Rene Jesus Tavera Arango, 70, began teaching Dual Language classes to first-grade students at Peach Creek Elementary in the 2023-24 school year. He previously worked in Cleveland ISD. State records show Tavera has held a Texas educator certificate since 2012. 
    
• Splendora ISD notified parents and guardians that an unnamed school employee was placed on administrative leave and later arrested over alleged “inappropriate conduct.”

Quote-Unquote

"Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government." – Thomas Jefferson​

Y'All Answered

Texas A&M's president, Mark Welsh, is in hot water after being discovered to have spent weeks defending a professor's decision to instruct students in a children's literature class to present LGBT themes to very young minors. Welsh was then recorded berating a student for exposing the matter.

With an increasing number of former students and lawmakers calling for him to be terminated, we asked Texas Minute readers what they thought. Just under 97 percent of readers want him fired by the Board of Regents, while 3.2 percent do not.

Here is a sampling of the responses we received.

• “A&M needs a president that reflects the values that the University was founded on and will enforce those values.” – Ken Johnson
     
• “As a TAMU former student, I gotta ask—why is it so hard to find a president that shares the values that made A&M a great university?” – Cindy Armstrong
       
• “A&M has a history of fine leadership and high education accomplishments, so why drop those qualifications to his low street level?” – Helen Lynch
      
• “Fire Welsh? The sooner the better!” – Art Cameron
      
• “President Welsh is politically astute and very knowledgeable. He is very capable when it comes to his indoctrination of WOKE practices at A&M, but he has no grasp of the Aggie moral tradition and axiom: Aggies do not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate anyone who does. The Regents need to replace him at the helm of our great university so that it regains its moral compass.” – Jim Blande
      
• “I have mixed thoughts on this dilemma. If they wanted a conservative to be president, then why is there not a conservative president?” – Paula Miller
     
• “If violating a state law is not grounds for dismissal, what is?” – Ji Andr
     
• “I don’t want to hear any Personal, Political or Religious view from ANY Educator. They should only expose students (at any level) to the accepted, established curriculum. No student should even be able to determine what the educator believes in their personal life.” – Chuck Clutter
     
• “Until we stand strong against those who condone this type of indoctrination, this garbage is going to continue to roll out liberal activists instead of those with sound academics! This has got to stop!” – Deb Hillis 
     
• “Welsh was never the right pick for TAMU. His DEI views were well-known before he was chosen. It’s time to right that wrong.” – Helen Herd
     
• “Welsh should not have been hired in the first place, and now there is legitimate reason to show him the door.” – Charlie Crowell
     
• “We sent our daughter to the ‘conservative’ TAMU, only to find out that it seems to be run by more liberal directors than TU.” – Dave Dorsey
     
• “It’s time to take back all of America’s colleges, and Aggies, of all people, need to stand up to the woke mind virus that has infiltrated their once proud institution and poisoned a generation.” – Elissa Harrell
     
• “I’ve been an Aggie all my life. The first graduate in our family goes back to 1939. A grandson is there now with another on the way for next year. Numerous cousins and children in between. I love this school and what it stands for, but the direction it has taken lately does NOT meet my approval!” – Nan Ellis

The Directory of State and Federal Officials

Contact information, biographies, and campaign finances.

📧 If someone forwarded the Texas Minute to you, and you like what you see, it is easy to get on the list yourself!