MTV’s 30th Anniversary Recalls VJ Appearance in College Station

Dr. Susan Ballabina, Chief of Staff for Texas A&M University’s President, visits with WTAW’s Scott DeLucia about The Big Event, being recognized as innovative, space research, monitoring legislation, the impact of a new chancellor, the new commandant, the search for open positions, and more during her appearance on The Infomaniacs on Tuesday, March 25, 2025. Listen to “Texas A&M University Update on The Infomaniacs” on Spreaker.

A federal judge is allowing a drag show to take place on the Texas A&M campus this Thursday (March 27). Monday’s (March 24) opinion blocks the A&M system from enforcing a ban that was enacted by the board of regents on February 28. A system spokesperson says they have received the order and “are evaluating next steps”. Court documents show the A&M system is being represented by the Texas attorney general’s office. WTAW News sent an e-mail to the attorney general’s office asking if there will be an appeal. The chief of staff for A&M’s president, Susan Ballabina, told WTAW News Tuesday (March 25) that “We’re working very closely with our office of general counsel, and they have been working with our team in student affairs. We will obviously follow the judge’s order, which means Draggieland, the drag show put on by a student organization, will be allowed to proceed. And then our office of general counsel will keep us posted on next steps, whether that is an appeal or some other next step that we take forward.” Click below to hear comments from Susan Ballabina, visiting with WTAW’s Scott DeLucia:   The order from judge Lee Rosenthal of Houston says “Nowhere is free speech more important than in our leading institutions of higher learning. Colleges and universities serve as the founts of—and the testing grounds for—new ideas. Their chief mission is to equip students to examine arguments critically and, perhaps even more importantly, to prepare young citizens to participate in the civic and political life of our democratic republic.” Rosenthal also wrote that “the law requires the recognition and application of speech rights and guardrails that preserve and protect all our treasured First Amendment rights.” She also considers drag shows as theatrical performances, which are “long and well established protective forms of expressive conduct” that are “not held to a drastically different standard than other forms of speech under the first amendment.” The 29 page opinion also says “anyone who finds the performance or performers offensive has a simple remedy: don’t go.” Click HERE to read and download the memorandum and opinion as posted on the website of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, the attorneys representing the organization holding the March 27 drag show at Texas A&M.

The end of the Bryan city council’s March meeting included a statement read by a member of a group attempting to remove the Texas Avenue median and attributed to mayor Bobby Gutierrez. The mayor agreed with the statement read by Jack Robbins, that the Texas department of Transportation (TxDOT) is willing to work with the city to remove the median. Robbins also quoted Gutierrez about the future TxDOT widening of FM 1179 east of Boonville Road, that the mayor will not sign off on a design that includes medians. Gutierrez said if the design of expanding 1179 is “a double lane road with a median down the middle, well that doesn’t work.” The mayor said if the design of expanding 1179 “is a divided highway with medians in it, that might work.” Gutierrez also said the city is in jeopardy of losing federal funding for expanding 1179. Click below to hear comments from the March 18, 2025 Bryan city council meeting.