Texas A&M Swimming & Diving Rolls Past LSU

City Of College Station Hosting “The Voice” Winner Aiden Ross At A Public Reception

The College Station winner of “The Voice” season 28, Aiden Ross, will be recognized at a public reception hosted by the city of College Station. Mayor John Nichols made the announcement at the end of Thursday night’s (January 8) city council meeting. The reception will be Tuesday, January 20, at 6 p.m. in the city’s tourism building at 1207 Texas, which is south of city hall. Nichols was told Ross will be signing a few songs. There is no admission charge. Click below to hear mayor John Nichols comments at the January 8, 2026 College Station city council meeting. Listen to “City of College Station hosting "The Voice" winner Aiden Ross at a public reception” on Spreaker.

At Least One Texas A&M Educator Is Affected By A New System Teaching Ban

When spring semester classes start Monday at Texas A&M, at least one educator will be affected by a new board of regents teaching ban. Click HERE to read and download Texas A&M system policy 08.01 that was revised by the board of regents on December 18, 2025. Philosophy professor Martin Peterson, who has been at A&M since 2014, agreed to comply with the order to remove from lectures that incorporate the Greek philosopher Plato that his department head said violated the system’s ban on teaching race and gender ideology. Dr. Peterson says constitutional protections for free speech and academic freedom take priority over the board of regents policy. He also says his job “is not to tell them (students) what to think. I’m just trying to help them structure their thoughts and arguments for and against. It’s up to help them (students) make up their own mind. I’m not advocating for any ideology. I leave it to them (students) to decide what to think.” Peterson says that will result in making repeated disclaimers to that affect in the classroom during the semester. ==================================== Peterson provided to WTAW News, the notice he received from his department head, which told him to submit his course syllabus as the result of the board of regents decision in December 2025. The department head’s notice said Peterson’s Contemporary Moral Issues class, as a core curriculum course, could not include issues related to race ideology, gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity. When Peterson submitted his syllabus to his department head, which he told WTAW News this was the first time he was required to do in his 12 years at A&M, he referred to the submission as a “mandatory censorship review.” Peterson went on to write to his department head: “”The syllabus has not changed much since I last taught the course. I have made some minor adjustments to the module on Race and Gender Ideology and to the lecture on Sexual Morality. These topics are commonly covered in this type of course nationwide, and the material is discussed in depth in the assigned textbook (Fiala and MacKinnon, 10th edition). I also ask my students to read a few passages from Plato (Aristophanes’ myth of the split humans and Diotima’s Ladder of Love). Please note that my course does not “advocate” any ideology; I teach students how to structure and evaluate arguments commonly raised in discussions of contemporary moral issues. If you interpret System Rule 08.01 §2.1(b) as prohibiting these topics, I would like to remind you that the U.S. Constitution protects my course content. Texas A&M is a public institution bound by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court has noted that academic freedom is “a special concern of the First Amendment, which does not tolerate laws that cast a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom (Keyishian v. Board of Regents, 385 U.S. 589, 603 [1967]. Another relevant precedent is Sweezy vs. New Hampshire. Here is Chief Justice Earl Warren for the majority in 1957: “The essentiality of freedom in the community of American universities is almost self-evident. No one should underestimate the vital role in a democracy that is played by those who guide and train our youth. To impose any straitjacket upon the intellectual leaders in our colleges and universities would imperil the future of our Nation. No field of education is so thoroughly comprehended by man that new discoveries cannot yet be made. Particularly is that true in the social sciences, where few, if any, principles are accepted as absolutes. Scholarship cannot flourish in an atmosphere of suspicion and trust. Teachers and students must always remain free to inquire, to study and to evaluate, to gain new maturity and understanding; otherwise, our civilization will stagnate and die.” (354 U.S. 234, 250 [1957], my emph.) Restrictions on teaching based on viewpoint discrimination are unconstitutional under nearly all circumstances. If faculty are required to seek prior administrative approval for classroom content, that raises serious concerns about “prior restraint.” Courts have repeatedly distinguished between holding faculty accountable after the fact (for alleged misconduct) and imposing advance censorship of course conduct. Moreover, restrictions that single out specific perspectives as more problematic than others have repeatedly been found unconstitutional (Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia, 515 U.S. 819 [1995]; Healy vs. James, 408 U.S. 169 [1972]). In Garcetti vs. Ceballos (547 U.S. 410 [2006], the Supreme Court discusses limits on public-employee speech. However, the Court explicitly set aside the question of whether its analysis applies to “speech related to scholarship in teaching” (id. At 425). I also note that Texas A&M is a signatory to the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which affirms that faculty are entitled to ”freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject…[and that] limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.” I was hired in 2014, when Texas A&M was an ideologically neutral institution, and I was not informed of any ideologically motivated limitations on academic freedom of the kind recently announced. Even if you were to conclude that my syllabus conflicts with System Rule 08.01, constitutional protections for free speech and academic freedom would control. As a public institution, Texas A&M should not enforce policies that raise serious constitutional concerns. When a system rule appears to conflict with the First Amendment, administrators should in my opinion proceed with caution and seek legal guidance rather than mechanically apply the rule. I have cc’ed Interim Dean North, as the questions raised in this message may warrant evaluation at the college or system level before a final determination is made.”” ==================================== After submitting his syllabus, Peterson was told by his department head that “The College leadership team and I have discussed your syllabus and the Provost office’s requirements with the new system rule 08.01. You have two options going forward: 1. You may mitigate your […]

Brazos County Commissioners Hear From Public Speakers About The March Primary Election

Two public speakers at the first Brazos County commission meeting of 2026 talked about the March primary election. The chairwoman of the Brazos County Democratic Party, MiChal (Michelle) Hall, promoted attending the elections office testing of equipment next Tuesday (January 13) at 5:30 p.m. at the elections office. Hall also brought up the resurgence of activity in the county party and concluded her marks by saying “When the election results begin to change in Brazos County it won’t be because of ballot fraud. It is because the momentum is shifting, and we’re growing.” A representative of the conservative citizens group True Texas Project of the Brazos Valley promoted a candidates forum of Republicans seeking Brazos County offices next Tuesday (January 13) at 6:30 p.m. at the VFW in Bryan. Cynde Wiley also called on commissioners to bring back paper ballots and bring back the requirement that voting takes place in the precinct where the voter lives. And a reminder from WTAW News that the last day to register to vote for the March 3rd primary is February 2nd. Click below to hear comments from the January 6, 2026 Brazos County commission meeting. Listen to “Brazos County commissioners hear from public speakers about the March primary election” on Spreaker.