#Texas A&M University

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, a federal judge appointed by President George H. W. Bush, has blocked Texas A&M University from banning drag events on campus. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the student-led LGBTQ+ group Queer Empowerment Council, which had hosted the annual “Draggieland” event for five years without incident. In her decision, Rosenthal found that drag is a protected form of artistic expression under the First Amendment, and that Trump’s executive order targeting so-called “gender ideology” cannot supersede students’ free speech rights. “Performances by men dressed as women are nothing new. Men have been dressing as women in theater and film for centuries. It is well-established among scholars of Shakespeare’s literary works that, when his plays were written and performed, female characters were played by young men dressed in women’s attire. See Royal Shakespeare Company, Women on Stage…” the court wrote, before concluding that the drag show qualified as protected First Amendment conduct: “The theatrical performance and the explicit discussion of the intended message are both protected under the First Amendment.” [...] The judge was not persuaded. In a separate line of argument, the state stated that the university had to ban the show because it promotes “gender ideology,” which it claimed was prohibited under a recent Trump executive order. “Given that both the System and the Universities receive significant federal funding, the use of facilities at the Universities for Drag Show Events may be considered promotion of gender ideology in violation of the Executive Order and the Governor’s directive,” the state wrote. The judge pointed out the clear contradiction in the state’s argument—on one hand, claiming the drag show ban had nothing to do with speech or expression, and on the other, arguing that the show’s expressive content warranted the ban. “The Board’s contention that drag shows, and Draggieland, are not expressive conduct directly contradicts the Board’s simultaneous assertion that drag performances promote an ideology,” the judge wrote.

Texas A&M’s ban on drag was rightly blocked by Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.

See Also:

The Advocate: Texas A&M's drag ban blocked by federal court as judge cites free 'speech rights'

LGBTQ Nation: A federal judge shut down a university that tried to ban students from holding a drag show

[sthrnboot12]

Polish them so I can see myself in them!

Good boy!

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Semi-metals offer new possibilities for electronic devices

Dr. Yuxuan Cosmi Lin, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, and a team of researchers are studying the potential applications and unique physical properties of semi-metals in electronic devices. This study was published in Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering. Traditionally, microelectronics and electronic materials can be made of three types of material: semiconductors for computing, metals for transducing power and signals, and insulators to isolate different electrical components. A fourth kind of material, semi-metals, may offer a better alternative than the industry standard. Semi-metals are a special kind of material whose properties are in between metals and semiconductors. These materials are significant due to their favorable properties, such as widely tunable electronic energy states, electrical conductivity, and their unique topological properties, which help control the flow of electronic devices like transistors and microchips.

Read more.

[beatrack92]

Heather Abadie (Texas A&M)

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Gregg Roman

 Milstein Writing Fellow Benjamin Weinthal's reporting on Texas A&M University at Qatar's (TAMUQ) dangerous research agreement with Qatar has spurred Mark Welsh, Texas A&M's new president of its main U.S. campus, to dismiss Weinthal's reporting as "insanity," according to KTBX News in Bryan, Texas.

Texas A&M is one of six American universities with all-expenses-paid campuses in Doha, Qatar. Doha is the major funder of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Hamas, which on October 7 massacred over 1,200 Israelis and others and kidnapped 253 people.

Weinthal quoted a prior report that asserted "Qatar has acquired full ownership of more than 500 research projects at Texas A&M, some of which are in highly sensitive fields such as nuclear science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotech robotics, and weapons development." He added that the Qatar Foundation, controlled by that country's ruling al-Thani family, "owns all intellectual property developed at TAMUQ."

Welsh characterized Weinthal's report in words that better describe his university's Qatar agreement. "That's insanity. It's irresponsible." He went on: "We have a really, really strong track record of protecting national security research information every day and has [sic] been recognized by DOD, by the intelligence community, by a number of people."

"These findings pose a potential national security risk to the United States," Weinthal reported, adding that knowledge is transferred from A&M's main campus to Qatar in fields like "physics, computer science, and bioengineering with sensitive defense applications."

MEF Director Gregg Roman said, "What's to stop Qatar from passing along sensitive research from A&M's Texas and Doha campuses to America's enemies?"

"Tiny Qatar is the largest foreign donor to American universities," added Campus Watch director Winfield Myers. "Dangerous agreements like the one Texas A&M struck with Doha demonstrate that some schools will sell out to foreign powers if the cash flow is massive and dependable. Americans should demand an immediate investigation into this situation."

[alwaysreading2027]

Fellow SOC fans-

I found Pekka Rollins

It seems he has inserted himself into the American education system.

Someone tell Kaz

[quadruple-a]

This, this is the university they are giving Amazon drones to. The one who puts ride share bikes in trees and on top of buildings to the point that both the veo company and the university had to send out messages. The school famous for it’s mechanical and computer engineering programs. The school with a long military history. Out of all the schools, you picked that one.

I give it a week tops

[usarmytrooper]

I swear, being an Aggie seems like a test from God sometimes. They lost to Miami yesterday, 33–48.

There’s always next week!

* That’s supposed to be our mascot, Miss Reveille, on top of the Snoopy dog house, which is properly colored maroon in this context.

[xtruss]

After 120 Years of Conservation Efforts, Yellowstone Bison Are A Single Breeding Population, Researchers Discover

— By Courtney Price, Texas A&M University | Phys.Org

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) have discovered that bison in Yellowstone National Park—the only group of American bison that has continually existed as wildlife in the United States—now consist of a single large, interbreeding population derived from multiple historic bison herds.

Population genetic studies completed just 20 years ago found that Yellowstone bison populations retained much of their historic breeding patterns and were, in fact, two unique herds living within the national park.

However, in a study published in the Journal of Heredity, VMBS researchers found a change in breeding behavior in the park and now recommend that Yellowstone bison should be managed as one large interbreeding herd.

"This finding certainly has a direct impact on the long-term conservation and management of this iconic bison population," said Dr. James Derr, a professor in the VMBS' Department of Veterinary Pathobiology (VTPB).

Bison like those in Yellowstone once suffered a population crisis that conservationists call the "population bottleneck" of the 19th century. By the early 1900s, American bison numbers had been reduced by 99.9% across North America and only 23 wild bison were known to have survived poaching in Yellowstone.

"In one of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories of all time, a small number of domestic bison from western Montana and the Texas Panhandle were introduced in 1902 to existing animals in Yellowstone in the hopes that they would create a stable and thriving population in the world's first national park," Derr said.

Today, the Texas A&M researchers report that the Yellowstone bison population appears to be functioning as a single and genetically healthy population that fluctuates between 4,000 and 6,000 individuals.

"There has long been a debate among conservationists about how to best manage genetic diversity in Yellowstone bison," said Dr. Sam Stroupe, a VTPB postdoctoral researcher.

"To get a clearer picture, we examined samples from the two major summer breeding groups and two major winter ranges," he said. "These are where we would expect to see examples of genetic difference and overlap; however, Yellowstone bison today are clearly one interbreeding herd."

With the completion of this study, management decisions can be based on accurate information about the breeding structure and overall genetic health of the population to ensure the long-term stability of this iconic bison herd.

The researchers hope that this new information will prove useful to Yellowstone's bison conservation experts as they continue to manage and monitor this flagship population of the U.S. national mammal.

[jay-arabica]

Texas A&M is offering a new standalone certification to provide students with the educational opportunities and experiences needed to be successful in the coffee industry.

[uboat53]

Yeah, I wasn't considering Texas universities anyways, but they're definitely off the list now…

If a professor can't give an unbiased technical opinion without being embroiled in a political firestorm, there's no way that those universities are going to produce good research or good education.

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Single-step coating offers scalable, non-toxic flame protection for fabrics

Although extremely flammable, cotton is one of the most commonly used textiles due to its comfort and breathable nature. However, in a single step, researchers from Texas A&M University can reduce the flammability of cotton using a polyelectrolyte complex coating. The coating can be tailored for various textiles, such as clothing or upholstery, and scaled using the common pad-dry coating process, which is suitable for industrial applications. This technology can help to save property and lives on a large scale. "Many of the materials in our day-to-day lives are flammable, and offering a solution to protect from fire benignly is difficult," said Maya D. Montemayor, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M and the publication's lead author. "This technology can be optimized to quickly, easily, and safely flame retard many flammable materials, offering vast protection in everyday life, saving money and lives of the general population."

Read more.

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

"Today it’s university faculty, immigrants and civil servants on the enemies list. Tomorrow, it could be you.

Anyone who challenges power can be transformed into a threat with frightening speed."

It is time we see these tactics for what they are and recognize who the real enemies are: not our neighbors, classmates or coworkers, but those who profit from division, anger and confusion."

[chery1bery1]

A list of universities that are holding movements with a high demand for a divestment from Israel apartheid.

“You cannot stop an idea whose time has come.”

“End apartheid. End this genocide. Free Palestine. Free them all. End white supremacy. End racism everywhere. End settler colonialism. 🍉”

(Words and picture from a twitter post by @DrRupaMarya.)

[broadcastarchive-umd]

#VoxPop The long-running radio interview program Vox Pop highlighted many aspects of American culture during the 1930s and 1940s. One of the show’s favorite themes was college life. From 1940 to 1947, Vox Pop broadcast from 23 college campuses nationwide, interviewing students, faculty, administrators, and coaches. 

On November 26, 1947, Vox Pop made its second broadcast from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. They were there to attend the pep rally before the upcoming football game against rival University of Texas. Here, Parks Johnson interviews Aggie wingback Barney Welch from the campus drill field. 

The home game the following day was held at Kyle Field, and the Aggies lost to the Longhorns 32 to 13, completing a losing season of 3 wins, 6 losses, and 1 tie. 

Source: Parks Johnson collection on Vox Pop