Star Cinema Grill partnered with Texas A&M’s chapter of Texas A&M’s chapter of American Association of University Professors , or AAUP, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, or SEAT and Aggies Forward to screen “ First They Came For My College ” on Oct. 21.
The documentary follows the experiences of students, faculty and community members at New College of Florida where, in 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis moved to reshape the college away from its progressive culture and LGBTQ+-friendly environment.
Carolyn Biegert ‘74, a member of Aggies Forward , an alumni group and chapter of Stand For Campus Freedom that advocates for academic freedom and institutional independence — believes the film shows a correlation between what happened at New College and the current climate of universities in Texas.
“A&M is being targeted in the same way New College was,” Biegert said. “It’s been a horrifying experience for me to see the university I loved and supported for 50-plus years be thrown into the lion’s den.”
After administration failed to hire journalism professor Kathleen McElroy ‘81 in 2023 , Biegert claims her views on A&M’s administration shifted, causing her to stop donating to The Association of Former Students .
“I can’t support it now,” Biegert said. “Texas A&M was everything to me in college and I love that school, [but] I can’t support what the administration is doing under the influence of the [A&M University System] Board of Regents and all the other Gov. Abbott appointees. [It’s] not the Aggie Spirit.”
Before the screening, in collaboration with SEAT , a movement of young people developing transferable skills and demonstrating youth visibility in policymaking, a black carpet was held to highlight alleged censorship happening at A&M and across Texas.
“A&M is one of the many schools across the country, but especially here in Texas, that is facing an onslaught of censorship,” Cameron Samuels, co-founder and executive director of SEAT, said. “Right now, I feel A&M is going through a radical transformation of what the values [of] academia and higher education [are].”
Samuels referred to the Board of Regents adopting policies that prohibit race and gender ideology, resulting in some classes and departments closing or being reorganized.
“Censorship throughout history has been used as a mechanism to create inequitable power structures and single out vulnerable people,” Samuels said. “That’s exactly what we’re seeing right now with its attack on departments, faculty, courses, curriculum, experiences of people of color, LGBTQ people and, frankly, all women and gender-nonconforming people as well.”
As a retired educator, Biegert enjoyed watching scenes from the film where students who “weren’t all cookie-cutter copies” interacted with one another and “their enthusiasm for their projects” were evident. She said she sympathized with the students as they navigated the events that took place at New College.
“I felt grief over all the books being destroyed,” Biegert said, referencing a scene in the film where books on sexuality, race and feminism were pulled off the shelves and discarded in a dumpster and cardboard boxes. “It was infuriating to see [New College’s] trustees voting for horrible things and voting against helpful ones.”
Following the screening, a panel conversation was held, including A&M’s AAUP Chapter President Leonard Bright, Ph.D, associate professor of sociology Joan Wolf, former New College professor Amy Reid, Prairie View A&M student Raniyah Edwards and Samuels.
“A key part of why we did the screening is because we wanted to create dialogue and conversation,” Samuels said. “Raniyah was someone I had met back in January and has been someone who’s faced censorship directly at Prairie View. The two of us were able to share our experiences as students and try to build up this momentum for student organizing, advocacy and storytelling.”
Samuels said students, from both Prairie View and College Station, who attended the screening seemed to be interested in taking action, but they felt as if they didn’t have the skills, connections or confidence to make a difference.
“It’s really difficult to see that we have concrete power and influence to shape these decisions, but, frankly, we do,” Samuels said. “They want us to feel afraid or alone or that we don’t have that power, but as we have seen in organizing in Texas and throughout the world, youth are always [at] the forefront of these transformative changes. When more students realize that, the more we can understand our role in shaping these institutions.”
Biegert believes that holding the university accountable isn’t a responsibility for just current students, but former students, too.
“We need graduates and former students of Texas A&M, who are all over the world, to speak out and say we don’t agree with this,” Biegert said. “This should be important to them because it’s a total betrayal of the Aggie Honor Code [and] what A&M says they stand for.”
With an upcoming Board meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Samuels encouraged people to take a stand and be visible and resilient.
“Show up at the Board of Regents Meeting and make sure [your] voices are heard,” Samuels said. “In just a few weeks, showing up where those decisions are made, on the front lines of democracy, is a key part of what is required of us to claim our seat at the table instead of sitting on the sidelines.”
In the future, Biegert says Aggies Forward looks to reach out to others who care to “push back against this takeover.”
“I’m 74 years old,” Biegert said. “I don’t know if anything I ever did made a difference in the world, but I’m going to use [my] voice to fight for diversity, equity and inclusion.”
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