Texas
Is banning DEI in college courses the next step for Texas?
Texas lawmakers are eyeing how DEI is woven into college courses and how much influence faculty senates have on campuses.
A group of senators met on Monday to debate two issues that are some of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s legislative properties for next year’s session.
Patrick wants legislators to review the role of faculty senates and enforce Texas’ ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at state colleges and universities.
The DEI ban, which passed last year, has exceptions for research and course instruction. However, during Monday’s hearing, lawmakers suggested that instruction might be targeted next.
“While DEI-related curriculum and course content does not explicitly violate the letter of the law, it indeed contradicts its spirit,” said Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, who authored the DEI ban and oversees the Senate higher education subcommittee.
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who opposes the DEI ban, said as colleges have reviewed programs, they have “revealed no so-called smoking gun, proving that DEI is racist or exclusionary as some of my colleagues continue to suggest.”
West emphasized that while many associate DEI with race, DEI programs eliminated to comply with the new law included those for veterans and various faculty support groups.
He questioned Texas A&M University President Mark Welsh III on academic minors that were cut last week, including one for LGBTQ studies.
The Dallas senator asked whether political motivation was behind the decision to cut that specific minor. Welsh denied any.
A&M faculty members have complained about the way university officials cut these programs without consulting them. Welsh agreed that faculty was not “sufficiently” involved in that decision but will participate moving forward.
Creighton said he received multiple reports about college courses that have DEI content woven in across various fields of study. The subcommittee’s goal is to examine programs and certificates that “perpetuate any discriminatory efforts within diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said.
Courses that have such lessons in them do not “reflect the expectations of Texas taxpayers and students who fund our public universities,” Creighton said.
Much of the day’s focus explored how the politics of faculty senate members potentially play a role in what’s taught on campuses.
He asked repeatedly whether political interference from faculty members influence decisions and votes for the approval of programs.
Jay Hartzell, president of the University of Texas at Austin, stressed that new courses are implemented based on market demand.
Holley Love, faculty senate president at the University of Houston, said faculty’s political leanings do not impact decisions on what’s taught. Creighton pressed asking if she has seen any example of faculty developing curriculum based on political leanings. She said no.
During public testimony, dozens spoke in support of DEI and faculty senates. Most were current and former students of Texas colleges, as well as professors.
Many asked lawmakers to reverse the state law that now prevents public colleges and universities from having DEI offices and programs that are specific to certain races or genders, arguing DEI creates an inclusive environment for students who historically were excluded from higher education.
Critics of DEI say DEI favors race or gender over merit and stifles freedom of speech by compelling people to believe in the same belief system.
Invited panelists who oppose how DEI is included in various college courses included Sherry Sylvester of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Nick Down of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.
Sylvester said the culture on Texas campuses “revolve around identity politics, gender and race theory and a bedrock belief that America’s built and maintained on systemic racism, oppression and privilege.”
It’s critical that the subcommittee look into what’s being taught in university classrooms, Sylvester added.
The DEI ban was passed last legislative session and went into effect Jan. 1 and has impacted DEI offices, LGBTQ centers, scholarships, programs for immigrant students and others.
The group of senators will “review how these programs and their curricula are misaligned with the workforce demands of our state and recommend reforms to ensure that universities are educating students in ways that meet current Texas workforce needs,” Creighton said.
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A Brazilian fitness influencer has died after getting into difficulty during the swimming portion of an ironman event in Texas.
Mara Flavia Souza Araujo was reported as a “lost swimmer” around 7.30am at the Ironman Texas in Lake Woodlands near Houston on Saturday. According to KPRC 2 News, safety crews could not immediately locate Araujo. The 38-year-old’s body was discovered around 90 minutes later in 10ft of water by divers. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department confirmed her identity in a statement to NBC on Monday.
“MCSO can confirm that Mara Flavia Souza Araujo, 38, of Brazil died while competing in the Ironman event in The Woodlands on Saturday,” the sheriff’s department told NBC News. “Preliminary investigations indicate she drowned during the swimming portion of the event.”
Araujo was an experienced triathlete and had completed at least nine ironman events since 2018. She had more than 60,000 followers on Instagram and had posted about the importance of making the most out of life in the days before her death.
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“Enjoy this ride on the bullet train that is life,” she wrote in Portuguese. “And even with the speed of the machine blurring the landscape, look out the window – for at any moment, the train will drop you off at the eternal station.”
Organizers of the race expressed their condolences on Saturday.
“We send our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the athlete and will offer them our support as they go through this very difficult time,” race organizers said in a statement on Saturday. “Our gratitude goes out to the first responders for their assistance.”
A glamorous triathlete who drowned during an Ironman competition in Texas shared a photo from a swimming pool during a final training session just two days before the tragic race.
Brazilian influencer Mara Flávia, 38, shared the shot of her on the edge of a pool on Thursday — two days before she vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning.
“Just another day at work,” Flávia, 38, wrote in Portuguese alongside the pic of her wearing a matching pink swimming costume and cap.
The influencer, who had more than 60,000 followers online, chose the Robin S track “Show Me Love” for her post with the hashtags “triathlon,” “swimming” and “triathlete.”
Flávia vanished during an open-water swim in The Woodlands Saturday morning – the first of three grueling trials that competitors face during the 140-mile race.
Fire crews were told about a “lost swimmer” at around 7:30 a.m., one hour into the pro-female swim, KPRC reported.
Rescuers battled challenging visibility conditions before Flávia’s body was pulled from the water just after 9:30 a.m.
Montgomery County Sheriffs confirmed that the victim “drowned while participating in the swim portion of the event,” according to a statement. The office said its Major Crimes unit will continue the investigation “per normal protocols.”
Shawn McDonald, a volunteer, recounted the commotion before the swimmer’s body was recovered.
The dad, who volunteered with his daughter Mila, 12, said a group of younger volunteers in a kayak raised a flag and blew their whistles, “yelling for help.”
“I heard them say she went under,” he wrote on Facebook.
“I had Mila hand me the paddle and I started calling out to the athletes around us to stop so I could cross. I made my way over in about 30 seconds.
“When I got there and asked what happened, they all said the same thing: She went under. Right here. Right below us. The panic and fear on their faces won’t leave me for a long time.”
The volunteer recalled how one man had a “thousand-yard stare” on his face – before diving into the water in a desperate bid to find Flávia.
“I dove in immediately and began searching. After about a minute underwater, I felt her body with my foot. I surfaced, took what seemed like the deepest breath I have ever taken and went back down. She was gone.”
Boats with sonar combed the area – and McDonald was told to leave the water before the body was recovered.
“The victim was found in about 10 feet of water on the bottom of the lake,” Buck said. “The dive team accessed the victim, brought her up about 9:37 and then brought her over to the shore where she was pronounced DOS [deceased on scene],” Palmer Buck, the Woodlands fire chief, said.
It’s not known what caused the triathlete to go under the water.
Journalism grad Flávia previously worked in radio and television before pursuing a sporting career at age 28.
She previously twice won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and finished third in the Brasilia triathlon event.
Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
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