As Texas Christian University gears up for its first week of the fall semester, one professor is attracting attention from a growing number of Tarrant County conservatives, including elected officials.
Alexandra Edwards, an English instructor in the university鈥檚 AddRan College of Liberal Arts, is under fire for her posts on social media, where she often writes about anarchism, anti-racism, white supremacy and Christian nationalism. A self-proclaimed anarchist, Edwards, 39, is entering her fourth year of teaching at TCU.
鈥淚 am a target for harassment because I鈥檓 an anti-fascist,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淧eople have sought out instances of me expressing ideas that they find objectionable, like being a police abolitionist.鈥
Tarrant County Judge Tim O鈥橦are, County Commissioner Manny Ramirez and conservative activists across the county have criticized Edwards鈥 stance on issues such as police funding and regulation. Several, including O鈥橦are, are calling for TCU to fire Edwards.
The university did not answer questions about whether administrators are considering terminating or disciplining Edwards.
鈥淧rofessors within our community often express expertise and opinions that are specific to them and do not necessarily align with the overall position of the university on any given issue,鈥 a TCU spokesperson said in a written statement to the Report.
What is anarchism?
Anarchism is 鈥渁 political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups,鈥 according to a Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition.
Conservatives decry professor鈥檚 social media posts
The scrutiny over Edwards鈥 social media began when Carlos Turcios, director of the conservative activist group Texas Latinos United for Conservative Action, called Edwards out on X. Turcios is also a staff writer for The Dallas Express, a conservative news site backed by Republican billionaires and run by Chris Putnam, a former Colleyville City Council member and congressional candidate.
鈥淢eet Alexandra Edwards who is an instructor at Texas Christian University,鈥 Turcios wrote in a post accompanied by screenshots of Edwards鈥 posts. 鈥淓dwards has promoted anti-police rhetoric and anarchism. Edwards has also argued that law enforcement is racist.鈥
Turcios did not return the Report鈥檚 request for comment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1) Meet Alexandra Edwards who is an instructor at Texas Christian University. Edwards has promoted anti-police rhetoric and anarchism. Edwards has also argued that law enforcement is racist. 鈥測'all we have really got to abolish the police, this shit is deranged.鈥 <a href="https://t.co/nFCRpSDrFp">pic.twitter.com/nFCRpSDrFp</a></p>— Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) <a href="
1) Meet Alexandra Edwards who is an instructor at Texas Christian University. Edwards has promoted anti-police rhetoric and anarchism. Edwards has also argued that law enforcement is racist. 鈥測'all we have really got to abolish the police, this shit is deranged.鈥 pic.twitter.com/nFCRpSDrFp
— Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) August 8, 2024
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In a statement to The Dallas Express, O鈥橦are defended police in Tarrant County, saying 鈥渨e will always maintain law and order here.鈥
鈥淭hose who put their lives on the line to keep us safe on a daily basis deserve our deepest appreciation. TCU should show this radical the door immediately,鈥 O鈥橦are said.
When contacted by the Report, O鈥橦are鈥檚 spokesperson said via email, 鈥淥鈥橦are has not retracted his statement to The Dallas Express, nor does he intend to.鈥 The spokesperson included a screenshot of an April 2021 post from Edwards that said, 鈥測鈥檃ll we have really got to abolish the police, this s鈥 is deranged.鈥
Ramirez also commented to The Dallas Express, saying, 鈥淎s a veteran police officer and alumni of Texas Christian University, I am deeply troubled by reports that a university employee would openly espouse dangerous anti-law enforcement rhetoric.鈥
The commissioner 鈥 who served more than 15 years with the Fort Worth Police Department as an officer, detective and sergeant 鈥 said in a written statement to the Report that he believes faculty鈥檚 online activity should be monitored and governed, 鈥渆specially when such activity would reflect poorly on the university.鈥 Ramirez earned a master鈥檚 degree in business administration from TCU in 2018.
鈥淚t is my hope that this employee has been counseled as to why derogatory or discriminatory language toward any group can erode public trust in our institutions,鈥 Ramirez told the Report. 鈥淯niversity professors carry significant influence over the views and beliefs of our next generation of community members. It is concerning to see someone in such an important position espouse derogatory and inflammatory rhetoric about those who protect and serve our communities.鈥
Following Turcios鈥 posts, other high-profile conservative figures chimed in on X. Kelly Neidert, a University of North Texas graduate who has protested drag shows across the state, posted that TCU students are 鈥渞eceiving an extremely low quality education鈥 from Edwards.
鈥淎pparently @TCU is hiring far-Left Antifa activists as English professors now,鈥 Neidert wrote. 鈥淒on鈥檛 send your kids to this school thinking it鈥檚 actually Christian and conservative 鈥 it鈥檚 not.鈥
True Texas Project, a Tarrant County-based conservative activist group; Libs of TikTok, a prominent far-right and anti-LGBTQ social media account with 3.3 million X followers; and the white supremacist account Texas Nationalist Network have also publicly commented on Edwards and her posts while calling on TCU to take action against her.
Professor鈥檚 views supported under academic freedom, experts say
Edwards, who is not tenured at TCU, said they have incorporated anarchist theory into their curriculum throughout their time at the university and also taught a class dedicated to anarchist nonfiction. The university鈥檚 website lists 鈥渁nti-racist and anarchist pedagogy鈥 as Edwards鈥 areas of focus on their faculty profile.
鈥淎nti-racism is just something that informs my pedagogy, rather than something I teach,鈥 Edwards said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more about the choices I make for syllabi and how I approach being in the classroom and giving assignments and grading.鈥
Edwards said she doesn鈥檛 believe she has violated her contract with the university, which states that she must perform her duties as a professor in 鈥渨ays appropriate to a professional assignment.鈥
鈥淎ppointee agrees that his/her conduct shall be in accordance with the ideals, principles, rules and regulations of the University as stated in the current Faculty Handbook, which may be amended annually,鈥 states the contract, which the Report obtained.
罢颁鲍鈥檚 Faculty Handbook recognizes the principles of academic freedom, where they have freedom in teaching, research and expression, as it relates to the subject matter. The handbook goes further, stating that faculty 鈥 when they speak for themselves outside of the university and not for the institution 鈥 鈥渟hould be free from institutional censorship or discipline.鈥 It does state that faculty at all times should exercise appropriate restraint, show respect for the opinions of others and make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution.
Anita Levy, a senior program officer at the American Association of University Professors, said political interference in higher education has reached 鈥渁n alarming level,鈥 with increased scrutiny since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last October. The group defines professional values and standards for higher education, including academic freedom.
鈥淎cademic freedom is what protects the search for knowledge and the exchange of ideas,鈥 Levy said.
She added that academic freedom, as the group defines it, is not only limited to inside the university gates but for free expression in general.
鈥淲ithout the protections of academic freedom and due process that comes along with that, faculty members may not feel as if they can teach their discipline to the fullest extent. They may self-censor,鈥 Levy said. 鈥淭hey may change what they teach, especially in the heightened climate of political interference that we鈥檙e dealing with today.鈥
David Keating, president of the national nonprofit Institute for Free Speech, said O鈥橦are and Ramirez have a right to free speech even as elected officials and are well within that right to call for her termination. However, he questioned whether such commentary was appropriate.
鈥淭hey have a First Amendment right to say, 鈥業 think you ought to get rid of that person,鈥欌 Keating said. 鈥淲hether they should be doing stuff like that, I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a good idea. I think they should butt out of it.鈥
TCU not taking action, professor plans to lay low
Haley Gluhanich, senior program officer for campus rights advocacy with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the First Amendment right to free speech would not protect Edwards if TCU wanted to terminate her over the controversy.
鈥淭he First Amendment only applies, in the university context, to public universities and colleges,鈥 Gluhanich said. 鈥淚t does not apply to private universities and colleges, and so TCU, being private, technically does not have to abide by the First Amendment.鈥
However, she noted that TCU highlights values such as 鈥渋ntellectual inquiry鈥 and 鈥渃reative expression鈥 with a commitment to the 鈥渉ighest standards of academic inquiry鈥 on its website. The university also says it recognizes the value of fostering discourse and encouraging a free exchange of ideas. It states that the university 鈥渇irmly supports鈥 all of its community members expressing their views and protesting against actions and opinions they disagree with.
鈥淚f TCU was fully committed to the free speech rights that they鈥檙e saying they鈥檙e committed to, those principles should protect (Edwards) speaking on these matters,鈥 Gluhanich said.
If university administration wants to uphold that commitment, Gluhanich said, it should either publicly reiterate its support of free speech principles or remain silent on the matter. She advised against the administration investigating the matter or meeting with Edwards to discuss the backlash, which could intimidate Edwards into silence.
Amy Peterson, assistant director of social and multimedia strategy in 罢颁鲍鈥檚 Office of Communications and Marketing, emailed Edwards on Aug. 8 to notify her of a 鈥渘egative post鈥 on X and share the university鈥檚 suggestions on what to do when a faculty member is targeted on social media.
鈥淚n these situations, our priority is ensuring you feel safe and have access to resources,鈥 Peterson wrote to Edwards.
As Edwards prepares to start the semester next week, the professor is concerned about personal safety. But for now, they are going to focus on staying safe and continuing their research. Edwards doesn鈥檛 plan to change their views, but they hope those who don鈥檛 agree can choose to ignore them.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 hoping is that, in the future, our elected officials like Ramirez and O鈥橦are will exercise more caution in choosing what they publicly issue statements on because not everyone who reaches out for a quote is worth responding to,鈥 Edwards said.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.