try for LGBTQ+ students.” “There is work that needs to be done in making sure that students feel welcome,” he said later, “and UTD needs to show that this kind of hostility should not and will not be tolerated.” The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), an advocacy group focused on First Amendment issues, called on UTD to drop its investigation. “Public institutions violate faculty’s First Amendment rights when they investigate or punish them for their protected expres- sion,” Sabrina Conza, FIRE’s program office, told the Observer by email. “Based on public reports, the University of Texas, Dallas, is investigating Professor Farage for his tweets, which may have of- fended some but are clearly protected by the First Amendment,” Conza added. “UTD must immediately end its investigation into Farage and publicly reaffirm its commit- ment to protect and sustain faculty First Amendment rights.” ▼ POLITICS Unsplash Unfair Park from p6 Farage’s initial tweet. “The idea that a cure for homosexuality is something to be researched … is homo- phobic. It is proven false,” he said. “So, the fact that it was being promoted by a profes- sor at the university I attend was something that just hit like a ton of bricks. It was star- tling.” Mueller said although he never had Far- age as a professor, he knows of many LG- BTQ+ students who left Farage’s class feeling uncomfortable. Others didn’t want to attend at all. UTD’s controversy comes as politicians nationwide have ramped up attacks on LG- BTQ+ rights. Transgender athletes in Texas can no longer play on the school sports team that aligns with their gender. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said on a recent podcast that the Supreme Court was wrong to legalize gay marriage. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) revised its stance on homosexuality in 1973, concluding that it’s neither a sickness nor a mental illness. A doctor who spear- headed the change told The Washington Post at the time that homosexuality is not a medi- cal disorder because it isn’t “associated with subjective distress” or “general impairment of social functioning.” The APA has also condemned conversion therapy, which aims to force gay people to become heterosexual. The UTD Rainbow Coalition, which is composed of several pro-LGBTQ+ campus groups, issued a statement denouncing Far- age and demanding university action. “He has been known to discuss contro- versial political positions and promote per- sonal social media accounts during lectures, which goes against university guidelines for professor’s conduct,” they wrote. “While this most recent post is a striking example of homophobia and misinformation, it only ex- emplifies a portion of the hostility experi- enced by LGBTQ+ students in his classroom.” On Farage’s Rate My Professors page, some students said he would often discuss irrelevant topics like gender, sex, time travel, abortion and his doubts about climate change. Monkeypox is primarily spreading among men who have sex with men, al- though experts say it’s not an STD. In an email to the Observer, Farage further ex- plained why he suggested “looking for a cure.” 1. There’s only a small fraction of the available population that a homosexual can have a sexual relationship with. [Editor’s note: the Human Rights Campaign Founda- tion estimates that at least 20 million adults in the U.S., nearly 8% of the population, are LGBTQ+.] 2. Our bodies are obviously made to have sex with someone of the opposite sex. [Edi- tor’s note: Homosexuality also naturally oc- curs in the animal kingdom.] 3. A same-sex couple cannot have their own biological children. But there is a strong desire built into most of us to want our own biological children. 4. Men who have homosexual sex have a much higher incidence of sexually transmit- ted diseases than those who have heterosex- ual sex. Many of these are the result of breaking the blood-skin barrier that can happen during certain kinds of sex. (Al- though lesbians have fewer sexually trans- mitted diseases than heterosexual women). [Editor’s note: Why is the focus on “curing” homosexuality and not monkeypox?) Farage continued that he doesn’t care about students’ sexuality or religion. He also pushed back on critics’ claims that he is big- oted or homophobic. “I am none of these UTD is investigating a professor who tweeted that homosexuality is an illness. things, and nothing I have written shows that I am,” he said. Replying to UT Dallas’ The Mercury stu- dent paper, Farage said he was “being com- passionate” by inquiring about a “cure” to homosexuality. He also claimed to have sev- eral gay friends who wished they were straight. When contacted for comment, a UTD spokesperson pointed to a written state- ment that explains the engineering and computer science school will offer addi- tional sections in the fall. The classes will in- clude “at least one other professor” so students can have more options. UTD added that it “[takes] this matter se- riously” and that “statements by this indi- vidual do not reflect the core values of our institution.” But in a phone call with the Observer , Farage said UTD has yet to contact him and that his sections are all still full. Farage has worked full-time at UTD since 2000, per his personal page on the school’s website. His biography states that he’s earned multiple accolades, such as the President’s Outstanding Teacher Award. His bio also noted that he’s a Christian who believes there is scientific evidence to prove the existence of God. “I truly wish to assist in the United States becoming ‘One Nation under God,’” the bio continued. Pride at UTD’s Mueller hopes that the university will fire Farage but said he’ll re- spect whatever decision the review board makes. He sees the latest incident as part of a broader pattern of negative behavior in Farage’s classroom. Learning more about Farage’s views, Mueller added, was “incredibly disappoint- ing, especially since UT Dallas prides itself on being one of the best colleges in the coun- GOV. GREG ABBOTT APPOINTED JOHN B. SCOTT IN OCTOBER 2021. HE HAS SINCE COME UNDER SCRUTINY FOR QUESTIONING THE LEGITIMACY OF THE 2020 ELECTION. BY PATRICK STRICKLAND AND SIMONE CARTER ‘GREAT REPLY’ T exas Secretary of State John B. Scott, a Republican appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to his post in October 2021, communicated directly with a conspiracy theorist pushing the debunked notion that President Joe Biden’s victory was fraudulent and that the elections were marred by wide- spread voter fraud, according to text mes- sages recently obtained by a D.C.-based watchdog. The texts, which American Oversight says it obtained via a public records request, appear to show a direct line of communica- tion between Scott and former Overstock. com CEO Patrick Byrne, a prominent con- spiracy theorist who had close ties with for- mer President Donald Trump and who is expected to speak earlier this month to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. “Although Secretary Scott has publicly maintained that his audit of the 2020 elec- tion is to confirm the results, privately, he has met with Trump allies and prominent election deniers,” Dera Silvestre, American Oversight’s communications manager, said by email. “Patrick Byrne was a vocal supporter of the former president’s efforts to overturn his election loss,” Silvestre said, “and the dangerous lies he and other conspiracy the- orists peddle are an existential threat to de- mocracy.” Byrne was a member of what The Wash- ington Post described as “a motley crew of unofficial Trump advisers [who] had talked their way into the Oval Office and an audi- ence with the president of the United States to argue the election had been stolen by shadowy foreign powers — perhaps re- motely via Nest thermostats.” The meeting turned into a raucous hours-long shouting match as >> p10 9 9 dallasobserver.comdallasobserver.com | CONTENTS | UNFAIR PARK | SCHUT |ZE | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | MOVIES | DISH | MUSIC | CLASSIFIED | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 JULY 28–AUGUST 3, 2022
