WASHINGTON, DC — On Wednesday, Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) and Senator Ted Cruz (TX) demanded answers from St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas for allegedly terminating a professor, Dr. Johnson Varkey, for saying that there are only two genders.
The lawmakers wrote in a letter,“It is our understanding that in January 2023, your institution terminated the employment of Dr. Johnson Varkey, a longtime adjunct professor, for teaching standard human biology and reproduction principles consistent with the school-approved curriculum that he had taught for consecutively for nearly twenty years.”
Dr. Varkey had consistently received exemplary reviews throughout his tenure until November 28, 2022, when reports indicate four students walked out of his class after he articulated the scientific fact that sex is a fixed characteristic determined prior to birth by X and Y chromosomes.
The legislators said,“Dr. Varkey received a Notice of Discipline and Termination of Employment and Contract letter from your administration alleging that the college ‘received numerous complaints’ about his ‘religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter’ and that Dr. Varkey’s teaching ‘pushed beyond the bounds of academic freedom with [his] personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom.’”
“Regrettably, this incident is not an isolated occurrence at St. Philip’s College and the broader Alamo Colleges District. Instead, recent history reveals a pattern of targeting and penalizing educators who refuse to capitulate to the prevailing progressive narrative… Given that St. Philip’s College receives federal funding, we hope that your administration can address this matter with both swiftness and clarity.” the Texas lawmakers wrote.
The letter is also signed by Representative Michael Cloud (TX-27), Lance Gooden (TX-05), and Dan Crenshaw (TX-02).
Read the full letter here.