In late September 2025, Texas Tech University System Chancellor Tedd Mitchell sent a memo to presidents of all Tech campuses with some strict new guidance. A letter from the Texas Governor rejecting what he called “gender ideologies.”House Bill 229, which requires Texas to use a strict male/female definition of sex for official records. Texas Tech is a major cultural and educational anchor for Lubbock and West Texas. READ MORE: How a Texas Tech Grad is Redesigning the Way West Texas Kids LearnFor transgender and nonbinary students at Tech, the new rules may feel especially personal. What happens in Lubbock could echo across all of West Texas for years to come.