Images of Tjachyadi posted on the Libs of TikTok X account. Photo: Screenshot
A beloved chemistry teacher resigned from his position at a Texas high school this week after being targeted by anti-LGBTQ+ hate influencer Chaya Raichik, who goes by Libs of TikTok on social media.
“It has been very difficult to see the hateful comments on social media about me and about Hebron High School, and that has greatly influenced my decision to remove myself from the narrative,” Rachmad Tjachyadi wrote in a letter to students earlier this week.
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Tjachyadi, an Indonesian-born teacher at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas, was placed on administrative leave last month after Raichik posted photos and videos of him wearing dresses and other costumes at school and school-related functions on her influential X account, Libs of TikTok.
Raichik, who is notorious for posting hateful misinformation about the LGBTQ+ community and whose posts have been linked to real-world threats aimed at the people and institutions she targets, repeatedly claimed with no evidence that Tjachyadi “has a f*tish for wearing women’s clothing.”
Raichik’s posts were reposted by anti-LGBTQ+ figures, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who took advantage of the “controversy” to tout his support for school voucher initiatives, writing in an X post that “No parent should be forced by the state to send their child to this school.” (Critics of such programs say they funnel taxpayer dollars to private schools and away from public education.)
A day after Raichik’s first post about Tjachyadi, Hebron High School principal Amy Boughton issued a message to parents saying that he had been put on administrative leave while the school district reviewed the situation.
Students rallied to Tjachyadi’s defense, launching an online petition to have him reinstated, and noting that the images posted by Raichik were taken on school spirit days and on other occasions when teachers and students routinely dress up in costumes. The petition has been signed by more than 26,000 people, and Lewisville Independent School District’s internal investigation concluded that Tjachyadi had not violated any school policies, The Dallas Morning News reported.
But in his letter to students this week, Tjachyadi said that he’d decided not to return to Hebron High School. “The last thing I want to do is remove the focus from the great things our students and staff are doing,” he wrote, “and sadly that is what all the external voices are trying to do.”
“I want each and every one of you to always remember that you are valued and worthy of respect just as you are. I am glad I was able to be a part of your educational experience at Hebron, and I wish you all the very best!” Tjachyadi wrote.
As The Daily Beast noted, Raichik shared an X post on Wednesday celebrating Tjachyadi’s resignation and taking credit for “exposing” him.
Meanwhile, even conservative parents told local NBC affiliate KXAS that they thought the whole controversy was “silly” and that it would ultimately hurt students. As one Hebron High School student noted, students are now split between just two chemistry teachers while the district searches for a replacement for Tjachyadi.
