A group of nine Republican state representatives are demanding the complete defunding of South Carolina State University after the HBCU rescinded its invite to Lt. Governor Pamela Evette to speak at its upcoming commencement ceremony.
According to South Carolina State President Alexander Conyers, the HBCU initially invited Evette based on her entrepreneurial background. However, following a series of protests from students who disagree with the Lt. Governor’s views and policies, President Conyers rescinded her invitation, citing concerns for campus safety if she were to speak at the HBCU.
Prior to President Conyers decision, Evette referred to the student protestors as a “woke mob” and stated that “just like President Trump, [she’ll] never back down or bend a knee to the woke radicals.”
State Representatives Gil Gatch, Thomas Beach, Jackie Terribile, Sarita Edgerton, Josiah Magnuson, John McCravy, Melissa Lackey Oremus, and Cal Forrest Jr. expressed their support of Evette and their disdain for SC State’s decision in a letter to Bruce Bannister, chairman of the South Carolina House Ways & Means Committee.
“It is shameful that a state institution, supported by taxpayer dollars, would capitulate and rescind an invitation to our sitting Lt. Governor – seemingly because some students do not agree with her political views. Institutions of higher learning are intended to be a space where young adults are presented with a variety of viewpoints and ideas, not centers of indoctrination where conservative views are not welcome,” the letter reads.
The lawmakers continue, “We are hereby requesting that no funding for South Carolina State University be included in the second version of the budget. There is no reason why state tax dollars should continue to fund a state institution where not all South Carolinians are welcome. If the Lt. Governor of South Carolina is unwelcome due to different political ideologies and an inability to keep her safe, it is time to defund and reevaluate.”
