Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    Hands-On Career Preparation
    An AI-Driven Work Force
    Alternative Pathways
Sign In
The Anti-DEI Playbook

S.C. Lawmakers Discussed Going After Colleges’ Diversity Efforts. Things Got Heated.

By Eva Surovell March 14, 2023
South Carolina House Ways and Means Chairman Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, responds to senators who say the House hid pet projects in their budget on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 in Columbia S.C. Smith said the allegation offended him and called the Senate a “clown show” for not checking with House members first before making the allegations. (Jeffrey Collins, AP)
Murrell Smith, speaker of the South Carolina House, presided over the debate.Jeffrey Collins, AP

Lawmakers in South Carolina sparred on Monday over the possibility of eliminating funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts from the state’s public colleges — highlighting the debates to come as Republican-controlled state legislatures further scrutinize higher ed’s spending on diversity.

South Carolina is one of several states where Republican politicians recently requested information from public colleges and universities on programs, trainings, and activities targeted toward people based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. According to Adam Morgan, a Republican lawmaker, the state’s 33 public colleges collectively reported spending about $7.8 million in total on such activities.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

Lawmakers in South Carolina sparred on Monday over the possibility of eliminating funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts from the state’s public colleges — highlighting the debates to come as Republican-controlled state legislatures further scrutinize higher ed’s spending on diversity.

South Carolina is one of several states where Republican politicians recently requested information from public colleges and universities on programs, trainings, and activities targeted toward people based on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. According to Adam Morgan, a Republican lawmaker, the state’s 33 public colleges collectively reported spending about $7.8 million in total on such activities.

The debate in South Carolina comes amid increased legislative scrutiny of higher ed this year. A Chronicle analysis has found that, so far this year, at least 21 bills in 13 states have been introduced that would stifle colleges’ diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Monday’s heated discussion in the South Carolina House of Representatives happened during an hours-long session to consider amendments to the chamber’s state budget. One would have created an office to investigate colleges’ spending on diversity. Several others would have stripped diversity funding from specific public colleges.

Track DEI legislation and its affect on college campuses

5/31/2025 Promo
  • Explore maps, read descriptions, and check the status of bills in states where lawmakers are seeking to restrict colleges’ DEI efforts.
  • Learn how laws are affecting college campuses.
  • Visit The Assault on DEI for related stories.

Though none of the amendments were adopted, the debate showed the tactics that state lawmakers are using to take on colleges’ diversity programs. There were disagreements about how exactly to phrase an amendment that would target diversity spending. Some lawmakers expressed concern that a blanket cut in funding would harm students by leading colleges to raise tuition, and that the state budget was not the right vehicle to target campus diversity programs.

But many Republican lawmakers in the room expressed support for future legislation that would curtail diversity efforts.

Here are a few moments from Monday that stood out:

“Equity specifically is just blatantly bad on its face. It is not an American value.”

Morgan said that in support of his proposals to cut funding from specific colleges. He alleged that diversity, equity, and inclusion were being “forced onto” students with taxpayer funding. Diversity programs, Morgan said, “divide people” and are “encouraging discrimination” in higher ed.

Morgan said he had heard from students across the state who feel compelled to espouse “certain viewpoints” or risk harming their grades, as well as about the effects of diversity policies on faculty recruitment and evaluations.

“The answer to ‘woke’ is not this joke.”

Micah Caskey, a Republican, said that after Morgan proposed creating a new state office, with a $250,000 budget, that would go after colleges that spent money on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. The unit would have been called the “Office of Civil Rights, Constitutional, and Anti-Discrimination Compliance.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Caskey expressed hesitancy at expanding government and said he did not think the amendment would “seriously address” the issue.

Later, Caskey clarified that he did not necessarily support all proposals to curtail colleges’ diversity efforts, saying “it would depend on what it is.” But he had more choice words for Morgan’s proposals, which he considered to be poorly structured: “What you are seeing is the abandonment of truth and the pursuit of bumper stickers.”

“We can’t just say, ‘I’m going to take a random amount of money away from a particular college.’”

Nathan Ballentine, a Republican, said that while taking aim at how the diversity-funding amendments had been structured. Ballentine said he was concerned that South Carolina students could see their tuition raised as a result of such cuts.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I want the next generation of leaders to know how to disagree — to know how to push back, and not let things devolve into a kindergarten fight.”

Russell Ott, a Democrat, said that while criticizing other representatives for treating students as if they “can’t think for themselves” in classrooms.

Ott also reminded his colleagues, “You’re in South Carolina.” Therefore, he said, it was unlikely that “every college and university is this bastion of liberal wokeism.” He pushed back on the idea “that we have this bogeyman called DEI.”

“This is an insult and a slap in the face to the minorities in this chamber, especially people of color.”

John King, a Democrat, said that during a speech about the proposals to strip colleges’ diversity funding, measures that he described as “offensive.” King was one of several Black lawmakers to speak out against the amendments. “While you may not want to believe it,” King said, “society is changing.”

Read other items in The Dismantling of DEI.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Law & Policy Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
About the Author
Eva Surovell
Eva Surovell is a reporting intern at The Chronicle. You can contact her at eva.surovell@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Photo-based illustration of a mirror on a green, patterned wallpaper wall reflecting Campanile in Berkeley, California.
A Look in the Mirror
At UC Berkeley, the Faculty Asks Itself, Do Our Critics Have a Point?
illustration of an arrow in a bullseye, surrounded by college buildings
Accreditation
A Major College Accreditor Pauses Its DEI Requirements Amid Pressure From Trump
Photo-based illustration of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia obscured by red and white horizontal stripes
'Demanding Obedience'
How Alums Put DEI at UVa in the Justice Dept.’s Crosshairs
Colin Holbrook
Q&A
‘I Didn’t Want to Make a Scene’: A Professor Recounts the Conversation That Got Him Ejected From Commencement

From The Review

American artist Andy Warhol, posing in front of The Last Supper, a personal interpretation the American artist gave of Leonardo da Vinci's Il Cenacolo, realized 1986, belonging to a series dedicated to Leonardo's masterpiece set up in palazzo delle Stelline; the work holds the spirit of Warhol's artistic Weltanschauung, demystifying the artwork in order to deprive it of its uniqueness and no repeatibility. Milan (Italy), 1987.
The Review | Essay
Were the 1980s a Golden Age of Religious Art?
By Phil Christman
Glenn Loury in Providence, R.I. on May 7, 2024.
The Review | Conversation
Glenn Loury on the ‘Barbarians at the Gates’
By Evan Goldstein, Len Gutkin
Illustration showing a valedictorian speaker who's tassel is a vintage microphone
The Review | Opinion
A Graduation Speaker Gets Canceled
By Corey Robin

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin