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.
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.”
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.
“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.”
