The College of Charleston adopted a 2012 Diversity Strategic Plan, to address the school’s many “diversity challenges.”

Now, the board has created a new challenge with the election of its new president. 

From The Root:

 The board tapped South Carolina Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell as the college’s next president. The announcement was followed by a week of protests, including a student walkout on campus Friday. […]

McConnell also happens to be a huge proponent of flying the Confederate flag at the South Carolina state capitol. He’s an avid Civil War reenactor who’s fond of dressing as a Confederate general. And, for 20 years, he owned a store that sold Confederate artifacts and memorabilia. All of that qualifies McConnell as a diversity challenge for the College of Charleston.

Read more at The Root

In the diversity plans executive summary, the college acknowledged its shortcomings when it came to inclusion stating that, “… the climate at the College does not effectively welcome all population groups—especially minorities, international students, and members of the LGBTQQAI community.”

In 1996, then-Gov. David Beasley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the capitol dome. McConnell, who fought for the flag to remain argued that taking it down would amount to cultural genocide. The flag stayed.

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