Universities may see cut from budget for assigning LGBT coursework
A few lawmakers in South Carolina want to make an example out of two of the state’s public universities.
Stop assigning materials to students that contain homosexual themes, or see a cut to your funding.
The state House of Representatives is preparing to vote this week on a budget for the 2014-2015 fiscal year that would strip the College of Charleston of $52,000 and the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg of $17,162. […]
But the proposed cuts, despite being small portions of the schools’ overall budgets, have drawn outrage from students, faculty, and even some alumni from both institutions. Many have taken their complaints to a website created to protest the cuts, and hundreds of individuals have posted, expressing their disapproval.
“I am a gay USC Upstate faculty member and a proud CofC alumnus…and SC is my home too. I won’t stand by and let my academic freedom AND my civil rights be devalued,” one post read.
The situation is in response to freshman assignments at both schools. Last summer, the College of Charleston provided freshmen with a memoir, “Fun Home,” where the author deals with coming out as a lesbian. The University of South Carolina Upstate, assigned “Out Loud: The Best of Rainbow Radio,” which features an account of South Carolina’s first gay and lesbian radio show.
The budget cuts are just a fraction of the amount of proposed state funding for next year. College of Charleston is set to receive $20 million and USC Upstate $9.5 million.
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