S.C. college production highlights political battle between lawmakers, public universities

[mahatmakanejeeves]

S.C. college production highlights political battle between lawmakers, public universities

By Rosalind S. Helderman, Tuesday, April 22, 3:11 PM

CHARLESTON, S.C. — More than 750 people packed into a city auditorium here this week for a sold-out production of “Fun Home,” a musical by a New York-based troupe about a woman coming to terms with her closeted gay father’s suicide. The crowd rose in a standing ovation before the show even began.

The emotional reaction was part of a worsening political battle between South Carolina’s public universities and conservative Republican lawmakers, who argue that campus culture should reflect the socially conservative views of the state.

The state’s House of Representatives recently voted to cut $52,000 in funding for the College of Charleston as punishment for assigning students to read “Fun Home,” the graphic novel that formed the basis for the play. House lawmakers endorsed a similar budget cut for the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg for using a different book with gay themes in its reading program.

Republican lawmakers also helped pave the way for the appointment of a controversial GOP state official as the College of Charleston’s next president, sparking campus protests. ... In recent weeks, the legislature urged the appointment of Republican Lieutenant Gov. Glenn McConnell as the College of Charleston’s next president, two lawmakers said. ... A 30-year veteran of the South Carolina Senate, McConnell is an avid Civil War reenactor who once co-owned a gift shop that sold Confederate memorabilia. Because of that past, he will take over the college in July amid student protests and a faculty vote of no confidence.

[joeybee12]

1. Could these people be any bigger assholes?

The House that is, Repuke controlled.