Solidly conservative South Carolina is more than expected to have a handful of virulent social conservatives in its state senate. It can also be expected that these far-right politicians may hold powerful positions within senate committees. But should the new expectation be for these ideologues to use this power for censorship and election-year grandstanding?
That question ran through our minds after some state senators threatened to cut more funding for USC Upstate, citing the college’s plan to host an LGBT-themed symposium.
State Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, is quoted by The State as saying: “If they’ve got extra money sitting around to promote perversion, obviously they’ve got more money than they really need.”
The incendiary event in question, a symposium session entitled “How to be a lesbian in 10 days or less,” is a comedy, focused around the story of one woman’s experience coming out as gay. It doesn’t have an “agenda.” It’s a story told in comedic fashion.
So why the outcry? State Sen. Lee Bright, R-Spartanburg, who is running for Lindsey Graham’s U.S. Senate seat this year, is unscrupulous enough to demand certain topics be off-limits in a college he has never attended and never will.
If it can happen in USC Upstate, it can happen here. It is up to the student body to challenge any censorship of any subject, anywhere and at any time.
It is the primary function of education to give its pupils an accurate account of the world. If the government decides that certain aspects of the world should be kept from college students, they do society as a whole an irreparable disservice, and trample on the founding freedoms they pretend to uphold.