From Staff Reports

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Nine South Carolina Republican lawmakers are seeking to defund South Carolina State University in the 2025-26 fiscal year after the school rescinded an invitation for Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette to speak at the May 8 commencement following student protests. 

The lawmakers argue the move was to show displeasure over the cancelled speech, while others criticize the move as a waste of time and an attack on an HBCU. 

Specifically, the nine GOP House members wrote a letter to House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister urging that SCSU receive zero funding in the next state budget, calling the incident “shameful” and accusing the institution of being a “center of indoctrination.”

The letter was signed by Representatives Gil Gatch, John Kilmartin, Thomas Beach, Jackie Terribile, Sarita Edgerton, Josiah Magnuson, John McCravy III, Melissa Oremus and Cal Forrest.

Following are key aspects of the effort to defund SCSU:

• The catalyst: SCSU cancelled Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette’s commencement speech after student protests and a petition with over 20,000 signatures. Students cited concerns over her political positions and alleged a lack of support for their values.

• Lawmakers’ action: Nine GOP lawmakers, including members of the House Freedom Caucus, sent a letter calling for the university to receive zero funding in the 2025-26 budget, noting the state’s only public HBCU is scheduled to receive more than $34 million.

• Reasoning: Lawmakers expressed concern that a top state official was “unwelcome” and that her safety could not be guaranteed. They framed it as a response to the “cancel culture” of refusing to hear conservative points of view.

• Backlash and defense: The HBCU Campaign Fund denounced the efforts to defund the school. Critics and supporters of SCSU pointed out the school’s history of being underfunded and described the move as overreaching, arguing students should not be punished.