Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette Wants To Cut $35M In Funding For This HBCU After Her Speaking Engagement Was Rescinded

Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette wants South Carolina State University to lose state funding.

Inside Higher Ed reports that South Carolina State University students organized a protest after Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, who is running for governor, was scheduled as the guest speaker at their May 8 commencement. A separate story from Inside Higher Ed notes that students were concerned about Evette’s opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and her support for President Donald Trump.

“On the campus of SC State University, let’s be clear, facts trump feelings in the real world. President Trump and conservatives have done more for HBCUs than any administration in history. I must be doing something right because woke mobs are coming after me for being a champion of eliminating radical DEI scams on college campuses. So bring it on. Just like President Trump, I’ll never back down or bend a knee to the woke radicals. I’m ending DEI on campuses once and for all,” she said in a video shared April 28 on X.

At a news conference, a student asked Evette whether funding could be cut if she were pulled from the guest speaker role.

“I’m not a vindictive person,” Evette said, per Inside Higher Ed. “I was asked as a guest to come and speak. I was happy to do that. I don’t believe they did that, hoping that they would get more money, or not get money taken away.”

Alexander Conyers, the 13th president of South Carolina State University, later confirmed that Evette would no longer be on campus, reports the outlet. Now, Evette is seeking to cut funding to the university. Inside Higher Ed reports that she is shedding light on a letter from Republican lawmakers that seeks to slash the school’s budget by more than $35 million in proposed state funding.

“What happened at S.C. State University this week is emblematic of what’s happening at institutions across our state and country, where the far left has silenced freedom of speech and pushed its radical, anti-American agenda for far too long,” she wrote on X. “I applaud the members of the General Assembly who, like me, firmly believe that not one dime of taxpayer money should ever go to a school that discriminates against conservative views. It certainly won’t happen when I’m governor.”