PIERRE, SD (AP) — Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has opened a hotline for complaints about South Dakota universities and is asking the state’s board of higher education to ban drag performances, Noem announced Friday.
In a letter to the South Dakota Board of Regents, Noem said states have allowed «liberal ideologies to poison their colleges and universities.»
“On campuses across the country, students have been taught the importance of diversity and equity and given access to ‘safe spaces’ instead of learning to tolerate the disagreement, discomfort and dissent that they will experience in the real world,” Noem wrote.
He called on the university supervisory board to increase graduation rates, remove references to «preferred pronouns» in school materials, cut administrative costs and ensure that universities do not accept money from China.
Noem introduced the hotline to the regents as a way to «hold our institutions accountable and ensure that we are all aware of what is happening at our taxpayer-funded colleges and universities.»
He added that the information collected from the hotline will guide policy changes.
“As I work with our Board of Regents and Board of Technical Education to chart our path to higher education, we are giving students, faculty, and parents this tool to help voice any concerns so they can be addressed,” Noem said in a statement. statement.
The Board of Regents in December ordered a review of college campus events and its policy on minor attendance after a drag performance at South Dakota State University faced criticism from conservative lawmakers for advertising as family-friendly.