{"id":86867,"date":"2019-05-08T14:25:22","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T18:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaad-oran-smith-is-wholly-unqualified-to-lead-south-carolinas-college-and-university-system\/"},"modified":"2019-05-08T14:25:22","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T18:25:22","slug":"glaad-oran-smith-is-wholly-unqualified-to-lead-south-carolinas-college-and-university-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/glaad-oran-smith-is-wholly-unqualified-to-lead-south-carolinas-college-and-university-system\/","title":{"rendered":"GLAAD: Oran Smith is Wholly Unqualified to Lead South Carolina’s College and University System"},"content":{"rendered":"

GLAAD: Oran Smith is Wholly Unqualified to Lead South Carolina’s College and University System<\/b><\/p>\n

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Smith has built a career targeting LGBTQ South Carolinians<\/em><\/p>\n

ICYMI<\/a>: Finalist for SC higher ed overseer once was editor of a neo-Confederate magazine<\/em><\/p>\n

NEW YORK<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 GLAAD, the world\u2019s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today condemned\u00a0Oran Smith, a\u00a0member of Coastal Carolina University\u2019s board of trustees<\/a>\u00a0in South Carolina for his extensive anti-LGBTQ record. Currently, Smith is a finalist to be the taxpayer-funded\u00a0Executive Director of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Oran Smith is wholly unqualified to lead South Carolina’s college and\u00a0university system. He has demonstrated time and time again his disdain for those who don’t share his narrow views,\u201d\u00a0said Zeke Stokes, a South Carolina native and GLAAD Chief Programs Officer<\/strong>. \u201cHis hateful record and rhetoric over the decades disqualify him. He simply cannot and will not serve the needs of all students.”<\/p>\n

According to the State of South Carolina, the\u00a0South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE)<\/a>\u00a0\u201cserves as the coordinating board for South Carolina\u2019s 33 public institutions of higher learning [\u2026] The Commission is responsible for assuring a balance between student and taxpayer interests and institutional policies, aspirations, and needs.\u201d The CHE\u2019s own\u00a0website states<\/a>: the \u201cCHE works closely with institutions to expand educational opportunities for all state\u2019s citizens\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to being a finalist, Oran\u00a0Smith also served as editor of the neo-Confederate\u00a0Southern Partisan<\/em>\u00a0magazine from 1989 to 1999. Smith\u2019s decades long racist and anti-LGBTQ record was\u00a0the subject of a news investigation in today\u2019s The State newspaper<\/a>\u00a0in Columbia, SC. The Southern Poverty Law Center credits\u00a0Southern Partisan<\/em>\u00a0as one of the key players in the Neo-Confederate movement going as far back as the 1980\u2019s.<\/p>\n

For more on Smith\u2019s anti-LGBTQ activism, see below.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Oran Smith\u2019s Anti-LGBTQ Record<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014Helped<\/a>\u00a0write South Carolina\u2019s amendment banning marriage equality.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Said<\/a>\u00a0he believes marriage between one man<\/a> and one woman<\/a> \u201cis the gold standard for kids,\u201d adding that \u201cAnything that harms that ability in a family is something we oppose.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Insisted<\/a>\u00a0that marriage equality would \u201creverse thousands of years of human flourishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Attacked<\/a>\u00a0lesbian<\/a> author Alison Bechel\u2019s celebrated memoir Fun Home \u201cbecause it’s promoting that lifestyle.”\u2028\u2028<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Attacked<\/a>\u00a0city of Columbia, SC, for flying Pride flags: \u201cI think the mistake the city has made is being knee deep in agenda for a specific organization promoting a specific kind of lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Stoked fears<\/a>\u00a0about \u201cyoung girls<\/a> who may have men<\/a> in their shower rooms\u201d at public schools.<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Said<\/a>\u00a0of transgender rights: \u201cThe idea of gender identity, in particular, is a relatively new concept, and one that concerns us on how it may actually work if it were put in our statute.”<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Complained<\/a>\u00a0about ads promoting LGBTQ tourism in South Carolina: \u201c”I think with today’s economy, we have to be really smart with our tourism dollars, and South Carolina’s market, very clearly, is the family-friendly market,” Smith said. “So if we want to spend our dollars in a way that’s wise, we need to go after our market, and our market is families.”<\/p>\n

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May 8, 2019<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Issues:\u00a0<\/div>\n