The University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg announced that on July 1, the university’s Center for Women’s and Gender Studies will be closed. Women make up 65 percent of the undergraduate student body at the university.
The closure was one element in reorganization plan that is estimated to save the university $450,000. But many students and faculty at the university believe that the center is being closed as retaliation for staging the play “How to Be a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less.”
Kevin Bryant, a state senator told The State newspaper at the time the play was being staged, “If they’ve got extra money sitting around to promote perversion, obviously they’ve got more money than they really need.”
In a statement, Tom Moore, chancellor of the university, said, “We have looked across academic affairs for ways to reduce administrative costs, and we are implementing many changes. Not only is this decision not punitive or a response to external pressure, it is part of an effort to be consistent and systematic across academic affairs in how we administer and support various programs. USC Upstate remains fully committed to Women’s & Gender Studies as an important component of the university’s academic and co-curricular programming.”