Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) issued a call to the South Dakota Board of Regents to take a stand against “radical indoctrination” via a drag ban.
The Republican governor wrote a letter Thursday to the board with a list of demands which included pleas to cut the cost of higher education, increase apprenticeship programs, and “prohibit drag shows from taking place on university campuses.”
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“Across the nation, higher education is in a state of crisis. From prioritizing feelings over facts to radical indoctrination, as a country, we should be ashamed of this,” Noem tweeted. “As a state, South Dakota can show the nation what quality higher education is supposed to look like.”
Across the nation, higher education is in a state of crisis.
From prioritizing feelings over facts to radical indoctrination, as a country, we should be ashamed of this.
As a state, South Dakota can show the nation what quality higher education is supposed to look like. pic.twitter.com/wMdl7Op2Ef
— Kristi Noem (@KristiNoem) May 26, 2023
In addition, Noem enacted a whistleblower hotline for university students in South Dakota to submit complaints. When the number is dialed, a voice message states, “this hotline was created for students and faculty to keep our universities accountable to South Dakota values and be an example to the nation of what a good higher education looks like.”
The current statewide graduation rate sits around 47%, according to Noem. She also called on the board to raise the graduation rate to 65% by 2028. This is higher than the nationwide rate of 63%.
The board did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
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South Dakota has the nation’s highest return on investment per a Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity report from earlier this year. Degrees from any one of the state’s public universities, after considering tuition and fees, bring an average $ 217,000-lifetime income boost.
