SC State’s trustees held their first public meeting since Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette’s removal as commencement speaker amid campus protests and safety concerns.
Standing ovations and tense public questions met at South Carolina State University as the board of trustees gathered for its first meeting since Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette was removed as the school’s commencement speaker.
The Thursday meeting in Orangeburg came just days after SC State chose not to have Evette speak. a decision that followed protests by students on campus and concerns raised ahead of the May 8 commencement.. It was also the first time the board. including chairman Douglas Gantt. addressed the controversy in a public setting rather than leaving the dispute to unfold elsewhere.
In this context, the timing mattered: students had already been pushing back, and the board’s decision-making was now on the record in front of the university community.
Gantt said he was the person who arranged for Evette to be included. framing the move as part of how the university seeks support and funding.. He also argued that the university president. Alexander Conyers. should not be targeted for backlash over the decision. emphasizing that the role of the lieutenant governor is tied to outreach and resources.
Evette, who is running for governor as a Republican, said she received an invitation in December to speak at commencement. When the protests escalated, she referred to student demonstrators as a “woke mob,” and later said she did not plan to apologize for the wording.
This matters because the dispute quickly became more than a scheduling issue. It reflects a wider struggle over representation, political alignment, and how a public institution responds when campus unrest meets high-stakes public ceremonies.
Beyond the personalities involved. the core argument from student leaders centers on whether Evette’s political views fit the identity and mission of South Carolina’s only publicly funded historically Black university.. In the wake of the decision, it remains unclear whether SC State will name a replacement for the commencement stage.
Meanwhile, Gantt said the university’s path forward depends on working across political, racial, and gender lines, suggesting the trustees view the controversy as part of a larger conversation about belonging and partnership.
At the end of the day, the board’s next steps will be watched closely because commencement is not just another event on campus. It becomes a public statement about who the university chooses to uplift and what it prioritizes when pressure rises.