SC State University student protest leader speaks out

[0:02] Welcome back to Search. Today's top searches are only part of the story. A simple scroll can [0:07] sometimes take you down a deep rabbit hole. It's time now for the spiral. All right, [0:18] you guys can't stop asking questions about the historically black university, South Carolina [0:23] state. We're following your clicks and curiosity, and it looks like you guys want to know why [0:26] Republican lawmakers are calling to defund the state's only HBCU, and how a student-led protest [0:32] led to the university uninviting the lieutenant governor from speaking at this year's commencement. [0:37] So let's break it down. We've got our Faith Abubeh up first, and then we will speak to student [0:41] protest leader Cameron Sutton. Guys, thank you so much for joining us. Let's start with Faith, [0:46] who's been following this story for us. Faith, first of all, welcome to Search. [0:49] But why are Republican lawmakers in South Carolina calling to defund the state's only HBCU? [0:55] Well, Ashton, this is a story that a lot of people have been talking about, getting a buzz from [1:02] a lot of people, not just in South Carolina. And right now, lawmakers, according to a post that [1:08] was shared by the lieutenant governor of South Carolina, they are circulating, some Republicans [1:13] in the state house are circulating a letter asking for the university to be unfunded in the [1:18] next spending bill that is coming up here soon. And the reason being that the lieutenant governor [1:23] was uninvited as a commencement speaker at the university, the HBCU, South Carolina State University, [1:29] students started protesting earlier this week, saying that they did not want her to be on campus [1:34] to be their commencement speaker. And the university decided to uninvite her. And now [1:39] Republicans are pushing back, calling this inexcusable. And it's shameful that a university [1:45] that is funded by taxpayers has now uninvited a political leader who they do not agree with. [1:51] And that is how they're framing it. We don't know how much support this has just yet, [1:54] but we know a handful of Republicans have signed onto that letter, Ashton. [1:58] Yeah, Faith, what are some of the motivations behind those protests? Like, [2:01] why was the South Carolina's lieutenant governor actually uninvited? How did the pressure get to [2:06] the university? Students found out earlier this week that she was invited back in December, [2:14] according to her, invited in December to be the commencement speaker. The university said [2:18] they invited her because she's an entrepreneur. She's a female entrepreneur who started a small [2:24] business and grew it, grew it to a multimillion dollar corporation. And so they wanted her to come [2:29] speak to the students in a way that would inspire them. But the students were not having it. [2:34] They found out, according to them specifically, about the way she's been doubling down on cutting DEI [2:40] initiatives. These are diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on a historically Black college [2:46] and university campus. And HBCU, South Carolina State University, is the only HBCU in the state of [2:54] South Carolina. And it's also part of a bigger system across this country that started before the 1960s because [3:00] black people were being discriminated against. And so these students took issue with the fact that [3:05] the university was inviting someone who wanted to gut DEI initiatives. Yeah. Just seeing the video [3:11] right now, Faith, of these protests, they certainly look active. How is the lieutenant governor actually [3:15] responding? Well, she's defiant. She's unapologetic. She says she's not going to apologize. In fact, [3:23] she called the student protesters woke mobs and said that the fact that she's been uninvited is another [3:29] reason why DEI initiatives need to be cut from college and university campuses because, in her [3:35] words, students are being indoctrinated. Ashin. Faith, thank you so much. Let's now bring in South [3:41] Carolina State University student protest leader Cameron Sutton. He's on campus right now. Cameron, [3:46] why did students protest lieutenant governor as the commencement speaker? And what's it like on [3:51] campus now? How's the sentiment been like for you? So for us, it was mainly just about the most. We [3:59] understand that she doesn't stand for what we stand for. So we wouldn't allow her the opportunity to [4:03] speak here. We understand that she is an amazing woman, but just her morality and the things she [4:09] stands for, like taking away DEI for HBCU, it just can't be had on our campus. And it's amazing. [4:16] Our camp, we all are filled with energy that is due for a win, energy that deserves to be shown during our win. [4:23] Yeah. Cameron, how did you and other student protest leaders react to the calls to defund your [4:28] school? Did you see that coming when the protest started? And how are you guys responding now? [4:34] No, we've never seen it coming. But we understood that standing on what we believe will always come [4:39] with repercussions when you have somebody that doesn't believe in the same thing as you. [4:42] Cameron, what's the response now? Sorry, go ahead. No, it's okay. It's okay. Finish. [4:48] Yeah. Cameron, what's the response now? I mean, how do you take these sort of threats to be defunded [4:53] and translate them into making sure that you guys achieve what it is that you'd like to see happen? [5:00] Well, one, we hope that they're just threats because this is not their first time trying [5:04] to defund a school for using a First Amendment right. Also, we understand that the only way we [5:09] can change this is by voting. We must go out to the polls. We must register to vote. And come November, [5:14] we must vote. We must act on what we say. If every student we have at the protests for these last two [5:20] days, these protests that will happen within this week that may ever happen, as long as you go vote, [5:26] we can change. And that can be the change. Cameron, you're just a sophomore. Do you [5:31] feel supported by the university in this time? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I know it's nothing [5:38] but love for my Bulldog family. Bulldog tenacity and Bulldog pride is something that runs deep within [5:43] all of our veins. So being out there protesting, standing up for our school and what we believe, [5:49] it felt amazing. And it made me understand how one person can bring everybody together, [5:54] but it just only doesn't take one person. Cameron, how do you hope to use this experience [5:59] to move forward? Especially, I guess it matters what the outcome actually is, but [6:03] what are you and other student protest leaders hoping to do next? We hope to get people out to [6:10] the ballots and vote. We hope that people stay educated on their legislation, their government, [6:16] and every chain of command that there is. Being educated can protect you from so much because if we [6:21] were uneducated, if we were the mob that she said we were, we would have never protested. We would [6:26] have never been out there. But because we understand what is this state and we understand [6:31] what she stands for, we cannot let her speak and try to encourage students that she can never truly [6:37] encourage. Cameron, I appreciate your man. Still ahead, it might be at the top of your feed, [6:42] but what's the vibe? We've got your top pop culture and entertainment searches, [6:46] including theories about a countdown on Taylor Swift's website. Vibe Check is next.