South Dakota Governor Tells Higher Education Board to Remove Mandates on Preferred Pronouns

South Dakota Governor Tells Higher Education Board to Remove Mandates on Preferred Pronouns
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundation conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, on Feb. 17, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
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South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem issued a letter on May 25 to the governing board that oversees the six public universities in the state. In it, she lamented about the situation of higher education in the country, and challenged the board to a series of actions to “show the nation what quality higher education is supposed to look like.”

Among several points, the Republican governor told the board it should ban drag shows on university campuses, and, separately, remove all preferred pronouns in school materials, as well as remove all mandates that compel people to use preferred pronouns.