Furman Free Speech Round-Up (March)

On our unanswered open letter and an outrageous student event this month.

Welcome to our March newsletter.

The Furman Free Speech Alliance is a group of alumni, parents, and friends concerned about Furman University’s deteriorating campus climate for free speech, academic freedom, and viewpoint diversity.

Each month, we update you on what’s happening at Furman and what actions we’re taking to defend free speech on campus.

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Looking Back:

Last month, on February 6, we issued an open letter to President Davis urging her once again to get rid of Furman’s discriminatory and anti-free speech diversity, equity, and inclusion policies:

• We detailed how these policies amount to compelled speech.

• We explained how they have negatively affected the university’s ability to attract and hire high-caliber candidates for the faculty.

• We highlighted how Harvard, MIT, and other colleges and universities have abandoned similar policies.

Now, 32 days later, she still hasn’t responded.

The clock is ticking. As we highlighted in our letter, the Trump administration is aggressively punishing colleges that maintain DEI policies. Just this last week, the White House canceled $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University because of its failure to protect Jewish students from harassment. Other private schools like Furman could be next on the chopping block.

We’ve provided more details on how the White House and Congress could move to punish schools like Furman here, but suffice it to say that every day President Davis fails to respond to our letter is a day that Furman could be closer to losing critical federal funding.

As alumni who have contributed generously to Furman, we have a right to know how President Davis intends to handle changes coming from the new administration in Washington that could threaten the solvency of our alma mater.

On an even more basic level, we deserve a response when we issue an open letter to President Davis. Furman has no method for concerned alumni to contact the administration directly. And when we reach out indirectly, they ignore us. The only conclusion we can draw is that this administration does not care about Furman’s history, traditions, or alumni. They ask us for money but don’t respect or respond to our questions.

It’s time for us to push back – hard.

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One Fact You Should Know:

Furman has a brand-new student organization called KUFF:Ed — which stands for Kink Unlocked For Furman: an Educational Club. The group was formed this school year. It exists to “provide a supportive space for students who are a part of kink or BDSM subcultures.” BDSM stands for bondage, dominance, sadism, and masochism. This group has been given the green light by Furman’s administration and even has a faculty sponsor, Dr. Erik Anderson. Let us know what you think in the comments!

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Looking Ahead:

Do you need more proof that this administration has completely discarded the values of most of Furman’s alumni? Would you like more evidence of how much Furman’s charming campus has changed since you graduated? Let us direct your attention to the craziest cultural life program (CLP) that is set to occur this month:

• Sex in the Dark (yes, that’s the actual name) will take place on the evening of March 19. The annual event is expected to draw at least 120 students to the Trone Center theater, where they will be encouraged to “anonymously ask our panel of experts questions about sexuality, gender, relationships, and identity in an open, intellectual space.” The event intends to “offer a safe and inclusive environment for exploration” and is listed specifically as a “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” CLP on Furman’s website.

If we cut through all the corporate language, what this really amounts to is a group of older adults inviting students as young as 18 years old to tell them more about their sexual proclivities. The so-called adults in the room will then affirm (encourage) these sexual activities and help students explore them. Reports from other schools indicate that adults distribute “condoms” “vibrators” “lubricant” and other “sexual materials” at these events. They also hand out candy — “Hey kids, come get a chocolate bar, and let’s explore sex together!”

It is as creepy as it sounds. And Furman’s administration knows it.

That’s why they don’t advertise it to alumni when they send us countless emails and letters for money. That’s why don’t describe it to prospective students on admissions tours. That’s why they don’t talk about it with parents that they ask to pay thousands of dollars each year for their son or daughter to attend Furman.

If Furman’s administration supports this event, they should come out and say so loud and proud. If they don’t, they should cancel it — or consider not granting it the status of a CLP, which gives it a veneer of intellectual seriousness and makes it an event that contributes to attending students’ Furman graduation requirements.

Remember: Furman was not able to give cultural life program status to Mary Eberstadt’s campus event on the sexual revolution — which was set to occur two years ago this month — and other student groups often must fight very hard to get CLP status for events that merit it much more than this one.

At the very least, the administration must make its process for refusing CLP status to certain events and granting it to other events (like this one) much more transparent. A good start would be keeping and publishing the notes from every CLP Committee meeting. The Furman community deserves to know how these decisions are being made. And as Furman’s number one free speech organization, we will continue to insist on transparency and accountability.

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In the Network:

Our very own awesome Furman Paladins are facing off against the awful Wofford Terriers in the Southern Conference Championship tonight at 7:00pm EST with a ticket to March Madness on the line. Be sure to tune in and cheer for the Dins!

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