Petition seeks to replace McMaster as SC State graduation speaker

A group of SC State students and alumnae has launched an online petition to replace South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster as this year’s Spring graduation commencement speaker.

The petition letter says graduating students “need a speaker who can relate more to the HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) experiences, struggles as well as triumphs and life of an HBCU student in general.”

The petition is not about the Governor, the letter insists. “..he is definitely welcome on this campus, but maybe for another time or another event held in the future,” the letter says.

South Carolina State announced on Tuesday that McMaster would be this year’s commencement speaker.

As of Thursday night, 163 people had signed the online petition with statements such as the following:

• “A prominent SCSU alumni or influential African American should be empowering our HBCU graduates.”
• “I'm a graduate of the great South Carolina State University and this is not a good look. There are plenty of other choices.”
• “The school deserves a better speaker and someone who actually cares for the University”
• “How do you go from Sherryl Underwood to Henry McMaster, Republican Governeror of South Carolina. In the times we are in, it does not seem ethical.”
• “We need a speaker that can relate to HBCU'S!!!, I feel very disrespected .”

The last SC governor to address a graduating class at SC State, South Carolina’s only public historically black university, was Mark Sanford in 2003.

In announcing this year’s commencement speaker, SC State President James Clark said McMaster’s presence on campus is a demonstration of the governor’s support.

An estimated 500 students are set to graduate on May 12.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 7:56 PM.