In lieu of a recent senate decision to cut funding for gender studies programs at UW, we at the Branding Iron find it hard to support the state legislation.
In a 16-14 vote, the Wyoming State Senate passed an amendment that would cut funding to gender studies programs at the University of Wyoming.
With this vote being so close, it’s clear that the amendment does not represent the opinions of all senators. However, It does send the message that these programs and courses are not important to the majority of those who voted.
While the arguments made about taxpayer dollars going towards some of these courses may be fair, cutting funding in such a broad way feels more like a targeted attack on the broader message of these courses than a potential solution to budgetary concerns.
Alongside senate file 0051, which aims to ban trans women from competing in collegiate and high school sports, this action sends a clear message to the entire UW community: the political views of senators are more important than making UW a contemporary, or even welcoming, university.
Let us be clear; we fully understand that some of these senators may be opposed to a course or two offered at the university or they may have a need to adjust the budget in a major way.
Painting with such a broad brush doesn’t solve those issues or address those concerns in a way that is both constructive and beneficial for the university.
If specific courses were an issue for some senators, perhaps they should have addressed them directly.
If all that was needed was a budget realignment of some kind, why attempt to remove an entire department?
One testimony suggested that this would impact 30-degree programs and more than 100 courses.
This only serves to exacerbate fears about job security at the university, let alone concerns about graduation for students in any impacted field.
The LGBTQA+ community at UW likely already feels at odds with the decisions of the state following 0051, so what do they expect will happen following this decision?
Regardless of your affiliation with any community, we see no way to justify this decision as well researched or developed.
Cheri Steinmetz was quoted as saying “just vote your conscience on this one.”
How can any of us feel like this is a logical decision if it’s entirely based on the gut feeling of 30 people?
As a note, this decision is not final at this time. This amendment will be up for review by the house on Monday, Feb. 28, and could still be up for a veto from the governor.
We hope, for the sake of the university and all who would be impacted by it, that this amendment gets challenged soon.
