Regents want control of Gov. Noem's whistleblower hotline, discredits some of hotline's tips
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
The Board of Regents would like the Governor’s Higher Education Hotline to be in its control instead of the control of Gov. Kristi Noem’s office.
Noem established the whistleblower hotline May 25. The SDBOR has made a formal request to take over and manage that tip line while maintaining its same phone number, (605) 773-5916, Regent Jeff Partridge said during the SDBOR meeting Thursday morning in Rapid City.
The SDBOR already receives a number of different suggestions, frustrations, complaints or “cries for help” through other communications, and the tip line would just add to that, Partridge explained.
“We would be able to be efficient at dealing with these in a very timely manner,” Partridge said. “Taking on hotline (tips) and reporting them in some kind of letter is not as efficient as our systems that we have in place with the number of different levels within our organization.”
More: SDBOR, BHSU looking into tips that came to Gov. Kristi Noem's higher ed complaint hotline
Despite Partridge’s argument, Noem’s spokesman Ian Fury said Thursday evening the governor’s office will continue to run the hotline. It will continue to stand that the SDBOR will only receive information about hotline tips in press releases or letters directly from Gov. Noem’s office.
Anyone from a campus advisor, resident assistant, student affairs official, opportunity center employee or university president could take those calls and resolve the issues in the tips to the hotline, Partridge explained during the meeting.
Partridge’s call for the SDBOR to take over the hotline followed a report from SDBOR executive director Nathan Lukkes, explaining the university system’s response to some of the tips to the hotline Noem has included in letters to the SDBOR.
Noem and her office have yet to release all of the more than 2,000 tips and counting from the hotline besides the tips she has handpicked to share in press releases or in letters sent to SDBOR President Tim Rave on June 16 and Aug. 22. Those tips include:
During orientation at Black Hills State University, officials recommended and encouraged students and parents to take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), an antidepressant, to cope with homesickness, according to one allegation in the June 16 letter.
One complaint alleged BHSU is “promoting transgender ideology, pushing mask mandates, endorsing critical race theory and compelling students to choose sides in the Ukraine war,” according to the June 16 letter.
The BOR “failed to timely notify Ph.D. candidates of program closure after considerable financial investment which resulted in not receiving the degree, (and) of greater concern, international students were treated differently and were able to complete the program,” according to one allegation in the June 16 letter.
That University of South Dakota and South Dakota Mines students were compelled to provide preferred pronouns in course introductions, according to both letters.
That at a USD-hosted conference for choir educators, attendees were told to provide their pronouns and “compel them from students,” according to the Aug. 22 letter.
That a student from in-state was charged out-of-state tuition for USD’s medical school, according to the Aug. 22 letter.
Concerns about South Dakota State University’s “Introduction to American and Global Studies” and “Introduction to Global Citizenship and Diversity” courses, according to the Aug. 22 letter.
An allegation that SDSU did not provide faculty support for a sociology Ph.D. student to finish their program, according to the Aug. 22 letter.
Concerns about what Noem calls a “bizarre and highly sexual video” shown to SDSU students during orientation as part of their sexual violence prevention training, according to Noem’s Aug. 22 letter.
“Allegations of bullying and verbal abuse by coaching staff at a state university,” according to Noem’s Aug. 22 letter, which doesn’t specify which university the allegation stems from.
Noem’s office also hasn’t clarified exactly who answers the calls to the hotline, other than a statement from Fury that “our office monitors the tip line at no cost to the state.”
Lukkes explained some of the tips the SDBOR has received from Noem’s office involve sensitive topics dealing with student or personnel matters that can’t be discussed publicly.
More: Noem to South Dakota universities: raise graduation rates, end drag shows, and more
He took time to address several of the tips during Thursday’s meeting. Some allegations reported from the governor’s office to the SDBOR so far have been inaccurate, Lukkes explained, pointing to the BHSU antidepressant tip as one of them.
Lukkes said pronouns frequently pop up as a topic at the beginning of each semester, and clarified the SDBOR does not require preferred pronouns, nor should it or its staff “put students on the spot asking them to state their preferred pronouns.”
The SDBOR also doesn’t prohibit the use of preferred pronouns “if students so choose,” he said. Each time issues have come to the SDBOR’s attention, “any misunderstanding or misapplication of this position by faculty or staff have been addressed," he added.
More: Political activism is not 'seeping' into SD universities, Regents say
Regarding the SDSU course Noem referenced in her Aug. 22 letter, the SDBOR voted in its consent agenda Thursday to end that graduation requirement for programs in SDSU’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Lukkes explained.
Lukkes said the course had been the subject of discussion and review for more than a year and the SDBOR has had various questions about the course’s curriculum and content.
“I’m not here today to pass judgment, as doing so would be inappropriate,” Lukkes said. “Academic freedom is the cornerstone of the American university system, and faculty members are entitled to (academic) freedom in the classroom, discussion of their subject and the presentation of various scholarly views, including controversial matters.”
While the course won’t continue to be a graduation requirement, students can still take it as an elective, Lukkes said.
The “bizarre and highly sexual video” Noem referenced in her Aug. 22 letter is part of the training given to SDSU students in compliance with the Violence Against Women Act’s requirements for sexual assault prevention training, Lukkes explained.
More: After 5th sexual assault at USD, students and law enforcement frank about prevention
He said the video is part of a training by Vector Solutions, a national vendor more than 2,000 universities use. The video features two fully-clothed individuals kissing and touching “over-the-clothes” as two narrators talk about and explain consent.
Lukkes said in his review of the training he wouldn’t categorize it as graphic or highly sexual.
“Sexual assault is, however, an inherently uncomfortable topic to discuss and provide training on, even to students over the age of 18,” he said. “Unfortunately, sexual assaults happen, even on our campuses. The provided training may make some feel uncomfortable or uneasy. However, if it ultimately raises awareness, spurs dialogue and stops even one sexual assault from occurring, then it’s well worth it.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SD Board of Regents wants control of Gov. Kristi Noem's whistleblower hotline
