SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Board of Regents approved the first reading of a policy regarding minors on college and university campuses on Thursday morning.
Thursday, the Board of Regents (BoR) met in Aberdeen where the first reading of the Minors on Campus policy was heard. The policy acts as “guard rails” for on-campus events Nathan Lukkes told the Board. This comes a few months after a student club at South Dakota State University hosted a drag show that was advertised as “family friendly.”
Following the controversy surrounding the event, BoR President Pam Roberts decided to place a moratorium on minors attending any events hosted by student organizations on college campuses. During the 2023 legislative session, Republican Representative Chris Karr brought forward a bill at the request of the Board of Regents to prohibit the use of state funds and resources “in hosting lewd or lascivious content.” The bill eventually failed.
The policy created by the BoR applies to both university sponsored programs and non-university sponsored programs that take place on campus and states that no program allowing the presence of minors can include:
- Specific sexual activities… or any material or other media of any kind depicting specific sexual activities
- Obscene live conduct
- Any material, performance, description, or representation, in whatever form, meeting the definition of harmful to minors
- Nudity… unless the program is advertised with a disclaimer noting it contains nudity
- Content that is patently offensive to prevailing community standards in the adult community as a whole unless the program is advertised with a disclaimer noting it contains adult language, adult content, excessive violence, and/or explicit content.
During Thursday’s meeting, the only concerns presented on the policy had to do with the name: Minors on Campus. Board member Joan Wink said that she wants minors to be welcomed onto campuses and felt the policy name should be changed but did not have a suggestion as to what the change should be.
