INDReporter

Landry asks Savoie to halt LGBT studies minor

by Heather Miller

Add this to Rep. Jeff Landry's list of things he'd rather be doing than casting important votes in Congress: Writing letters to UL President Joseph Savoie asking him to halt the university's LGBT studies minor. U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry, the Tea Party Republican from New Iberia hoping to unseat Charles Boustany this fall, has asked UL President Joseph Savoie to drop the school's new LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) studies minor.

According to KATC, Landry says he's "concerned the minor limits employment opportunities."

"As our nation continues to struggle with high unemployment, higher education's primary mission should be ensuring current and future students have the tools necessary to compete in the 21st century economy," he says in the letter. "Budgetary shortfalls have left higher education severely underfunded. As such, we must effectively allocate these scare (sic) resources and give priority to those course (sic) and minors that provide demonstrable employment benefits."

Landry's arguments completely contradict Savoie's own response to the LGBT studies minor, which the university began offering earlier this year. KATC reports that UL is the first university in the state to offer such a focus of study.

Savoie, on his president's blog, counters that minors, or areas of study outside of a student's major, "often often give graduates an advantage for the job market, especially in their chosen field."

Savoie also notes in his blog that the new minor "did not require budgetary allocations or divert resources from other areas."

The letter Landry sent to Savoie comes after Boustany, his opponent in the race for the 3rd District congressional seat, announced legislation aiming to dock congressional pay for members who miss votes on the floor. Boustany's bill brings to light the voting record of Landry, who has missed more than 10 percent of all roll-call House votes and another four votes Monday and Tuesday.

Read more here and here.