Congressman Jeff Landry, R-New Iberia, is asking UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie to drop the new minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies. The university is the first in the state to offer the minor. In a letter to Savoie, Landry said he's concerned the minor limits employment opportunities. In a letter to Savoie, Landry said, "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 said.
Also, Landry questions the "fiscal wisdom of these courses." The university isn't adding new courses to the new LGBT curriculum, rather the minor will include already existing courses. "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," said Landry.