Members of the House of Delegates sparred Monday over a proposal from Governor Northam to fund an investigation into accounts of systemic racism at Virginia Military Institute.
Governor Northam asked the legislature to set aside $1 million for the investigation after reports emerged detailing students’ experiences of racism and hostility at the public college.
“As we all know, over the last couple of weeks or so, the Virginia Military Institute has been in the news in regards to some behavior surrounding this culture, tradition and policies and practices there at the institute,” said Democratic Delegate Luke Torian, who chairs the House budget committee and is a member of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.
Torian supported funding the investigation, but he was met with opposition from Republican Delegate Kirk Cox.
The former House speaker says he thinks the incidents described in the media are unacceptable and should be investigated. But, he says the issue goes beyond the scope of the budget and he does not approve of the response so far from Northam’s administration.
“And because how that was handled, I just don’t have a lot of confidence in – and this is the key – an independent investigation,” Cox explained.
In spite of the reservations, the amendment squeaked by the House with a slim majority.
The state senate also approved the investigation money. Republican Senator Tommy Norment, who is a VMI graduate, said the VMI community welcomes the investigation.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.