Bechdel Memoir May Cost S.C. College State Funding

Author Alison Bechdel and the cast of the musical based on her memoir “Fun Home” will be in South Carolina next week to perform the Pulitzer Prize-nominated play at College of Charleston. State legislators have recently been threatening the public university with budget cuts after students were encouraged—not required—to read Bechdel’s memoir, which is, among other things, about the author’s experience coming out as a lesbian and her relationship with her closeted gay father. State Rep. Garry Smith proposed cutting $52,000 from the school’s budget, which would pretty much amount to the cost of the College Reads! program that recommended the book.