Gov. DeSantis’ conservative takeover of a liberal arts college is silencing diversity, critics say
The small public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida, offers an environment where LGBTQ students can freely express themselves, she said.
“People are very scared for what’s to come, especially kids who aren’t graduating any time soon,” Sharf told CNN. “This is an obvious hostile political act.”
With mounting attacks on diversity and inclusion, students and activists fear that marginalized people will not have a safe place to get a college education in Florida.
DEI policies and programs are created to promote representation for people who have historically faced discrimination because of their race, ethnicity, disability, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
‘The real tragedy’
Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors, said she believes DeSantis is targeting diversity programs for political advantage, which she called “extremely dangerous.”
This could result in Florida colleges struggling to retain students and recruit faculty, Mulvey said. People pursuing graduate degrees might opt for schools in other states that support academic freedom, she said.
“The consequences for students are enormous,” Mulvey said. “They are denied the opportunity to learn and grow, students are denied the opportunity to hear important perspectives. That’s the real tragedy.”
DeSantis’ decision to overhaul New College of Florida has particularly drawn ire from LGBTQ activists.
David Johns, executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, said policies that reject diversity and inclusion will only push people away from higher education in Florida.
“So much of what the policies are designed to do and the language more specifically … is to tell people that they don’t matter,” he said. “That their contributions, their history, their ways of attempting to strengthen democracy do not matter and should not have a place in the version of America that they are now naming as classical.”
“If he (DeSantis) is allowed to continue to operate in this way, there might not be a place for anyone to go,” Johns said.
‘Hillsdale of the South’
Some students at New College of Florida are already considering other options for their education. The school has nearly 700 students and 100 full-time faculty members, according to its website.
Sharf said she worries that the new board will erase the inclusive queer culture on campus to make the college more attractive for traditional affluent White students.
Sharf said she and her peers plan to keep protesting the leadership changes but many are looking at backup schools.
“I would not want to attend a school that is ‘Hillsdale of the South,'” Sharf said. “It would be too hostile to trans students and I would probably have to leave.”
Alex Obraud, a third-year anthropology student, said DeSantis’ overhaul feels like backlash against the nation’s progress on LGBTQ rights and racial justice.
Obraud also views it as an attack on educational freedom and on the safe space that New College and other universities across the country offer for students.
“That’s part of making education accessible to everyone and making sure that people feel safe is a huge part of making sure they are in a good position to learn,” Obraud said.
Faculty members also worry that the new leadership could change the inclusive culture at the school.
Chris Kottke, a math professor at the New College of Florida, rejected Republican lawmakers’ claims that the school was a bastion of liberal indoctrination.
Kottke said instructors have always taught students how to think not what to think. Kottke said while most of the diverse clubs on campus don’t rely on state funding, he worries about whether they will be able to continue to safely operate.
“The incoming atmosphere is obviously quite hostile to those groups of students,” he said. “So I think there is understandably some fear.”
CNN’s Jalen Brown contributed to this story.
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