Ron DeSantis is clearing the rot out of higher education in Florida.
He has ruffled a few feathers along the way.
And Ron DeSantis made one bold move that had woke college students going berserk.
Florida college’s gender studies books being given away causes a meltdown
The New College of Florida is a small public liberal arts college located in Sarasota.
It was a cesspool of wokeness and Marxist thinking that has become a staple for most liberal arts colleges across the country.
That is why Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reformed the college to return to its original mission of education, not indoctrination.
New College’s board of trustees was replaced with DeSantis appointees who wanted the school to focus on classical education like Michigan’s Hillsdale College.
The overhaul saw the school’s gender and diversity studies department eliminated along with the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices.
Eliminating the woke indoctrination from New College sparked a national outrage on the Left.
Higher education is something they are used to having total control of and this was a serious challenge to their power.
The Sarasota Herald-Review’s education reporter ran a story panicking that New College had gotten rid of library books including its gender studies collection.
DEVELOPING: New College of Florida dumped hundreds of library books this afternoon.
The school also emptied the college’s Gender and Diversity Center, tossing hundreds of their books.
Working to file a story now. pic.twitter.com/073dU3A6mp
— Steven Walker (@swalker_7) August 15, 2024
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida whined that removing the books was an attack on free speech.
“This is not merely an administrative oversight; it is an intentional act of censorship that strikes at the heart of our democratic values and the very purpose of education,” ACLU Florida official Bacardi Jackson said.
Leftists were upset that it appeared that books were being thrown out as part of some sort of attack on education by the DeSantis administration.
DeSantis officials respond to outrage
Conservative activist Christopher Rufo, one of the New College trustees appointed by DeSantis, was behind the effort to eliminate the college’s gender studies program.
“We abolished the gender studies program. Now we’re throwing out the trash,” Rufo wrote on X.
New College officials said that the books were being donated as the college updated its library.
“The books were not claimed for pickup from the room, they were moved to a book drop location by the library where they were later claimed by individuals planning to donate the books locally,” a New College official said.
The gender studies books were not being replaced because the department is now shuttered.
DeSantis communications director Bryan Griffin told Florida’s Voice the removal of the gender studies books was part of New College’s overhaul.
“Gender Studies propaganda is garbage,” Griffin said. “We’re reclaiming higher education in Florida from the zealots and refocusing on the pursuit of truth and academic rigor, not ideological agendas.”
The DeSantis plan for higher education is working after Florida was named the top state in the country for higher education by U.S. News & World Report.
Higher education has been a stronghold for the Left for decades.
The outrage is pouring in now that power and control are being clawed back from New College by the DeSantis administration.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
