In Florida, New College’s conservative makeover is proving to be ground zero in the state’s battle to remove social justice ideology from campuses across the state.
New College found itself in the crosshairs earlier this year after it eliminated a gender studies program, the Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) office, and officials “misgendered” people.
Christopher Rufo, a conservative writer, filmmaker, and activist, was appointed as one of six new board trustees this year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who envisioned New College offering a classical education.
Besides reporting that the college removed its DEI department and gender studies, Ms. Granick alleged that the college’s trustees and administrators violated civil rights law by removing “gender neutral” signage from bathrooms and “misgendered” a former DEI director and student, who used “ze/zir” and “they/them” as pronouns, Mr. Rufo wrote.
According to the complaint, these actions constitute discrimination “based on perceived disability and gender prejudice,” Mr. Rufo stated.
New College appears to be ahead of the rest of Florida’s universities in complying with SB 266, a law that went into effect July 1 that bans spending money or advocating for DEI.
Critics say DEI is a political ideology that discriminates against whites and conservatives.
A legal challenge to SB 266 was recently launched involving professors and students from New College who joined the recently formed NCF Freedom Inc.
The group filed a lawsuit claiming the new law unconstitutionally prevents them from expressing certain viewpoints.
Proponents of DEI initiatives say they are needed to maintain opportunities for underrepresented populations and correct the wrongs of systemic racism in America by hiring minorities or selecting them for competitive programs.
Opponents say DEI represents a neo-Marxist movement that uses race and gender to divide people into groups of victims and oppressors.
Mr. Rufo called the civil rights complaint a tactic to disrupt conservative reforms at New College, which threatened the Left’s control of higher education.
Left-wing activists want to “manipulate the civil rights law” to force public and private institutions to conform to ideological demands that have nothing to do with civil rights, according to Mr. Rufo.
The federal government wants to use the civil rights law to mandate “diversity and inclusion” orthodoxy and force people to use made-up pronouns like “ze/zir” and “they/them,” Mr. Rufo wrote.
Other universities are doing far less than New College to disband DEI.
At the University of Florida (UF), the state’s flagship university, departments are scrubbing DEI terminology but leaving programs in place under a different name. But in many cases, the DEI name remains untouched.
D for Division
Cherise Trump, no relation to former President Trump, is executive director of Speech First, a nonprofit group of students, parents, and faculty working to restore free speech on campus.Her organization has been suing universities over suppressing student free speech, including those in red states like Florida and Texas, which have recently passed legislation banning DEI.
Whistleblower claims at UF are disturbing but unsurprising, she told The Epoch Times.
“It may shock some to hear that a university in Florida has such ardent far-left DEI practices, but the reality is that most universities—even in the most freedom-loving states—have succumbed to totalitarian practices of viewpoint discrimination and squashing dissent via censorship and coercion,” she said.
Carol Swain is an author and retired political science and law professor at Vanderbilt University. She’s also a former distinguished fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Instead of promoting racial healing and reconciliation, DEI has divided America, she told The Epoch Times.
Her latest book, “The Adversity of Diversity,” describes how the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action has intensified scrutiny of DEI programs that often result in reverse discrimination.
“At this point in history, if you’re a conservative, if you’re a Christian, if you’re male and healthy—you tend to have a target on your back,” she said.
To stop DEI, lawmakers need to put teeth behind laws they pass to ban it, Ms. Swain said.
Those who find themselves discriminated against because their skin is white must sue, she said, recommending the same for conservatives working at campuses cultivating a hostile workplace.
“I think that, you know, this is a moment where people need to rise up,” Ms. Swain said.
Diversity of Thought
Joe Cohn is the legislative and policy director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which protects free speech on both sides of the political divide.Florida is generally correct in asserting political ideology, such as DEI loyalty statements, should not be used when hiring, Mr. Cohn said.
One way to achieve diversity of thought on campus is to remove political and ideological litmus tests designed to screen out conservatives from the hiring process, which will eventually result in a wide range of political beliefs on campus, Mr. Cohn said.
But banning DEI, even by law, faces hurdles.
Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Mr. DeSantis, told The Epoch Times that the law is in effect, but the rules aren’t.
The Florida Legislature left it to state regulators to define some of the terms in the new law.
According to the Florida Board of Governors, which operates the entire public university system, that could take months to complete.
When asked, the agency did not provide The Epoch Times a specific timeline for those definitions to be put into place and did not provide consequences schools would face for breaking the new law.
