‘If you want something like gender ideology, go to Berkeley,’ says anti-DEI DeSantis – Daily News

With protesters chanting in the background, Gov. Ron DeSantis Monday signed into law a hotly contested bill that would dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion in public colleges and universities in Florida. .

At a ceremony at New College in Sarasota, the governor said the DEI was a “distraction from the core mission” of the college. This is the school that Mr. DeSantis hopes to lead the way in a return to what he calls “classical” education.

“The DEI is better described as discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,” DeSantis said. “What this bill says is that this whole experiment with DEI will end in Florida.”

The law also authorizes courses to “distort significant historical events,” courses to teach “identity politics,” or “systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the U.S. system and It also prohibits “courses based on the theory that they were created to maintain , political or economic inequality. ”

DEI’s efforts are generally aimed at increasing participation and promoting opportunities for underrepresented groups, including academic courses focused on women authors and LGBTQ+ history, as well as programs for underprivileged students. Assistance included.

“If you want to do something like gender ideology, go to Berkeley,” DeSantis said. “But for our part, we want to use our tax dollars to focus on the classic mission of what a university should be.”

Mr. Andrew Gossard, President of the Florida School of Unity, The organization, which represents the state’s more than 25,000 faculty and staff, said providing students with opportunities to learn about a variety of subjects and perspectives is “the foundation of democracy.”

“Government has no role in banning or censoring the subject of higher education,” Gotthard said in April.

Democrats, who opposed the bill during the session that ended May 5, criticized Mr. DeSantis for signing it.

“Indoctrination is driving DeSantis’ agenda not because educators are concerned that they are indoctrinating students, but because they are indoctrinating students,” Sen. “It’s because we haven’t instilled the HIS ideology in our students.” “Sadly, this is the latest example of the government overreaching the Florida classroom as the administration continues its authoritarian assault on ideas and information.”

Earlier this year, DeSantis announced that it would encourage a small liberal arts community of about 700 students by appointing a conservative majority to its board of directors, including Christopher Rufo, a member of the Manhattan Institute who helped formulate the national DEI dismantling plan. The school, New College, was rebuilt. .

They quickly dismissed the university’s president, Patricia Ocker, and replaced him with former Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran, a loyal DeSantis ally, at a salary of $699,000 a year.

At Monday’s ceremony, Corcoran thanked the governor and Congress for providing the school with $35 million in new funding this year, about $50,000 per student. He said the new college has already banned the DEI and changed its curriculum to focus on “values” and “technology.”

Corcoran also joked that protesters who were chanting outside the ceremony were upset that the air conditioners in their dorms had been turned off, not because of the school change.

Noting that DeSantis is known for saying, “Florida is a place where the waking die,” Rep. Spencer Roach (R-North Fort Myers) said, “Listen to what’s going on outside And that’s what it feels like when an awakened person dies,” he added.