DeSantis wants to ban university diversity and inclusion programs in Florida

On Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his plan to prohibit state universities from spending money on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He hopes that this will cause these programs to “wither on the vine” if they are not given any resources.

Speaking in Bradenton, Florida, the Republican asserted that it essentially acts as a political and ideological filter.

DeSantis has made this proposal a primary focus for the upcoming academic year, along with other initiatives like giving politically appointed university presidents and boards of trustees more control over recruitment and termination at universities and encouraging educational institutions to tailor their objectives to meet the needs of Florida’s future workforce as noted by CNN.

Nothing is too ridiculous when it comes to politics. DeSantis is considering making a serious bid for the presidency in 2024, and his disturbing popularity among conservative fans has skyrocketed as a result of his outspoken racist viewpoints on divisive social, political, and educational issues. The second-term governor has distinguished himself as a ferocious critic of woke initiatives on public health, gender, and race.

While it is everyone’s right to know about the terrible things that African Americans and overall, people of color have experienced and continue to endure today, the governor’s office issued a press release about the proposed legislation, in which they termed diversity, equity, and inclusion programs “discriminatory” and pledged to block universities from funding them, even if the financial support was coming from outside the state.

Do White students have a tough time processing Black and Brown trauma? Or, perhaps, this is an effort to avoid putting white students in challenging circumstances when discussing the topic.

The goal of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs is to encourage cultural diversity and make students of all races and ethnic backgrounds feel at ease on campuses, especially those from vastly underrepresented societies. The University of Florida, which serves as the state’s flagship institution, has a Chief Diversity Officer, a Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement, and an Office for Accessibility and Gender Equity.

A method of thinking about America’s history through the prism of racism is called critical race theory, noted AP News. It was created by academics in the 1970s and 1980s in reaction to what they perceived as a lack of racial advancement after the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. According to the Associated Press, its central thesis is that racism is embedded throughout the country and serves to uphold the dominance of white people in society.

“I think people want to see true academics and they want to get rid of some of the political window dressing that seems to accompany all this,” DeSantis boldly said at a news conference in Bradenton. This is where he also suggested that critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs would be cut completely, leading to their eventual demise.

The governor’s office requested in December that all state universities account for all their spending on programs and initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as critical race theory, which hinted at the announcement made on Tuesday.

During the Bradenton statement he attended, DeSantis laid out his plans for higher education. The New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college, and DeSantis has installed a controversial new board with a mandate to remake the school in accordance with his conservative vision of higher education. According to DeSantis, $15 million of his budget will go toward reorganizing New College and funding new faculty positions.

Protests were held on campus on Tuesday after the new board held its first meeting.

Pay close attention to this malarkey please. Eddie Speir, one of the new board members, said in an online post that he intended to highly suggest ending all contracts for the school’s academic staff, and administration at that meeting and immediately rehiring those individuals who complimented the new financial and business model.

Education officials in the state painted the decision as an attack on woke diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, as well as critical race theory.

This new proposed ban basically signifies that learners are essentially being instructed to focus solely on White historical narratives, despite widespread knowledge of their fraudulence. People are fed up and have started to voice their opinions on Twitter.

Evie Blanco is a journalist with nearly a decade of experience who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Queens, New York. She is extremely well-versed in hip-hop music and culture and is always aware of any developments within it. Whether it’s the latest in pop culture, a fascinating foreign destination, a truly amazing new restaurant, or breaking news, she loves to write about it all.

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This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 3:56 PM with the headline "DeSantis wants to ban university diversity and inclusion programs in Florida."