Just this month, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis experienced two embarrassing scandals in his “war on woke” culture campaign which has him fighting against ideas of diversity in colleges.
DeSantis is now on the defense after reporting from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune exposed a book dump of hundreds of library books at New College of Florida and a University of Florida President he chose was exposed for excessive spending.
New College Takeover
Previously, DeSantis and his allies had been accused of orchestrating an “aggressively ideological and politically motivated” takeover of the New College of Florida by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).
DeSantis appointed six of his allies to the school’s board of trustees in January of last year, who introduced a wide-ranging restructuring of academic courses, canceled initiatives around DEI, and eliminated the gender studies major.
DeSantis’ Reasoning
In June, DeSantis took credit for the transformation of New College through his previous actions.
“In Florida, we have re-focused higher education on the pursuit of truth, academic rigor, and preparing students to be citizens of the republic,” DeSantis wrote in a June 1 X post. “When I took office, New College was a hive of woke ideology. We eliminated “DEI,” abolished the gender studies program, and installed new leadership. Now, colleges like New College are teaching students how to be productive citizens—not running an indoctrination camp.”
Taking Down DEI
DeSantis has been determined to dismantle Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and initiatives for years.
In his failed bid for the presidential nomination, the governor targeted K-12 and college DEI initiatives. At New College, DeSantis canceled meals during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims.
Backlash from Unions
The speedy restructuring of the university without faculty involvement caused university unions to get involved.
After investigating, the American Association of University Professors voted to sanction New College. The AAUP has added only 12 other colleges to its sanctioned list since 1995.
“Blatant Disregard”
The AAUP’s final report on New College slammed the university’s restructuring as an assault on higher education.
The report said the college crackdown “reflects not only a blatant disregard for academic standards of governance and academic freedom but also a discriminatory and biased assault on the rights of racial minorities and LGBTQ communities.”
Book Dumping
Steven Walker of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune published an X post on August 15 documenting the disposal and dumping of hundreds of library books at New College.
“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,” Walker wrote in the X post.
Under the Nose of Students
Walker reported that a video showed a vehicle driving away with books before students were even notified of their disposal.
“In the past, students were given an opportunity to purchase books that were leaving the college’s library collection,” Walker wrote.
College Staff Blindsided
Members of staff were not expecting the dumping of hundreds of books.
Amy Reid, a faculty chair and representative to the board of trustees, was blindsided by the disposal of the books. She compared it to throwing away democracy. Reid said she wanted a period of mourning for the lost texts. “I want to do that for books because books are what matter,” said Reid.
Freedom Goes to Die
Democrats started heaping increasing criticism on DeSantis as news of the book dumping scandal broke.
“In the ‘free’ state of Florida, where the freedom to learn goes to die. This is the equivalent to burning books — it’s backwards, politically motivated, and a preview of Project 2025. Don’t let this happen to America. Trust me; you don’t want this extremism nationwide,” wrote Florida Rep. Anna Eskamanai in response to Walker’s X post.
DeSantis Dictator
Florida Democrat congresswoman Yvonee Hayes Hinson came out in the wake of the scandal to accuse DeSantis of wanting to be a dictator and control the freedom of his constituents.
“These messages are coming from DeSantis’s appointed and approved leaders, and the governor should just go ahead and admit he wants to be the dictator that Trump wants to be, because that’s what this is,” said Hinson.
Just Plain Weird
Hinson also criticized what she sees as a Republican push to ban ideas, which she finds strange.
“This shameful book dump is just the latest chapter in this Republican regime’s war on books and ideas. How insecure do you have to be to ban books on gender and women’s studies. They’re just plain weird,” Hinson said.
Defending the Purge
After the book scandal was reported on, allies of DeSantis at first tried to downplay the purge.
“It is important to understand that the disposition of materials is a necessary process in libraries, and ensures that our collection remains relevant, up-to-date, and in good condition for our community’s use,” said Richard Corocan, the university’s president and a vocal DeSantis supporter.
Throwing Out the Trash
Although Corocan attempted damage control, including placing the dean of the library on indefinite leave, these efforts to diminish the actions were quickly undercut by other DeSantis allies.
“We abolished the gender studies program. Now we’re throwing out the trash,” wrote Christopher Rufo, a board member appointed by DeSantis in an X post responding to Walker’s post.
An Attack on LGBTQ+ Literature
According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, titles among the heap of dumped books included When I Knew, a collection of short stories from LGBTQ+ people.
The second-wave feminist book Finding the Movement was also thrown away. The school has since disputed that the book dumping was not an erasure of LGBTQ+ books.
In Line with Library Crackdowns
DeSantis’ recent crackdown on New College reflects his past support for banning books in libraries.
The governor has backed many laws seeking to remove books from school libraries that contain “pornography and prohibited materials harmful to minors.” These policies have often targeted books on LGBTQ+ people, race, and other themes deemed inappropriate for children by conservatives.
Other Stumbles
In addition to the New College incident, another scandal at the University of Florida played out this month when a student newspaper exposed excessive spending of DeSantis-picked President Ben Sasse.
According to The Independent Florida Alligator, Sasse had more than tripled his office’s spending, forcing the DeSantis administration to call for its own investigation into the UF president’s “exorbitant spending.”
Sasse’s Excessive Spending
DeSantis signed a law that kept the selection process of UF’s administrator a secret.
Sasse tore through $17.3 million in his first year of office, triple that of his predecessor. Student journalists also found Sasse spent siphoned millions into secret consulting contracts and cushty jobs for his former congressional staff and Republic cronies, including remote positions.
A Quick Resignation
The student publication, The Independent Florida Alligator, published another exclusive covering Sasse’s unexpected step-down.
After only 17 months on the job, Sasse cited his wife’s health as the main reason for resigning. While this decision was met with applause for putting his family first, Sasse may not have been telling the whole story.
An Untenable Working Relationship
Sasse’s resignation may have more to do with his working relationship with the head of the UF’s board of trustees, Morteza “Mori” Hosseini.
Hosseini, a direct appointee of DeSantis, tried to impose restrictions on Sasse’s communications, including with DeSantis, Florida’s higher education agency, and the Legislature. Sasse continued to defend the spending scandal on social media.
Infuriating Donors
Students and staff are not the only ones outraged at Sasse’s spending scandal.
Florida attorney John Morgan said he donated $1 million to UF. Morgan wrote in a social media post: “I won’t give one penny more until an investigation is completed to tell us how this happened and most importantly, is it criminal? Makes donors like me feel stupid. Every donor, past and future, needs to be interested in this gross grifting.”
Republican Hypocrisy
Hinson also commented on the UF scandal, saying it exemplifies the hypocrisy of a Republican ideal around fiscal responsibility.
“It’s the wolf guarding the henhouse,” Hinson said. “The Republican party loves to claim fiscal responsibility but this is a Marie Antoinette style of spending and it’s just appalling. Florida Republicans only care about the rules when they don’t apply to them.”
Lining the Pockets of Cronies
Hinson said DeSantis’ scandals at Florida’s universities have damaged staff and students’ confidence.
She said: “[Republican appointees] just lined their pockets without any care for the students, staff or professors. Morale is down. Imagine the programs we could have brought here with the kind of money [Sasse] has just literally thrown to his cronies. We could have done some wonderful things.”
A Reign of Terror
Floridian academics are increasingly anxious for the future of academia in the Sunshine State.
LeRoy Pernell, a law professor at Florida A&M Law, said: “What we are witnessing in Florida is an intellectual reign of terror. There is a tremendous sense of dread right now. People are intellectually and physically scared. We are being named enemies of the state.”
