Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a law Monday that seeks to cut off funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at all universities in the state on the grounds that they constitute a “distraction from the core mission ” of the study centers.
“This is best seen as a representation of discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination, and has no place in our public institutions,” DeSantis said at a press conference in Sarasota, Florida.
“If you want to do things like gender ideology, go to [la Universidad de California] Berkeley,” the governor added. “By itself there is nothing wrong with that, but with our tax dollars we want to focus on the classic mission of what a university is supposed to be.”
Under the new law, Florida state universities are prohibited from spending state or federal funds to promote, support, or maintain any program that “advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promotes or engages in political or social activism.”
“What this does is reorient our universities to their traditional mission, and part of that traditional mission is to treat people as individuals, not try to divide them based on any kind of superficial characteristics,” DeSantis stressed.
The law also requires that general education courses “may not misrepresent significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics” based on “theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent.” to the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political and economic inequalities”.
DeSantis signed the legislation in the New College of Florida, a traditionally progressive site, but where a conservative “moup” has been taking place. Earlier this year, DeSantis replaced six members of the college’s board of trustees with right-wing allies and eliminated New College’s office of diversity, equity and inclusion.
In addition, the law gives university presidents and boards of trustees more contracting power. “They are more accountable to the people of Florida who are using our tax dollars,” DeSantis said. “It’s easier to be able to make changes if they’re failing in their mission.”
DeSantis, who is expected to announce his presidential run in the coming weeks, has focused largely on divisive cultural issues as he moves to win over conservative voters who normally decide Republican primary elections.
Offices of diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education often spearhead services tailored to students of diverse races, genders, sexual orientations, cultures, and abilities. Some university administrators also consider so-called DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) factors when admitting students, awarding scholarships, or deciding which faculty to hire and promote.
“Really, what this concept of DEI has been is trying to impose orthodoxy on the university,” DeSantis said at the signing ceremony in Sarasota. “This has basically been used as a front to push an ideological agenda, and that’s wrong.”
