The University of Florida recently fired all of its employees who promoted the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) movement, in order to comply with a law signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
The new law was implemented in January and bans all public colleges in the state from using taxpayer money to fund a DEI program called the Florida Educational Equity Act.
The act aims to promote an ideological framework which focuses on treatment of people based on race, disability, sex, and a variety of other external factors, rather than their merit as students.
Governor DeSantis celebrated UF pulling DEI funding by posting on X to his more than 4.7 million followers.
DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.
I’m glad that Florida was the first state to eliminate DEI and I hope more states follow suit. https://t.co/oThvwowKu6
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 1, 2024
But not everyone is happy with DeSantis’ efforts. Benjamin Crump, the lawyer who represents the family of George Floyd, is one of the high-profile voices against the potential elimination of DEI in Florida.
He spoke out against the prohibition of DEI funding when the new law was signed by Governor DeSantis in January, saying it would move Florida backward.
“The Florida State Board of Education has implemented new ‘strict regulations’ to prohibit the use of public funds for DEI programs, activities, and policies at 28 state college campuses. We continue to go down a misguided path of censorship in Florida!”
The University of Florida had previously been using $5 Million set aside for DEI. But after today, the money will be rerouted into a faculty recruitment fund.
Even though the removal of DEI from the UF system is a polarizing issue, there are others who are neither ecstatic nor angry. Some instructors and professors simply remain committed to using their chosen area of study to teach their students how to think, rather than teaching them what to think.
David Canton, the director of the University of Florida’s African American Studies program and a professor at the school, remains focused on molding his students into productive members of society.
“We’re an academic discipline. We’re teaching students skills of research, critical thinking, and writing. Our programs are safe. We’re an academic discipline. We’re not out here indoctrinating students encouraging them to become social activists. We’re here to teach them these critical thinking skills, how to evaluate evidence, and make sound academic choices.”
With the removal of DEI from the UF school system, Florida becomes the first state to fully push back against the DEI movement. Although there have been more than 40 bills put forward across the country, in an attempt to fight against a movement that many see as harmful to the American educational system.
