General Election 2024

Quote: ams288

The Harris campaign press department is 100% being run by Gen Z trolls. lol

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Florida college empties gender diversity library, tosses hundreds of books
Updated 5:08 pm EDT Aug. 15, 2024

A Florida college overhauled by the state's Republican governor sent hundreds of library books, many of which contained LGBTQ+ themes, to a landfill.
It's the latest development in a conservative campaign that has brought national scrutiny to New College of Florida, a small liberal arts school in Sarasota. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a prominent figure in the GOP and a former presidential candidate, vowed to turn the campus into the "first public university to push back on gender indoctrination."
The school's transformation, which prompted many students and faculty members to flee to other schools, has influenced Republican efforts nationwide to reshape higher education in the party's image.

On Tuesday afternoon, a dumpster in the parking lot of the school's Jane Bancroft Cook Library overflowed with books and collections from the now-defunct Gender and Diversity Center. Video showed a vehicle driving away with the books before students were notified. (In the past, New College students have been given an opportunity to purchase books leaving the college's library collection.)

Some of the discarded books included, "Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate," "The War of the Worlds" and "When I Knew," a collection of stories from LGBTQ+ people recounting when they knew they were gay.

Amy Reid, the faculty chair and representative on the board of trustees, said when colleges throw away books, they also throw away democracy.

"Books are what matter," she said.

Natalia Benavites, a 21-year-old fourth-year student at New College, said books in the dumpster carried the college's seal as well as a "discard" sticker on the spine. When she asked officials whether they could donate the books, she was told that under state statute the college can't donate books purchased with state funds.

The college also discarded books from the Gender and Diversity Center, which was located across campus. The GDC books were purchased individually and not with state funds, Benavites said.
Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.

Quote: rxwine

In case anyone is wondering what DeSantis is up to. You don’t have to worry about inclusivity, gender affirming care, or lack of the equivalent of book burning.

Quote: GenoDRPh

If I were an employer, I'd never employ a graduate of this college post-DeSantis takeover.

If I were a college admissions dean, I'd give severe scrutiny to any applicant from a high school in a red state that has book bans and other political interference in the school curriculum.

Quote: rxwine

I wonder if they have copies of Mein Kampf. Probably didn't throw it out, but made sure to get rid of those bad LBGTQ books.

Quote: Tanko

Boebert and her new tattoo.