ORANGE CITY, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES – 2024/02/06: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaks during a press conference at Blue Springs State Park in Orange City. During his remarks, DeSantis highlighted the state’s successful efforts to protect Florida’s manatees and improve water quality. (Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA (Getty Images)
No part of the country has been hit harder by the ideological war on diversity, equity, and inclusion than Florida. An explosive decision from the University of Florida has highlighted the very real stakes in this political fight.
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Last week, the university eliminated all of its DEI positions and closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer. In total, the University got rid of 13 full-time staff and 15 administrative appointments for faculty, according to Axios. The decision was prompted by a fresh state rule ushered in by Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans the operate of state funds for DEI programs.
The rule defines DEI as any program, policy, or activity that classified people based on their “race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” The rule hamstrings universities in any efforts to make marginalized students actually feel wanted or included on college campuses that have historically excluded and demeaned them.
Less than 27 percent of students at the University of Florida come from “underrepresented groups” — which includes Black, Latino, Native American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander students, according to its 2022 diversity data. Roughly 5 percent of the 2022 class was Black.
But if you hear DeSantis tell it, there’s absolutely no reason to invest in recruiting or retaining a student body that actually looks like the state, which has a larger than average Black and Latino population.
DeSantis was elated by the news, tweeting, “DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.”
The decision seems likely to prompt at least some Black and otherwise marginalized students to reconsider University of Florida on their list of schools — but maybe that’s the point.
