The Christian Nazis have taken over a liberal arts college that the Deathsantis wannabe king hated as it taught respect and compassion for others along with all the other life skills of education. I am so worried that we did not realize how behind the curtain these groups were building up power. Remember the first time he got elected governor Deathsantis barely won, he was almost defeated. But by giving into the hate and discrimination demanded by the minority haters who cannot accept that time has moved on from cavemen days and stoking that hate into action DeathSantis created a large following. He won this last election with a wide margin partly due to the corporate democrats insisting on putting a former republican up against him. Think about it, Democrats don’t want a former republicans who vetoed everything they wanted and the republicans don’t want a republican lite. Those of us in the state knew this would be the result but the national democratic committees claimed they knew better, as they always do and they are always wrong. Notice the first thing this new right wing Christian Nationalist insisted on was opening with a prayer to his god, not anyone else’s god but his Christian god. We are lucky that DeathSantis cannot run again for governor but the state is seriously fucked now as much as other southern states. Yet it was a blue state not this way when I moved here in 1994. Sorry I hurt too much to colorize it. Hugs
A new president, new board chair and new legal counsel all will be up for discussion Tuesday when the New College of Florida board meets, along with the possibility of ending faculty tenure, terminating all employee contracts and rehiring anyone who fits into the school’s “new financial and business model.”
Speir, a Christian school founder appointed by DeSantis to the board, wrote a Substack post over the weekend saying he wants to “Discuss need for new president and possible motion to give Pat Okker title of Interim President.”
The agenda also includes “Election of the Board Chair and Vice Chair” and “General Counsel to Board of Trustees.” Speir appears to be a driving force behind some of these discussions.
Speir and other new board members have criticized the college’s leadership.
Speir clashed with legal counsel David Smolker over his request to open the board meeting with prayer. He said Smolker initially denied the request, but in his latest Substack said that decision was reversed and an opening prayer will be allowed.
Speir writes in his Substack that he wants to “dismiss General Counsel from the Board, NOT the school.” He also makes it clear that he wants to remove board Chair Mary Ruiz.
“My concern is that Chair Ruiz will not resign and/or delay resignation,” he writes. “Thereby halting and/or delaying the necessary clarity that NCF needs as soon as possible.”
New College Professor Amy Reid, director of the school’s gender studies program, urged board members to be more deliberative and not move “rashly” to replace leadership.
“We’ve heard a lot of saber rattling from individuals, but we still haven’t heard from the majority of the board” Reid said. “I encourage the board to find out more about the institution, to really look before they leap when it comes to leadership changes.”
It’s not clear if a majority of board members would back a leadership shakeup at the college.
Mark Bauerlein, one of the board members appointed by DeSantis, told the Herald-Tribune recently that he has “no idea” if he would support Okker’s removal.
“I haven’t seen any records about her, but our phone call the other day was pleasant and informative,” Bauerlein said.
Speir has a long list of motions he plans to make at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Among them is a proposal to identify “wokeness” as a “set of beliefs” akin to religion. He then wants to identify aspects of wokeness that are “shared values” worth preserving, that are “dogmatic” and should be excluded from curriculum and that are “pledges of fealty” that should be actively fought against.
“One such example of a pledge of fealty is the demand that woke pronouns are used,” Speir writes.
Speir also wants to explore ending faculty tenure and “terminating all contracts for faculty, staff and administration and immediately rehiring those faculty, staff and administration who fit in the new financial and business model.” He wants to board to send a letter to “the new counsel” seeking a legal opinion on the feasibility of such a plan.
Another motion Speir plans to introduce would remove some media members from the meeting.
“I move that we remove USA Today and its affiliates from the list of approved media outlets until an apology is received with a commitment from USA Today to adhere to its own policies,” Speir writes, referencing Herald-Tribune parent company Gannett’s flagship newspaper, USA Today.
The Herald-Tribune is part of USA TODAY Network – Florida. Speir is upset about comments made by Herald-Tribune readers.
The Herald-Tribune reached out to Speir for comment Monday morning and has yet to receive a response. When contacted for comment last week, Speir said “I’m still waiting for a formal apology” from the Herald-Tribune and the removal of reader comments.
New College Board of Trustees meeting
The New College of Florida Board of Trustees is meeting from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at Sudakoff Conference Center, 5845 General Dougher Pl Sarasota, FL 34243.
Visit the Herald-Tribune’s website – http://www.heraldtribune.com – for live coverage of the board meeting. A full report on the meeting will be in Thursday’s print newspaper.
Yet the right says the democrats are the ones indoctrinating students. These are upper levels of schooling, college and universities, that they are removing any talk of equality, racism, and so much more. Professors having to scrub their courses and presentations of anything that might upset the ruler / dictator DeathSantis. Imagine this country wide. Talk about the Taliban or moral / vice police. This is stunning and worse it is not getting any national attention or scrutiny. It is scary how fascist the state of Florida has become in several short years. With DeathSantis making Florida a maga white Christian paradise the state is being flooded with intolerant people who won’t accept any social advance since the 1850s. Plus notice the drive is to make a public school be just like a conservative Christian college. Hugs
Yovanna Pineda, hired more than a decade ago to teach Latin American history at the University of Central Florida, rebranded one of her signature courses last fall. Striking references to “dictatorships” and “human rights” from the title, she decided to simply call her class “History of South America.”
Pineda said many of her colleagues are making similar changes, either because they fear blowback from state leaders who say they are trying to eliminate “indoctrination” from university campuses or because they don’t want the hassle of additional scrutiny.
DeSantis continued his campaign last week, appointing far-right activist Christopher Rufo to the Board of Trustees at New College of Florida. Rufo is best known for launching a national campaign against critical race theory. Rufo told The New York Times he and his new colleagues seek to transform New College into a public version of Michigan’s Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian school.
Read the full article. That’s Rufo standing appropriately on the far-right in the screenshot above.
UCF professors are renaming courses and removing phrases like “human rights”, “social justice”, “equity” and “equal” to avoid being targeted or tracked by the state.
This is happening in 2023 in the United States under the new McCarthyism of Ron DeSantis.https://t.co/Z7Xrzx8WNp
UCF professors are renaming courses and removing phrases like “human rights”, “social justice”, “equity” and “equal” to avoid being targeted or tracked by the state.
This is happening in 2023 in the United States under the new McCarthyism of Ron DeSantis.https://t.co/Z7Xrzx8WNp
“And faculty members say they’ve seen other signs that the governor has gained a foothold on their campuses, including the removal of the words “social justice” from the name of an office at UCF, which has been rebranded as the Office of Civil Discourse.“https://t.co/Z7Xrzx8oXRpic.twitter.com/VI4WkSlCWu
If you want to see true hypocrisy, look no further then Cuban Republicans in FL who scream about how evil socialism and Castro are while applauding everything DeSantis does. They hate socialism but love fascism.
Like openly gay Florida state Rep. Carlos Smith (seen above), I am a graduate of UCF, which is now the nation’s largest public university by enrollment.
So the ‘academic freedom’ they’re so loudly in favour of just means the ability of professors to use slurs and misgender their students without being talked to by HR. I mean we knew that, but nice to see it actually being confirmed in real time.
In the Fascist State of Florida, the remaking of education continues on course. Henceforth, all institutions of learning will be used to groom children into fascism and eliminate anything that does not support/agree with fascist theory.
What I don’t understand is why the ACLU or some other organization hasn’t brought suit against the governor for violation of the First Amendment. This is exactly what the amendment was designed to prohibit: governmental interference with free speech.
Why even send your children to Florida universities at this point. Soon none of the institution live up to the normal standard of operation. Moron Death Sentence is hell bend on turning Florida into a shit hole state.
And the administrations of these schools are unable to protect academic freedom for their professors because of fear of retribution and firing. DeSantis is Big Brother.
All public educators, at all grade levels, should simply walk out. There is no way Florida would be able to replace every single teacher and college professor in the state. The federal government would be forced to step in.
Republicans have been complaining about how “unqualified” many in the Biden administration are, and I for one think that’s a pretty audacious complaint for them to make considering…well, everything about them. Tour link: http://www.traecrowder.com
There will be no diversity or inclusion in Florida. Only straight white Christian people will be seen in society or promoted in employment. Those icky others shouldn’t be here or get jobs. Notice that DeathSantis spokes person claimed that discrimination wouldn’t be tolerated in Florida and they would stomp out the woke agenda. I asked myself what discrimination they were talking about, but reading the article it became clear that having a job fair directed to anyone but white straight people was the offence the DeathSantis administration couldn’t tolerate. What is woke that the right hates and works so hard to wipe out? It is respect for other people and other ideas. It is the new politically correct that the right fought against so hard because again it was about respecting other people and other ideas. The right / republicans can not tolerate anything / anyone that is not a clone of themselves. This is a complete regression to before the civil rights laws were passed. This is an open attempt to return or to enforce a white straight in charge society. This is repackaged white supremacy racism. This is the US attempt to create a version of South African Apartheid. Hugs
Hockey league scuttles criteria after administration criticism.
The Ron DeSantis administration is able to declare victory over a major sports league, which changed plans for a diversity job fair in South Florida.
Fox News Digital first reported that the National Hockey League has abandoned plans to hold a job fair that would have opened up opportunities to various groups historically marginalized in the United States.
The so-called “Pathway to Hockey Summit,” to be held Feb. 2 in Fort Lauderdale during the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, was originally tailored to “diverse job seekers who are pursuing careers in hockey,” according to a now-deleted LinkedIn post that raised the ire of the DeSantis administration.
“Participants must be 18 years of age or older, based in the U.S., and identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability. Veterans are also welcome and encouraged to attend,” asserted the previous event description, which drew the ire of a DeSantis spokesperson.
“Discrimination of any sort is not welcome in the state of Florida, and we do not abide by the woke notion that discrimination should be overlooked if applied in a politically popular manner or against a politically unpopular demographic. We are fighting all discrimination in our schools and our workplaces, and we will fight it in publicly accessible places of meeting or activity,” Bryan Griffin told Fox News Friday.
The revised posting eliminates any reference to ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and military veteran status.
“The Pathway to Hockey Summit is a career event, especially to encourage those that historically have not been exposed to hockey and all who are interested in learning more about career opportunities in the sport.”
The NHL distanced itself from the previous language as “not accurate,” suggesting that the intent was really to reach out to people unfamiliar with hockey.
“The Pathway to Hockey Summit is an informational and networking event designed to encourage all individuals to consider a career in our game – and, in particular, alert those who might not be familiar with hockey to the opportunities it offers,” the NHL spokesperson said.
The NHL seems to have extended its deadline for registration in light of the revised criteria.
Florida’s Voicereported that the original deadline for registration was Friday the 13th, with accepted applicants to be told on Tuesday Jan. 17. The updated posting says that they will now be told a week later, on Jan. 24.
Though the wording has been changed, reminders of the previous job search remain on career boards, such as ones from the University of Southern California and the University of Pennsylvania. These postings still maintain that participants “must … identify as female, Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and/or a person with a disability,” or be military veterans.
The Ron DeSantis administration is able to declare victory over a major sports league, which changed plans for a diversity job fair in South Florida. The NHL has abandoned plans to hold a job fair that would have opened up opportunities to various groups historically marginalized in the United States.
The so-called “Pathway to Hockey Summit,” to be held Feb. 2 in Fort Lauderdale during the NHL’s All-Star Weekend, was originally tailored to “diverse job seekers who are pursuing careers in hockey,” according to a now-deleted LinkedIn post that raised the ire of the DeSantis administration.
The revised posting eliminates any reference to ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and military veteran status. “We do not abide by the woke notion that discrimination should be overlooked,” said DeSantis spokeman Bryan Griffin to Fox News Digital.
Read the full article. Attention to the job fair was first raised by the far-right Florida’s Voice, which was founded by a January 6 attendee.
Penalty box: @NHL backs down from diversity job fair posting after @GovRonDeSantis administration pressure
Dishonest media like @RawStory are already trying to cover up progressive discrimination. Glad the @NHL has done the right thing and changed the invite, but shame on those media rushing to lie about what happened. https://t.co/iHXOW1mKROpic.twitter.com/iHlg9VTR61
It’s “progressive discrimination” to encourage *more* people to apply than the group already mostly doing the applying? Yeah, sure, you poor straight white dudes who can’t compete.
I think Rick Wilson and the author of this NYTs opinion piece are underestimating deathsantis’s ability to overtake trump for the 24 rethug nomination, but they do a good job in pointing out Florida’s shitty economic and political situation: https://twitter.com/TheRick…
Most criticism of Mr. DeSantis’s national electability has been centered around his lack of charisma, which Mr. Trump crystallized by giving him the cumbersome nickname Ron DeSanctimonious. But focusing on personality and style obscures the governor’s real failings: Florida is not a model for the nation, unless the nation wants to become unaffordable for everyone except rich snowbirds.
There are three big secrets about Florida people don't get.
1. There is no state more lavishly corrupt. Crony capitalism writ large.
2. Our Legislature is wholly-owned by the lobbying corps.
I have to wonder how many companies & organizations are quietly moving their special meetings events to other locations? Many of them liked having such winter events scheduled in warm weather climes, but with Gov Performative Politics at the helm, how many have decided or will decide to go elsewhere? It would be interesting to see how these stunts have hurt Florida’s entertainment industry.
We’re all literally watching DeSantis take down the republic within the State of FL. At some point it will be obvious what’s going on there to the rest of the nation.
“The South Will Rise Again” as granny would say in the Beverly Hillbillies. I always thought that was funny growing up….not so much anymore! White supremacy coupled with christofascism, is alive and growing in America.
Extremists get power as individuals and organizations cave into their bulling. The bully gets stronger and stronger as each individual and organizations cave into their demands and the nation winds up with Trump and then DeSantis as POTUS.
“Nah, Floriduh is were uneducated neanderthals go for vacation, Christian Nation Indoctrination a la Kim il Jung, and MAGAts wait to die, before eternity takes them to the deepest regions of Satan’s Hell.”
Maybe the NHL needs to pull the hockey summit and All Stars Weekend out of Fort Lauderdale and move it to another location. I know it’s probably too soon at this point with all the planning involved, but I would imagine there are an awful lot of less awful places that would love to host such an event. Can they at least decide they won’t have anything to do with Florida outside of Tampa Bay Lightning or Florida Panthers games? And then make sure everyone knows DeSantis is the reason why? Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?
Hockey lover here. The NHL has been pretty good (for a sports league) on DEI. I was extremely disappointed that they chose Florida for the All-Star game, for reasons just like this. Everything is a political opportunity for DeSantis, and they walked (skated) right into his trap.
It’s becoming very clear that, for the right, “woke” means anything they don’t like, which usually means anything liberals like. I recently saw a video in which a stick-in-the-mud old Brit called Harry and Meghan woke. What does that mean, besides the fact that he just doesn’t like them?
Like when that idiot demanded all Florida universities report “woke actions.” What the fuck is a “woke action”? A protest for women’s rights on campus? A meet-and-greet for LGBTQIA+ students? A right-wing creep’s roommate who dares muse aloud that we maybe shouldn’t be murdering the environment?
ICYMI: Idaho Republican Rep. Jack Nelsen compares women to farm animals and says experience working with cattle has given him "ideas on repro and women's health thing" in his first-ever committee meeting. pic.twitter.com/Y4DSusQBAc
Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Scottie's Playtime 