The Graduate Employees’ Organization of the University of Michigan (AFT Local 3550) stands in solidarity with workers and students of New College of Florida against Governor Ron DeSantis’s brazen war on public higher education.
DeSantis’ anti-Black, anti-queer, and anti-worker agenda seeks to remake New College, a haven for free thinking, into a Christian nationalist institution. Already, DeSantis’s new Board of Trustees has fired New College’s president Patricia Okker without cause, has plans to dismiss faculty and staff, and weaken, if not ban Gender, Race, and Ethnic Studies.
It is no coincidence that New College is DeSantis’s first target. Its legacy as a rigorous and radically free-thinking institution empowers students to challenge injustice. Yet New College is just the beginning: in his hostile take-over, DeSantis is attempting to remake public education in service of white supremacy and his own political agenda. Should DeSantis succeed without challenge, he will move on to even larger targets. It will not be long before other state-level officials follow his model, and #YourCampusIsNext.
We urge all workers and students of New College, as well as students and members of United Faculty of Florida at other universities, to use collective action to resist this hostile takeover. The defense of New College is urgent and just. GEO 3550 stands with you, and urges all educators’ unions to join you in this fight. We encourage all to visit https://savenewcollege.org/ for ways to take action.
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