In a scene more reminiscent of a country where censorship and repression thrive, hundreds of books — many with LGBTQ themes and religious studies — were reportedly seen being transported to a landfill. The scene was captured on film and went viral, the Sarasota Herald Tribune first reported.
The collection is from New College of Florida in Sarasota.
A campus dumpster overflowed with books and collections from the Gender and Diversity Center, which was disbanded after pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Nathan March, a New College spokesperson, told the Herald that the book dumping was a routine “weeding” since the gender studies program no longer exists. He said the books couldn’t be donated or sold, citing Florida Statute 273.
However, that statute indicates that New College could dispose of state-funded property by “selling or transferring the property to any other governmental entity ... private nonprofit agency ... [and] through a sale open to the public,” the Herald pointed out.
New College’s controversial transformation
The book cleansing comes amid recent political controversy surrounding the school. DeSantis used the college as a political pawn in pushing his conservative agenda.
In early 2023, DeSantis appointed six conservative members to the school's 13-member board of trustees to help him fight against “wokeness.” He targeted New College since it has a reputation of progressive-leaning students.
Roughly half of its student population last year identified as non-heterosexual.
The disbandment of the gender studies program was a decision made by the board, as they stated last year, it didn’t align with the college’s mission to “revive a classical liberal arts education.”
Community pushback
The college’s new identity hasn't slid by without opposition.
Students booed and chanted “Free Palestine” at the New College commencement ceremony in May.
New College’s conservative president Richard Corcoran, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, said students who did so could see their degrees withheld until they issued an apology letter or took mandatory civil discourse classes.
Last week’s book dumping also received pushback from students. Many said the school never informed them the books were available to claim after March said no one came to take them.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida released a statement saying the book disposal was an attack on free speech and academic freedom.
"This is not merely an administrative oversight; it is an intentional act of censorship that strikes at the heart of our democratic values and the very purpose of education,” the statement read.
