Students in Florida walked out on campus Thursday in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new policy targeting LGBTQ students and people of color.
The one-hour walkout, organized by the Florida College Democrats and activist group Dream Defenders, involved students at colleges across the state, including Florida State University, which is just down the road from the Republican governor’s residence and office in the state Capitol building. Tallahassee.
“They say we’re indoctrinated by the wokeness, but we say they’re using us in their narrative, and destroying our schools to achieve that vision,” said the walkout pledge about DeSantis, referring to some controversial new directives made in recent months. .
“By manipulating Florida’s education system, DeSantis is indoctrinating the very youth he claims to protect,” the pledge continued. “They turned our efforts to uplift the oppressed into a vicious effort to push others down.”
Among the administration’s favorite actions is a request by Florida universities to provide information about “persons with gender dysphoria” who have been treated at campus clinics.
It’s unclear what DeSantis wants from this information, which includes the number of individuals who have received gender-affirming treatment and the nature of their treatment. But he has overseen several efforts to limit transgender health care access in Florida, such as barring children from receiving such care and banning the use of Medicaid for gender-affirming care.
DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce his 2024 presidential candidacy, also announced plans last month to cut the university’s budget for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, saying he would “align the core curriculum with Western values of freedom and tradition.” politicized like DEI.
It was not clear how many students participated in the walkout, but The Gainesville Sun estimated that approximately 100 people participated in the protest at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Video from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville shows the protesters song“Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Ron DeSantis gone.”
Several Florida Democrats — namely, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost and state Reps. Michele Rayner, Anna Eskamani and Angie Nixon — signed a pledge against DeSantis’ actions, according to the organization behind the walkout.
“Ron DeSantis has relentlessly attacked Florida’s education system, creating a hostile classroom environment that targets Black, brown, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ students only,” Frost said in Teen Vogue on Thursday.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on the walkout.