6 June 8-14, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | NO DOUGH FOR DIVERSITY DeSantis DEI crackdown looms over on-campus Pride centers and programs. BY JESSE FRAGA F unding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs will soon be pried out of public colleges and universities across Florida thanks to Senate Bill 266. With the July 1 enactment date fast approaching, LGBTQ students and their advisers — who are among those most affected — remain in limbo, won- dering about the extent to which the new law will gut critical campus initiatives. The bill is clear in its mission to prohibit state and federal spending on diversity, eq- uity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. However, it’s up to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ mostly hand- picked Florida Board of Education and Board of Governors to define what falls under that umbrella. Under the new law, institutions must not use government funds “to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activi- ties” that advocate for “diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism.” The legislation was part of a nationwide push by conservative politicians who claim DEI programs in public colleges and univer- sities are liberal nerve centers that foster “woke” ideology and need to be defunded. Florida’s legislation was one of the first anti- DEI bills to be signed into law amid the back- lash, alongside a measure in North Dakota. Nicole Morse, a communications profes- sor and director of the Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Florida At- lantic University (FAU), says the bill’s vague language is “the real danger.” “It opens up a lot of concerns about cen- sorship and the repression of free speech,” Morse tells New Times. “The law is very vague, confusing. It was clearly written by people who don’t have deep knowledge of higher education.” FAU’s Center for Inclusion, Diversity Edu- cation, and Advocacy (IDEA) is at risk of scaled-back operations or closure in light of its name alone. In a report released this year, Florida At- lantic University disclosed roughly $900,000 in annual spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, with $640,000 coming from state funding. The IDEA center, which received $300,000 in state funding, has spon- sored several key events and programs: a wel- coming reception for LGBTQ students, a gathering to commemorate Dr. Martin Lu- ther King Jr., a WeLead Diversity Matters conference for students, and Queer Coffee Hour, among others. DEI-related initiatives at FAU also included a graduate student fellowship to increase di- versity and a program to ensure faculty searches at the engineering and computer sci- ence college follow equitable practices. “Gender or sex-based discrimination is a persistent problem the academy continues to have to work to address,” Morse says. Diversity offices at universities nation- wide came into the crosshairs of conservative think tanks and politicians recently, with the Manhattan Institute claiming the programs “advance primarily political aims rather than educational aims.” More than 30 anti-DEI bills were introduced across the country this year, a few of which managed to pass their re- spective state legislatures. SB 266 appears to allow student-run LGBTQ pride and diversity-promoting organizations in Florida to continue their work on campus if they are funded by “student fees,” though the law requires the groups to operate in accordance with policies yet to be outlined by each institution’s board of trustees. Still, South Florida students are uncertain about the future of their on-campus organi- zations, like Pride Student Union at Florida International University (FIU) and Queer Collective at Miami-Dade College, as sweep- ing changes brought about by the new law will take effect in the weeks ahead. Erica Jayne Friedman, director of FIU’s Pride Center, which oversees the Pride Student Union, says that while outside donations and student activity fees fund the Pride Center’s programs, staff salaries are mainly bankrolled by state funds that are in danger of being eliminated by the new law. Without staff, the future of the pride pro- grams is in limbo, Friedman says. “We don’t know how these laws will be enforced at our universities,” Friedman ex- plains. “What I do know is, no matter what happens, I personally plan to continue the work I do, which is to support and empower marginalized people and their allies to learn, grow, and use their voices to advocate for themselves and their communities.” Mariana Robledo, a recent FIU graduate and former vice president of the university’s Pride Student Union, says her academic suc- cess might not have been possible without support from the Pride Center and LGBTQ initiatives at the school. The university granted her the Out and Proud scholarship, a privately funded scholarship, which helped her through her last year of college. College students with access to LGBTQ support services in 2022 had 44 percent lower odds of attempting suicide, as compared to those without access, according to the Trevor Project, a suicide- prevention nonprofit organization. One in three LGBTQ college students seriously considered suicide in 2022. “Many of us wouldn’t be here today with- out having these sorts of communities on campus,” Robledo says. “If one of the most powerful bureaus on campus now has to scramble to find a new adviser or even start from scratch, what’s the proper protocol? What are we going to do?” Earlier versions of SB 266 and the com- panion bill HB 999 included provisions to eliminate majors and minors in gender stud- ies and critical race theory. Morse feared it could have eradicated FAU’s women’s and gender studies master’s degree program and general electives. While those provisions have since been culled, the version signed into law still heavily restricts the teaching of systemic racism at universities. By July 2024, and every four years after, faculty committees appointed by the chair of the Board of Dozens of students marched in Tallahassee, waving queer flags on March 31, 2023, in protest of legislation targeting the LGBTQ community. Photo by Mariana Robledo | METRO |
