7 June 8-14, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | SCHOOL Learn From A Pro To Be A Pro QUALIFY FOR AN F1 VISA Qualify for an F1 Visa and Follow Your Dreams at Miami Media School! (305) 728-1120 JUMPSTART YOUR DREAM CAREER Are you looking to study in the United States? Miami Media School is waiting for you to make your dream a reality. Education and the chair of the Board of Governors will have to submit core coursework for “removal, alignment, realignment, or addition” in compliance with the regulations. Charlie Andrews, interim vice president for student affairs at Florida International Univer- sity, tells New Times that Gov. DeSantis and the Republican legislature’s justification for the new regulations — that they will thwart “woke” leftist indoctrination — is misleading. “We’re not trying to indoctrinate any- body,” Andrews says. “Professors especially encourage students to develop their own opinion on these things, not to convince them to believe what they believe.” Another element of the bill removes the word “gender” from a provision prohibiting public colleges and universities from doing business with discriminatory organizations. Morse sees the change as falling in step with the DeSantis administration’s policies tar- geting transgender Floridians by refus- ing to acknowledge gender if it does not align with one’s sex assigned at birth. Morse says the move sets a danger- ous precedent for transgender and gen- der-nonconforming students. “We have had right-wing protesters on campus saying that gender studies teaches pedophilia and calling our students pedo- philes,” Morse says. “That is a disturbing sign of where the discourse is going.” On May 15, when he signed the bill, the governor signaled that it also restricts cam- pus activities that promote what he frames as “gender ideology,” though that phrase is not included in the bill text. “If you want to do things like gender ideol- ogy, go to Berkeley,” DeSantis said. “There’s nothing wrong with that, per se, but for us, with our tax dollars, we want to focus on the classical mission of what a university is sup- posed to be.” Robledo helped jumpstart an off-campus LGBTQ advocacy group in February called Student Unity Coalition, which organized a protest on February 23 at FIU to call out De- Santis’ legislation restricting gender-affirm- ing care and discourse on gender and sexuality in schools. A month later, members organized buses that shuttled them to the Florida Capitol on March 28 to protest the state’s Board of Governors over the looming elimination of diversity programs. “As separate universities, we can’t exactly come together and amplify everyone’s voices, so we wanted to make a unified effort moving forward,” Robledo says. “Having that connec- tion with the board or lawmakers in Tallahas- see is influential and powerful in working together in solidarity.” Robledo insists her coalition won’t back down until universities implement safe- guards to support her community. “Right now, we’re kind of bracing for the worst,” Robledo says. “Frankly, that’s what we need to do in order to see what works and what doesn’t. We’re not going away.” [email protected] “NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I PERSONALLY PLAN TO CONTINUE THE WORK I DO.”
