The New College of Florida is facing backlash for throwing out hundreds of books centering on race, sexuality, and feminism.
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune and USA Today posted the books found in a dumpster in the school’s parking lots. Visible titles included “Curies: A Gay Man’s Odyssey,” “Feminist Thought,” and “Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop To Hip Hop,” among others.
The reporter also claimed that the school removed the books within its Gender and Diversity Center. The college stood firm in its stance of trashing the books, calling it a “standard weeding process” to do so.
“The New College Library is following its longstanding annual procedures for weeding its collection, which involves the removal of materials that are old, damaged, or otherwise no longer serving the needs of the College,” wrote the school in a statement. “The images seen online of a dumpster of library materials is related to the standard weeding process. Chapter 273 of Florida statutes precludes New College from selling, donating or transferring these materials, which were purchased with state funds.”Furthermore, the school pointed to its discontinued Gender Studies program as the reason for those books’ displacement.
The move,
however, seems to align with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to eliminate DEI measures and programs from public schools. With newly established laws banning the teaching of critical race theory and sexuality, many schools have removed books with similar themes. Moreover, DeSantis enacted a law in May 2023 on New College’s campus that prohibits using public funding for diversity programs.DeSantis appointed new members to the college’s Board of Trustees to ensure its shift to a more conservative culture. However, opposers of DeSantis’ new legislation continue to condemn his actions. The ACLU of Florida even deemed the College’s book removal an “intentional act of censorship.”
“We vehemently condemn the reprehensible actions taken by New College of Florida, where hundreds of library books—including those concerning LGBTQ+ studies—have been unceremoniously discarded, destined for a landfill,” explained Bacardi Jackson, executive director at the ACLU of Florida. “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.”
She added, “The dumping of these books is more than just the disposal
of outdated materials. It is a clear and dangerous signal of the extent to which political interference is poisoning our educational institutions. This isn’t just an attack on academic freedom—it is an all-out assault on the right to free expression, the free exchange of ideas, and the intellectual autonomy that our colleges and universities must protect at all costs.”RELATED CONTENT: DeSantis Defunds Diversity Programs at Florida Public Colleges