(TALLAHASSEE, FL) — The New College of Florida is under fire after what appears to be hundreds of books that have been wiped from its collection and discarded on the street.
Social Equity Through Education Alliance (SEE), a local activist group, was alerted on Thursday by a New College student who reported seeing what they believed was up to “thousands” of books being “shoved into a dumpster” behind the college’s library.
“We basically tried to communicate to officials that there were educational nonprofits and shelters that were immediately willing to bring trucks and save all of the books … and officials refused,” said Zander Moricz, executive director at SEE.
Moricz continued, “There were Bibles, there were stories of Black authors, of Latin authors, female stories, there were LGBTQ+ and queer stories, or trans stories, all thrown into a dumpster. It sends the message that New College of Florida wants to send stories of gender and diversity to the dump, and it was so heartbreaking and also very frustrating.”
In a statement to ABC News, a New College spokesperson said it’s following “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.”
“The images seen online of a dumpster of library materials is related to the standard weeding process,” the statement read. “Chapter 273 of Florida statutes precludes New College from selling, donating or transferring these materials, which were purchased with state funds. Deselected materials are discarded through a recycling process when possible.”
Some of the books found on the street were associated with the school’s discontinued Gender Studies program that were primarily donated and were not part of any official college collection or inventory, according to New College’s statement. When the books were not claimed for pickup from the program’s former room, the college also left them on the street, the college told ABC News.
The New College, a public liberal arts school in Sarasota, has been a target of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-“woke” policy efforts, who has said he hopes to shed the institution’s liberal reputation.
DeSantis overhauled the Board of Trustees and touted the “replacement of far-left faculty with new professors aligned with the university’s mission” with a slate of terminations in recent years as well as the elimination of positions aligned with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) standards.
“The New College Board of Trustees is succeeding in its mission to eliminate indoctrination and re-focus higher education on its classical mission,” said DeSantis in an August 2023 statement.
Some of the books that have been discarded, according to a spokesperson for New College, were from the school’s gender studies programs — which were terminated under DeSantis’ appointed Board of Trustees.
Florida officials have long been under scrutiny for restrictions and bans Sacha/Getty Images
(VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) — An alleged abduction of three Virginia Beach children ended in a car crash Thursday morning that left the youngest dead, according to police. Virginia State Police responded to a stabbing Wednesday night in an incident they said they believe to be “domestic-related.” Two female victims — one adult and one juvenile — were transported to the hospital with multiple stab wounds, and are currently in stable condition, police said. The suspect, Dana Plummer, 36, is believed to have stabbed the two victims and then fled the scene with his children, police said. The three children were identified as 7-year-old Zayin Plummer, 5-year-old Zayir Plummer and 1-year-old Za’riyah Plummer. An AMBER Alert — which has since been canceled — was issued Thursday morning for the children. Law enforcement identified the suspect’s vehicle thanks to a tip from a member of the public and attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the vehicle refused to stop and fled north on the highway into Maryland, police said. While fleeing, the driver lost control of the car and crashed, police said. The three missing children were located at the scene. The 1-year-old was transported to a hospital, but later succumbed to her injuries, police said. Police apprehended Plummer at the scene. He has been charged with two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, three counts of parental abduction, four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and domestic assault, police said. “Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones who are grieving this morning,” Virginia State Police Chief Paul Neudigate said in a statement. “This is an unimaginable tragedy, and on behalf of the VBPD, I extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by this loss.” Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
