Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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Exerting state control over academic freedom is what dictatorships do, but Florida Gov. Ron Desantis is so comfortable — and proud to flaunt his role of censor — that he has come up with yet another way to silence state colleges and universities.
Not content with teaching schoolchildren despicable versions of Black history, like claims that there was a silver lining to slavery, and defunding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at public colleges and universities, DeSantis now wants to control what “social issues” can be debated on state campuses.
There’s no limit to how deep into our lives his fascist instincts will lead him.
The Republican lackeys who do DeSantis’ bidding are circulating a draft of a new SB266, an addition to the last legislative session gutting of DEI initiatives.
This one would outright limit free speech by restricting the discussion of social issues defined as “topics that polarize or divide society among political, ideological, moral or religious beliefs, positions or norms,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.
That’s like saying an institution of higher learning can’t teach world history, national history or state history — just about every relevant topic to human life.
But the Neanderthals running the state are so lacking in intellectual rigor that they can’t even see the obvious. What will they do next? Defund political science, history, social sciences and religious studies?
A college or university education devoid of discussion and debate is a political tool of whoever is in charge. Learning critical thinking skills is part of what happens inside and outside the classroom at the college level.
If, in Florida, you won’t be able to expand your intellectual capacity when you’re an adult on a college campus, what is left of freedom of speech in this state?
The draft bill also says that state colleges and universities cannot “promote or engage in political or social activism.”
Political or social activism is “any activity organized with a purpose of effecting or preventing change to a government policy, action or function, or any activity intended to achieve a desired result related to social issues, where the university endorses or promotes a position in communications, advertisements, programs or campus activities.”
And DeSantis will market the censorship to students with a catchy, headline-grabbing phrase — “you won’t see what’s happening in Harvard in Florida” — while demonizing student demonstrations.
He will use the terrorist attack on Israel to silence Palestinian students and Arab professors in an effort to vindicate himself from the antisemitism that he has indulged to please the neo-Nazis who stage roadside demonstrations with pro-DeSantis signs.
What he’s cooking is all, of course, politically motivated.
On the campaign trail to win the GOP nomination by outperforming Donald Trump’s MAGA attempt at social engineering, DeSantis is trying to appeal to Americans who live in a world that, with the unfolding of every crisis in real time, feels uncertain and dangerous.
What his control-yearning base doesn’t see is that extremist legislation is only making Florida more vulnerable to violence. The oppressed will rise and answer extremism with extremism, a no-win situation.
Democracy, by definition, calls for debate.
But autocratic DeSantis continues to quash dissent instead of solving problems. He has gerrymandered districts to favor Republicans, made it harder for minorities to vote and established control of classroom speech and teaching from kindergarten to the university level.
It’s outrageous and, no matter the mass appeal, we must never normalize government incursions into censorship, something DeSantis has vowed to take to the national level if elected president.
This new assault on higher education is yet another attempt to stop pushback on the fundamentalist conservative Christian thought DeSantis wants in Florida. That’s what he wants a state once celebrated for its diversity, openness and first-class public education to stand for: state indoctrination.
So stop the wishful thinking. Next session will be as culture war-driven as the past two have been, and maybe even worse because DeSantis will still be on the 2024 campaign trail.
This is another warning, students and scholars.
Pay attention. Act now.
By the time this bill is filed — and promoted by the governor in one of his self-serving press conferences — it’s too late. Censorship again will be a done deal.
Fabiola Santiago is a columnist for the Miami Herald.
