Highest drop out rate in Florida college’s history fueled by DeSantis’ 'censorship': report

A Florida college reported this week it has seen "27 percent of its student body drop out" since Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Ron Desantis' recent takeover, marking "the lowest retention rate of first year students in" the University of South Florida's Sarasota campus' history, The New Republic (TNR) reports.

Per the news outlet, "What DeSantis once described as a culture of 'woke indoctrination' has been replaced by one of censorship: Student murals have been painted over, and student orientation leaders were forbidden from wearing pins expressing support for Black Lives Matter or the LGBTQ+ community, reported The New York Times."

Last month, The Guardian reported, "Approximately 125 undergraduates have transferred to other colleges and universities or dropped out in the face of what some have likened to a hostile, rightwing takeover of NCF. Hampshire College in Massachusetts has admitted 36 New College students ahead of the fall semester after it guaranteed admission to all applicants in good academic standing at the state-run college and pledged not to increase their existing tuition costs."

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TNR reports:

The college's leadership team has been upended: Six members of the board of trustees have been replaced by DeSantis allies, while the college's president was ousted and replaced with the administration’s former education commissioner, Richard Corcoran. The school has also suffered a faculty exodus, the elimination of the college's diversity office, and the firing of its academic librarian.

The Guardian notes the "exodus of staff represents a staggering 40% of the entire faculty who were employed during the spring semester of the 2022-23 academic year."

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The New Republic's full report is available at this link. The Guardian's report is here (subscription required).