DeSantis’ attempt to corrupt public schools is personal

When I see Gov. Ron DeSantis attempt to corrupt Florida’s higher education system, defund public schools, and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs along with women and gender studies — it’s personal.

That’s because I would not be where I am today, or who I am today if it wasn’t for women and gender studies. I was drawn to the subject matter following my Mom’s passing in 2004. She died after fighting a long battle with cancer and I — at the tender age of 13 — was heartbroken. I turned to literature to help me heal and sought out books written by Iranian women telling the story of Iranian women.

I soon developed an interest and passion in the women’s movement for equality, both locally and globally. When I eventually got to the University of Central Florida, I found a home in the Women and Gender Studies Department where I was able to debate ideas and observe reallife disparities across racial, economic, and gender lines. I conducted in-depth research on feminism in Iran, and volunteered through service-learning classes with local nonprofits like Dress For

Success which opened up my eyes to the struggles women in poverty face when it comes to securing employment and economic stability.

My time at UCF and my access to women and gender studies changed my life. And I refuse to accept a future Florida where others are denied this type of transformational learning.

And that’s exactly what HB999/SB266 would do. This bill would decimate higher education in Florida by infringing academic freedom, eliminating courses, majors, and minors based on ideological lines, centralize the hiring process of new faculty all the while eroding the prominence and protection of tenure. This obsession that DeSantis and other conservatives have shown towards abolishing minority-focused programs like women and gender studies alongside their demonization of DEI, CRT, African American studies, and integration of “western civilization” into core curriculum has often been characterized as a culture war. But every culture war is a class war.

Instead of my Republican colleagues solving the wicked problems we face as a society — like poverty, gun violence, or climate change — it’s much easier to invent fake problems that distract, deflect and divide. But it’s not just division on ideological lines, it’s division by socioeconomic status. Because if you degrade our public schools and universities, if you deny families like mine the ability to learn their own personal stories, strengths and histories, then you are widening the gap between the haves and have-nots.

You are creating a state and country where those with means will have access to academic freedom, critical thought and a diverse curriculum via some of the best private institutions, while the rest of us will be fed political propaganda, sanitized history, and censored instruction. We won’t be competitive on a global scale, let alone well equipped to challenge the political status quo and change it.

The attacks on higher education being driven by DeSantis do not just impact what is taught in our schools; they impact who can safely attend and afford higher education. Case in point: DeSantis is targeting students who access gender-affirming care on college campuses and he has threatened to eliminate in-state tuition for our DREAMers, students who came to call America home by the migration of their undocumented parents. This gross targeting of marginalized student populations is not just a culture war; it is a class war with DeSantis dictating who will have access to higher education in Florida.

In Florida, students are rising up and fighting back. New College of Florida, where DeSantis has conducted a hostile conservative takeover of their board of trustees, has become the canary in the coal mine for young people across our state. As New College students work to protect their institution, others are doing the same, hosting statewide walkouts, speaking out to their own board of trustee members, and coming to the state Capitol to have their voices heard. Alumni have also stepped up to defend their alma maters, and while many administrators are nervous to speak out faculty are not, with United Faculty of Florida leading the charge against dangerous policies like HB999/SB266.

As a Democratic lawmaker in Florida, I know the odds are stacked against us. But as a women and gender studies major, I know that progress for marginalized and working-class communities has never been given to us — we have always had to fight for it. That means we will keep fighting for a state and country where diversity is celebrated, problems are solved, and academic freedom is respected for the betterment of all.