How do you kill a college? Is it by hiring a group of construction workers to come in with sledgehammers and wrecking balls to knock down every building on campus? Or would it be easier to use weapons, like guns and knives? No, to really kill a college, one must start with the flesh and bones of it: the students.
“FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE”, a film directed by Patrick Bresnan, follows a group of students facing a 2023 right-wing campaign to change their public college. The movie premiered globally on March 6 and in Austin, Texas, as part of SXSW, on March 12.
Since 1960, New College of Florida, located in Sarasota, Florida, has served as a sanctuary for students seeking alternative ways of learning. Their curriculum has always centered around independent study and flexible studies. With this alternative way of learning, alternative students flocked to the college and found themselves a school without frats or sororities and major sports. This was one pro for Gaby Batista, The Catalyst (the schools newspaper) Editor-in-Chief, when it came to choosing her college. “Radical acceptance,” Batista said. “That’s one of the major things that sets New College apart from any other institution I might’ve gone to.” Since then, things have changed.
It was a typical sunny Florida afternoon in the school’s quad as Libby Harrity, Student Senate president, stood outside at a protest, giving a speech about the “incentives” new student-athletes were receiving to attend NCF. “These people are pawns like us!” Harrity said. Recruits were being promised generous sports scholarships. One program (the baseball team), in actuality, didn’t even have playing fields for the players. Athletes were also promised the best housing on campus, and brand new laptops. This process was part of a larger development, conducted by republican Governor Ron DeSantis to shift what once was a public school — a safe-haven for LGBTQ students, a place where you could walk the halls barefoot — to a conservative, right-wing nightmare. This brought new people to the campus, specifically six extreme right-wingers to NCF’s Board of Trustees, including people like Christopher Rufo.
Fast-forward to a muggy day at College Hall. As Governor DeSantis stood behind a blue podium labeled Florida, The Education State, students outside chanted “this is my home”, hurling their words past the rows of palm trees and through the thick stone walls. Inside, the governor discussed his plans to remove the DEI programs and told students who wish to be openly LGBTQ to leave NCF. After the meeting, one board member, Rufo, moved outside. Rufo’s words to a group of reporters were reduced to a low hum as the angry students chanted “f**k you fascists” over him. Harrity, a pride flag sashed over her, marched confidently up to Rufo. In a split second, she spat on him and flipped him off.
Harrity was charged with misdemeanor battery. Charges were dropped, and she transferred to Hampshire College. Within a year, 36 faculty members quit, and 186 students dropped out or transferred. The DEI programs were officially dissolved. The Gender Studies program was decimated. Amy Reid, Literature Professor, Gender Studies co-founder and Board of Trustees member, shared how she interpreted this takedown. “They see Gender Studies as an aberration that they want to stamp out,” Reid said. The effects of DeSantis’ plan were seen all over campus, as the culture of NCF began to shape into something unrecognizable.
So, to truly kill a college, one must start with the students, right? After taking away the spaces they thrive in and muffling their voices, is the college really dead? Not exactly. While programs are being ripped away from scholars at NCF, Let’s Do The Time Warp Again rings throughout the halls. In an empty classroom, a live rendition of Rocky Horror Picture Show is performed by a group of students. The audience cheers loudly and drums on the tables. Rocky Horror, an LGBTQ classic, is an expression of joy for these students and provides a glimmer of hope during a dark time. “It feels like a wrench has been thrown in, but by us putting these events on, it’ll incite some movement,” Batista said.
Today, a shell of NCF still stands in Florida. Over 40% of its staff resigned. Students continue to leave. “FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE” explores how quickly an inclusive, liberal, public college can crumble under right-wing administration.
