How a Florida college became ground zero in the struggle to take back our campuses

Dr. Scott Atlas spoke at New College of Florida 's May 2023 graduation ceremony.

He says boos, jeers and jeers were heard at the end of Dr. Atlas ’s 16-minute speech.

Students and parents had signed on to be part of the college long before the current transition, he says.

Frida Ghitis : What would be the future in the U.S. of free speech and civil discourse in higher education? She says mainstream press framed Gov. DeSantis ' move as an attempt to remake New College into a conservative institution.

Ghitis says student body that self-described as 3% conservative, 11% moderate, and the rest liberal or very liberal.

She says students held an “alternative graduation” with a progressive speaker the night before the commencement but most were begrudgingly attending this one.

Governor DeSantis appointed a new board majority after plummeting retention rates, enrollment numbers, and test scores.

The media ignored this reality or brushed by it as if too busy to be bothered to give it much attention.

While it might be inconvenient for their preferred narrative, the numbers showed that it was likely New College would have been shut down.