Heidi Cuevas | Opinion Director
Lieutenant governor Jeanette Nuñez was named FIU interim president today, what does this mean for FIU?
My biggest fear is how Nuñez will quickly implement Governor Ron DeSantis’ “anti-woke” ideology at FIU.
In 2023, Nuñez made it clear in her statements that she openly supports DeSantis and Trump ripping apart courses that relate to “critical race theory or related concepts.” To put it bluntly, she sees these courses as “threats.”
FIU Board of Trustees has already removed 22 courses related to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and sociology of gender. Under Nuñez’s leadership, I assume this is only the beginning for FIU.
Cutting these courses from the core curriculum not only deprives students of learning fundamental concepts of how race, ethnicity and sexual orientation matter in social settings, it devalues the courses.
As someone who is only a year away from graduating with an English BA and a certificate in gender studies, the fear that my courses will continue to become scarce and unavailable as I finish my degree is only heightened.
Everything that my degree stands for is being attacked inside and outside of FIU— what do I do now?
And any hope of FIU keeping its promise to “remain committed to cultivating an environment of accessibility and equal opportunity” after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to dismantle DEI seems to be out the window.
The choice to replace former President Kenneth Jessell with a governor who supports DeSantis and Trump’s higher education agenda is far from a coincidence. It is a reality check of the politically driven education I —and many other students— are being faced with.
As the Board of Trustees welcomes Nuñez as the new president of FIU, students should be aware of what our remaining years will look like.
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The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
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