Two Florida universities removed from ‘LGBTQ-Friendly’ list by Campus Pride amid new laws
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Two Florida universities which were previously honored on Campus Pride’s “Best of the Best LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities” list have been excluded this year due to having to abide by the new higher education legislation passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The University of North Florida and the University of Central Florida were previously honored on the list due to their “exceptional LGBTQ+ programs and services.”
In May, DeSantis signed a higher education reform bill to eliminate funding for diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory programs in higher education.
DeSantis said the legislation will “reorient our universities back to their traditional mission.”
Campus Pride represents the leading national nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization for student leaders and campus groups working to “create a safer college environment for LGBTQ students.”
The organization said new laws in Texas and Florida “effectively require colleges and universities in those states to cease LGBTQ+ inclusive programs, services and policies.”
SB 266 will eliminate funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, programs from public universities and establish standards for core courses. It prohibits the teaching of critical race theory, or CRT, and related theories in general education courses.
“DEI is better viewed as standing for ‘discrimination, exclusion and indoctrination,’ and that has no place in our public institutions,” DeSantis said previously.
“Students and families must exercise caution in choosing to go to college on any public Florida or Texas campus,” Campus Pride Founder and CEO Shane Mendez Windmeyer said.
Windmeyer said the new state laws “endanger and harm LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender students, and create hostile and unwelcoming learning environments for all students.”
“It is truly sad, when political leaders use people as pawns,” said Manny Velásquez-Paredes, director of the LGBTQ Center at the University of North Florida.
Velásquez-Paredes said it is “clear to every rational human being that diversity, equity, and inclusion are meant to create awareness and embrace, celebrate, and include our differences.”
“However, we have found ourselves in the middle of a political culture war that is meant to divide us. Their attacks on the LGBTQ+ community have been deeply felt this past legislative session with over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in the U.S,” Velásquez-Paredes said.
The list includes 30 four-year public and private colleges and universities from around the country.
Each institution featured in the top 30 achieved 5 out of 5 stars, earning 90% or higher on the Campus Pride Index, a tool “measuring LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices within higher education.”
Campus Pride issues a ‘red alert’ warning to prospective students and families that the excluded universities’ 5 star rating will “inevitably go down.”
The index is visited by over 120,000 prospective students, parents, and those interested in higher education, each year, with over 95,000 referrals to campuses, according to the company.
