ACLU of Florida criticizes book disposal at New College of Florida

The ACLU of Florida has responded to allegations that New College of Florida discreetly disposed of hundreds of library books in a landfill.

The act was a blatant act of censorship reminiscent of the time when academic freedom was sacrificed on the altar of political expediency, said the ACLU of Florida, a member of the nonprofit, nonpartisan American Civil Liberties Union.

BacardiJackson“We strongly condemn the reprehensible actions of the New College of Florida. Hundreds of library books – including those on LGBTQ+ studies – have been summarily discarded and sent to landfills,” said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “This is not just an administrative oversight, but a deliberate act of censorship that strikes at the core of our democratic values ​​and the very purpose of education.”

Herald Tribune reported that New College of Florida, a public institution based in Sarasota, sold books on LGBTQ+ issues and religious studies and offered them for purchase to students or other academic institutions, noting that Florida Statute 273 provides various ways to dispose of state-funded property. The law allows custodians of state-owned property to sell or transfer the property to another state entity, sell or donate the property to a private nonprofit agency, dispose of the property in a public sale, or enter into contractual agreements with other entities that may include provisions for disposing of the property. (FS 273.055)

“The disposal of these books is more than just the disposal of outdated materials,” Jackson said. “It sends a clear and dangerous signal of the extent to which political interference is poisoning our educational institutions. This is not just an attack on academic freedom – it is a full-scale attack on the rights to free speech, the free exchange of ideas, and the intellectual autonomy that our colleges and universities must protect at all costs.”

Jackson urged citizens, educators and students to speak out against the bill. She stressed that “the fight for academic freedom and free speech rights in Florida is far from over” and that “unfettered access to information, in whatever form or medium, is a core function of a democracy.”

“The decision to destroy these books, particularly those from the Gender and Diversity Center, is a direct attack on the voices of LGBTQ+ people and others who have been marginalized and silenced in the past,” Jackson said.

“We call on the administration of New College of Florida to immediately hold them accountable,” she continued. “We call on educational leaders across the state to oppose these authoritarian tactics and to vigorously defend the integrity of our educational institutions. The removal and destruction of these books is not just a loss for the students of New College – it is a loss for all of us.”