SARASOTA, Fla. — Outrage is growing after New College of Florida trashed hundreds of books on Thursday, including many from the school’s former gender and diversity center.
With the Fall semester not yet underway, there were not many students on campus to witness the act, but those there were angry.
One student, Natalia Benavides, took action.
“We said, 'We have to save them all,' so we started picking up books and putting them in piles, sorting them,” Benavides said. “I was thinking, ‘Wow, what matters most is that these books are saved, and I can’t believe this is happening.'"
Benavides called SEE Alliance—Social Equity through Education Alliance—a nonprofit that works with students, organizes the youth vote and provides resources to advocate for human rights, including the LGBTQ+ community.
Members of SEE Alliance rushed to the school late Thursday morning after the call for help.
“A lot of these books were taken specifically from the gender and diversity department and creates a very clear visual that New College wants to put gender and diversity in the dump,” SEE Alliance founding executive director Zander Moricz said.
Florida unlicensed contractor faces a bond normally reserved for murderers and violent criminals.
