SARASOTA, Fla. — Two U.S. senators are speaking out against New College of Florida after seeing images of the hundreds of books trashed by the university last week.
Among the books thrown out was "Nine and Counting: the Women of the Senate" penned by U.S. Senators Susan Collins, R-ME, and Patty Murray, D-WA, and seven other female senators.
"We stand against the senseless banning of books," Collins and Murray said in a joint statement issued Wednesday. "Such actions go against our constitutional values and the idea that our universities should be places where the freedom of speech is allowed to flourish and perspectives of all kinds are heard."
As senators from different political parties, we don’t always agree, but we understand the importance of always maintaining an open dialogue—throwing away books like nine and counting teaches our students exactly the opposite at a time when understanding and a willingness to hear each other out are needed more than ever."
Their statement comes just one day after the school confirmed it has placed Shannon Hausinger, the dean of the New College of Florida School library, on administrative leave. According to New College spokesperson Nathan March, Hausinger was put on leave after "discovering that the library did not follow all of the state administrative requirements while conducting the routine disposition of materials."
Natalia Benavides was among one of the few students on campus last week and discovered the dumpster full of books behind the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. She and another student quickly began gathering and sorting the books in an attempt to save them when they were approached by a librarian and campus police.
Benavides recalled saying to them, “Hey, is there any way these books can be donated?’”
But she said they responded, “’You need to stop looking through these books now. These are property of the state, they were bought with state funds and according to a law, things that are purchased with state funds you can’t donated or resell.’”
Similarly, in the school’s initial response to ABC Action News and other news outlets, New College cited state law saying: “Chapter 273 of Florida statutes precludes new college from selling, donating or transferring these materials, which were purchased with state funds. Deselected materials are discarded, through a recycling process when possible.”
But looking at Florida statute 273, it lays out how state-owned property can be sold or donated to another government agency, a private non-profit, or to the general public.
“Unfortunately, they took the whole bin on a truck to a landfill right before our eyes and we couldn’t do anything to stop it,” Benavides said. “And it’s heartbreaking.”
Residents of Pasco County told ABC Action News about what will be driving them to the polls this November, including education reform and giving their children opportunities to live the American Dream.
