The University of North Florida’s Students for a Democratic Society, a student-led on-campus activist group, will hold a rally next week to speak out against Gov. Ron DeSantis’s pledge to curb diversity in higher education. 

“[The rally is] to stand up against the recent attacks on education by the DeSantis administration and protect the DEI efforts that make UNF the university we love to be a part of,” SDS President Lissie Morales, a junior studying sociology and public policy at UNF, said.

The group has four demands, listed below as they appear on SDS’s Instagram, which will be included in an open letter to UNF President Moez Limayem and delivered to his office:

1. President Limayem publicly disavows attacks from Tallahassee on academics and free speech.
2. President Limayem commits to non-compliance with targeted list-making activities (i.e. attempts to enforce HB7)
3. President Limayem maintains all pre-existing commitments to inclusivity, equity, diversity, and justice.
4. President Limayem commits to protecting tenure for faculty. 

This comes following DeSantis’ January pledge to defund diversity initiatives in all state universities. 

The “Protect Diversity Education Rally” is set to happen next Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 1:30 p.m. in the Peace Plaza at the core of UNF’s campus. 

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