A former adviser to Donald Trump, Dr. Scott Atlas, spoke at a New College of Florida graduation ceremony on Friday night amid Gov. Ron DeSantis's conservative takeover of education. Graduates and attendees weren't having it, though, and greeted Atlas with boos, jeers, and chants of "Wrap it up!"
CNN reports:
The commencement comes just months after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced nearly half of the liberal arts college's board of trustees with conservative allies as part of a larger effort to suppress educational programs focused on diversity, inclusion and gender exploration and expression.
Atlas was a highly controversial member of Trump's White House's coronavirus task force until his resignation in December 2020. He repeatedly renounced pandemic lockdown measures and widespread face mask use and resisted CDC guidance.
In protest of his speech and the school's leadership changes, New College students held an alternate commencement ceremony Thursday evening where they heard remarks from Maya Wiley, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
During his remarks Friday, Atlas congratulated students on weathering the difficulties of the pandemic but was met with a swell of boos when he began speaking about his leadership at the time.
This week, DeSantis signed a bill to defund all state universities' diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. He described the programs as a "distraction from the core mission." However, he won't win over the youth vote with that dog whistle.
