Tampa students rally to defend diversity
Tampa, FL – On Tuesday, February 27, a group of around 15 students joined together in front of the Marshall Student Center at the University of South Florida to demand that the university defend diversity.
The event was organized by Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society as part of their campaign titled “Defend Diversity.” The student protesters demanded USF take action to protect Women’s and Gender Studies, expand Africana Studies, and fund multicultural organizations. Students chanted “DEI is welcome here” and “Ron DeSantis go away.”
The rally was a cry for USF to take action to protect DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs from being restricted. This student group blames higher administration officials for the lack of protections for diversity. Tampa Bay SDS member Allie Enriquez states, “USF presidents like Rhea Law continue to ignore the demands of students and follow DeSantis’ agenda.”
In Florida, this backward legislation has mainly been pushed through by Governor Ron DeSantis. The most dire and far reaching of these bills is HB 999/SB 266 which prohibits funding to any DEI-related office or program, including student groups.
Tampa Bay SDS continues to fight for diversity on their campus by building up their campaign to Defend Diversity and having direct actions against their administration’s complacency on this issue.