Left-leaning MSNBC’s recently released documentary about reforms at New College of Florida is “deeply misleading,” according to activist and college trustee Chris Rufo.
“The film would more accurately be described as part of MSNBC’s ongoing war on truth,” Rufo wrote Friday in City Journal.
Rufo cited “accusations” in the film he characterized as “false and misleading.”
First, contrary to allegations that New College is improperly recruiting baseball players without a field, the “proportion of student athletes at New College is in line with other liberal arts colleges,” Rufo wrote. “It is standard practice for athletic programs to use scholarships to recruit potential students.”
“And the baseball field accusation is simply false: according to New College baseball coach Mariano Jimenez, the college has struck an agreement to use the fields at IMG Academy, a Division I-level athletic facility near the New College campus,”he continued.
Even more, “MSNBC would like viewers to believe that academic life at New College is in chaos,” Rufo wrote. He continued:
Amy Reid, the gender studies professor whose program is being terminated, complained that ‘it’s going to be hard for the college to continue without the dedication and expertise and investment of time and energy of our tenured faculty members.’ New College parent Tracy Ferro claimed that the school had no academic advisor for marine biology and ‘not one class for marine bio that was being offered’ for her daughter.
These accusations also don’t square with the facts. Reid wants viewers to believe that New College was previously an academic utopia, but during her 28 years as a faculty member, the college’s standings plummeted across all metrics, leaving it as the lowest-performing public university in Florida. Yes, nearly 40 faculty members have departed, but this is a positive development: administrators can now recruit new faculty better suited to restoring the school’s classical liberal arts mission.
The documentary neglects to ask a crucial question, Rufo wrote.”Why is the left-wing media paying such close attention to the minutiae of a small public university in Florida?”
The answer, he said, is “because the reforms at New College represent a threat to left-wing hegemony over academia.”
MORE: New College of Florida works to enroll more male students as shake-up continues
IMAGE: Christopher F. Rufo/YouTube
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