BUZZ
Key Takeaways
- Florida State University is facing criticism from the faculty union and student Democrat leaders over the proposal.
- The proposed amendments also would eliminate protections based on 'race' and 'religion,' leaving only 'veteran status' and 'disability' as protected categories.
- A faculty union leader says the changes would violate their collective bargaining agreement.
A proposal to remove “gender identity” and “gender expression” from Florida State University discrimination policies is facing criticism from the faculty union and a student Democrat leader.
Although the public university recently removed the proposed amendments from its website, a spokesperson told the Tallahassee Democrat that the changes are still being considered.
“Proposed amendments to the university’s regulations you are referring to are still being revised to align with state and federal law,” the unnamed spokesperson stated in an email Tuesday.
The proposed amendments are not listed on the FSU Board of Trustees’ meeting agenda for this week.
Along with “gender identity” and “gender expression,” the amendments would remove “race” and “religion” from policies about discrimination, leaving only “veteran status” and “disability” as protected categories, according to the report.
Robin Goodman, president of the United Faculty of Florida’s FSU Chapter, said she was glad to see the proposal removed from the website.
“We were using our networks to get people to publicly comment, and the next thing we knew, it was gone,” Goodman told the Democrat. “Whatever happened, we’re happy.”
Goodman, an English professor, said the proposed changes would violate the union’s collective bargaining agreement. The contract prohibits discrimination “against any faculty member based upon race, color, sex, religious status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, political affiliation, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or gender expression.”
Madalyn Propst, a student and president of the university’s College Democrats chapter, also spoke out against the proposal in a TikTok video earlier this month.
“By removing the nondiscrimination clause, Florida State University is opening the door to a whole new world of abuse to students, from not only their peers but from professors and faculty as well,” she said in the Aug. 5 video.
“Florida State University has been a hotbed for hyper-conservative thought that leans into discrimination for the past couple of years,” Propst said. Her video received hundreds of comments and more than 17,000 likes.
The newspaper linked the proposal to state and federal Republican leaders’ crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Over the summer, three other Florida universities’ policies came under scrutiny by a conservative legal group.
The Southeastern Legal Foundation identified policies at the University of North Florida, University of West Florida, and Florida International University that allegedly penalize students who refuse to use someone else’s “preferred pronouns,” The College Fix reported.
