THE SCROLL: DeSantis declares 'Victims of Communism Day'
On Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that November 7, 2023, was the second annual 'Victims of Communism Day' in the state.
”The Scroll” is Campus Reform’s serial coverage of social media postings and debates that relate to liberal bias in higher education.
On Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that November 7, 2023, was the second annual “Victims of Communism Day” in the state.
In Florida, we declared November 7th as Victims of Communism Day & require students to be taught how victims suffered under Communist regimes.
⁰It is important for our that students learn about the deadly outcomes of this dangerous ideology. pic.twitter.com/NVOIHTNe8L— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 8, 2023
Florida established the day via HB 395 in 2022, which requires high school students to learn about suffering under communist regimes.
The bill text reads:
Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, high school students enrolled in the United States Government class required by s. 1003.4282(3)(d) must receive at least 45 minutes of instruction on “Victims of Communism Day” to include topics such as Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet System, Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, Vladimir Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and Nicolás Maduro and the Chavismo movement, and how victims suffered under these regimes through poverty, starvation, migration, systemic lethal violence, and suppression of speech.
Socialism remains popular in higher education. On Sept. 20, Campus Reform reported that Syracuse University displayed a mural honoring the Cuban Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.
DeSantis used his Nov. 7 X post to remind readers about the instructional requirement.
”It is important for our that students learn about the deadly outcomes of this dangerous ideology,” DeSantis posted.