USF courses will stop brainwashing students that U.S. is ‘racist, sexist’
Starting in the fall of 2025, Gen Ed courses can no longer teach ‘that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States.’
The law ‘prohibits higher education institutions from spending public dollars on initiatives that promote dangerous political and social activism,’ a press release from Gov. DeSantis’s office stated.
The University of South Florida (USF) announced that it will be revising courses within its general education curriculum to stop professors from indoctrinating leftist ideologies.
USF’s Board of Trustees made the decision in late August in order to comply with SB 266, a Florida law passed in 2023.
SB 266 states: “General education core courses may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics, violates s. 1000.05, or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”
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As a result of the Board’s decision, USF professors teaching general education courses can no longer rely on curricula that are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.”
The Board’s revisions will take effect in the fall semester of 2025. Professors whose courses are impacted can now choose to either revise their classes to stop teaching about the inherent racism, sexism, etc. of America’s past, or see their courses taken off of the school’s “Enhanced General Education curriculum.”
Some professors opposed the move, expressing the opinion that the oppression of certain minorities is an inherent part of American history.
Urian Rios, an American History teacher at USF, said: “Issues like sexism, homophobia, gender and race discrimination are part of our history, and there is no way we can avoid them. This content is ingrained in the fiber of my course.” Rios insisted that USF’s efforts constitute “censorship.”
Speaking of SB 266, Rios alleged: “I think the law, it’s purely political, it has no bearing in reality and it asks us to teach a version of U.S. history that does not exist. It’s a mythological country.”
Defenders of the bill, however, see it as a way to stop taxpayer dollars from funding controversial leftist indoctrination that distorts American history.
[RELATED: UCLA medical school hired students to write course curriculum emphasizing ‘Structural Racism and Health Equity’]
A press release from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that “SB 266 takes several steps to prevent woke ideologies from continuing to coopt our state universities and state colleges.”
“The bill prohibits higher education institutions from spending public dollars on initiatives that promote dangerous political and social activism, such as DEI initiatives,” it continued.
Campus Reform has reached out to the University of South Florida and Urian Rios for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
