
Florida stands up against woke mind virus and rejects leftist university president who promised 'DEI 2.0'
The defeat of Santa Ono, as the sole nominee to lead the University of Florida, is a success for Florida but also for the higher education system across the country.
For a long time, our best universities fell like dominoes to the woke mind virus. Schools where rigor and merit were meant to flourish became institutions of identity politics and far-out leftism. They moved seamlessly from safe spaces to land acknowledgements to anti-Israel encampments. Education was an afterthought.
Ono was the former University of Michigan president. For Michigan, he was considered a "moderate." A moderate in this case meant someone who promised, in his inauguration speech in 2023, to implement "DEI 2.0" and described racism as "one of America's original sins."
In the strategy document for that DEI 2.0, the plan was to "emphasize DEI in terms of strategic priorities; build a campuswide effort; develop institutional and constituent capacity to implement and improve DEI initiatives; fully institutionalize DEI into the university; and ensure continued progress and long-term sustainability."
In his previous role as president and vice-chancellor of the University of British Columbia, Ono made land acknowledgments and wrote an op-ed about the "systemic racial inequities" that "permeate the halls of academia."
Ono clearly had a lifelong devotion to inserting leftist politics in his roles.
After October 7, he said he would commit the University of Michigan to "a shared commitment to pluralism, to mutual respect and to freedom of speech and diversity of thought." That didn't happen. Radical anti-Israel protesters were able to frequently interrupt events with no repercussions and the free speech of those who disagreed with them went unprotected.
Over the last few weeks, Ono had been on something of a rehabilitation tour. In an op-ed in early May, Ono wrote that he agreed "with the state leadership's vision and values for public higher education" and that, "Public universities have a responsibility to remain grounded in academic excellence, intellectual diversity and student achievement. That means rejecting ideological capture, upholding the rule of law, and creating a culture where rigorous thinking and open dialogue flourish."
But just a month earlier, in April, Ono had signed an anti-Trump letter as the administration used pressure to force universities receiving public funds to curtail illegal activities on their campuses. Ono had his name scrubbed from the letter once he was being considered for the UF role. His flip-flop had been so sudden that it was impossible to trust. Of course, people develop and change over the course of their lives, and it's possible Ono has realized how damaging his past support for these far-left policies had been, but the recency of his conversion had given many pause.
Success has many fathers, of course, and a number of people and organizations are rushing to take credit for knocking down the Ono pick. But the real credit goes to the Florida Board of Governors, the majority of whom were appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. It took guts to overturn the unanimous vote for Santa Ono of the University of Florida Board of Trustees and stand strong against someone who was seen as a prestigious choice for UF. The BoG final vote was 10–6 with one member abstaining.
Several members of the Board of Governors asked excellent, probing questions of Ono, trying to get to the bottom of his beliefs. Vice Chair of the Board of Governors Alan Levine, in particular, asked pointed questions about Ono's lack of response to the anti-Israel protests that had rocked the UM campus. Ono didn't have a great answer on why he took so little action to stop the encampments, the vandalism or the interruptions of events at UM. "Antisemitism will not rear its head again," Ono promised. Not at the University of Florida it won't.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Bloomberg
33 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
California Labor Leader Charged With Felony After ICE Protest
California labor leader David Huerta has been charged with a federal felony, accused of interfering with law enforcement after joining a protest against immigration arrest operations in Los Angeles that set off days of unrest. Huerta leads the Service Employees International Union 's United Service Workers West, which represents more than 45,000 workers including janitors, security officers and airport staff. He is also president of SEIU's California chapter.

Associated Press
37 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Hearing held for judge accused of allowing immigrant to escape ICE custody
BOSTON (AP) — A hearing began Monday for a Massachusetts judge facing civil charges over allegations that she allowed an immigrant in her court to evade an immigration enforcement agent. The case stems from a 2018 incident in which Shelley Joseph, a district court judge, is accused of colluding with the immigrant's attorney and a court officer to allow him escape out a back door of the courthouse after a hearing on charges that included drug possession. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer had been waiting outside the courtroom to detain the defendant, Jose Medina-Perez. 'This case is about the integrity, impartiality and independence of the Massachusetts judiciary and the appearance of the integrity, impartiality and independence every judge must uphold,' Judith Fabricant, special counsel for the commission, told the hearing. A lawyer for Joseph, Elizabeth Mulvey, said the case had been distorted over time and that everyone had come to believe that her client 'let an illegal immigrant out of the door' with half of those people believing she should be jailed and the other half calling her a 'folk hero.' She argued Joseph had been vilified in the media and people were giving the impression that 'dozens of people' had seen Joseph 'get off the bench, escort the defendant to the door, give him a hug and wish him god speed.' 'Today in this court room and we are going to have opportunity to hear all the evidence,' Mulvey said. The case is similar to a Milwaukee judge accused in April of helping a man evade immigration authorities. The case has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and local authorities over the Republican president's sweeping immigration crackdown. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest. The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot. In the Massachusetts case, federal obstruction of justice charges against Joseph were dropped in 2022 after she agreed to refer herself to a state agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the bench. That agency, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, concluded last year that Joseph 'engaged in willful judicial misconduct that brought the judicial office into disrepute, as well as conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and unbecoming a judicial officer.' Denis McInerney, the hearing officer assigned to the case by the Supreme Judicial Court, said he will hear the evidence and then make a recommendation afterward based on whether he find Joseph violated the Massachusetts Code of Judicial Conduct. The hearing is expected to last about a week. Much of the first day was dominated by the first witness, lawyer David Jellinek, who told the court he had been hired that day to represent Medina-Perez and had been granted immunity by federal prosecutors. Along with the drug charges, Medina-Perez was in court on a warrant out of Pennsylvania. After doing some research, Jellinek believed his client wasn't the same person wanted on the warrant. 'I was worried they were going to take a US citizen into custody,' he told the court. 'I was quite concerned for my client.' Jellinek failed to convince the ICE agent that they had the 'wrong guy' so he came up with a plan to release Medina-Perez out the back door. Fabricant argued that Joseph signal her approval for the plan - including an off the record conversation during a side bar — when she appeared sympathetic to Jellinek's desire for his client to avoid ICE. But another attorney for Joseph, Thomas Hoopes, suggest that Jellinek might have misinterpreted Joseph's comments when she raised the possibility that Medina-Perez could be detained, rather than be released. The prosecutor had agreed Medina-Perez wasn't the man wanted in Pennsylvania and moved to drop the fugitive from justice charge. She also wasn't seeking bail on the drug charges so he was free to go. Much will hinge on what was said during that off the record conversation, which lasted only 52 seconds and is being disputed by both sides.


New York Times
37 minutes ago
- New York Times
Is Stefanik Running? She Attacks Hochul as ‘Worst Governor.'
In recent months, the New York State Capitol has been a stage for Gov. Kathy Hochul to sell an agenda she believes will win her re-election next year. It has also been a key backdrop in the drama surrounding who will challenge her. The latest to do so was Representative Elise Stefanik, a powerful Trump loyalist who, during a rare appearance in Albany on Monday, sounded less interested in doing the president's bidding and more intent on carving her own political path. She blasted Ms. Hochul as the 'worst governor in America' whose 'pro-criminal agenda' made New Yorkers less safe by 'putting violent criminals and illegals first and law abiding New Yorkers last.' Ms. Stefanik, a six-term congresswoman, castigated the legislative actions of New York Democrats as 'anti-worker, anti-family, anti-farm, anti-small business, anti-manufacturing and anti-law enforcement.' The remarks appeared to preview Ms. Stefanik's campaign themes if she runs. But they also misrepresented Ms. Hochul's views in claiming that Democrats had rejected common-sense reforms to the bail laws and refused to lower taxes. Ms. Hochul has repeatedly strengthened the state's bail laws, expending considerable political capital to do so. And while this year's state budget increased taxes on businesses with payrolls of $10 million or more a year to fund public transit infrastructure, it cut taxes for smaller businesses and households making less than $323,000. The budget also drastically expanded the state's child tax credit. Ms. Stefanik, who represents a district that stretches from just north of Albany to the Canadian border, has long been a rising star in the Republican Party. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.