FIU has been co-opted by DeSantis' spoils system

Miami Herald

2 days ago

Florida colleges
In his first months as governor in 2019, Ron DeSantis attacked the process the trustees at Miami Dade College (MDC) used to appoint a replacement for Dr. Eduardo Padron. DeSantis replaced four trustees, then put forward his candidate, Madeline Pumariega. Another search was conducted but she was selected as the new president. This was, unquestionably, DeSantis' power grab of the largest college in the United States.
In the past five years, the governor has selected six university presidents, including Jeanette Nuñez at FIU and Ben Sasse at UF. The latest is Manny Diaz, a former teacher, politician and private charter school executive.
According to the May 29 Miami Herald article, DeSantis and the University System Board of Governors appointed a new slate of trustees. These appointments are the political plums of the spoils system now in place.
A person choosing to accept the offer would have to follow a script DeSantis created that may contain alternative facts. Further, anything the person said in the past would likely have to be retracted to conform with the script.
This is now our collective reality. And it's not just happening in education.
Lee Jacobs,
South Miami
War on judges
President Trump has declared war on the independent judiciary and the rule of law. Virtually every unfavorable comment he has made on the many rulings against his policies are attacks on the judges who issued the rulings and not on the rulings themselves.
The president's rhetoric can be understood as a threat to the rule of law and encouragement to those who think it's okay to ignore or flout any rulings not in accord with their beliefs; that is, to take the law into their own hands.
Physical attacks on independent judges are all too foreseeable. It's not a large step from such blatant disrespect of the courts to another Jan. 6 style-event, only this time, the president, as commander-in-chief, can order 'his' military to violently confront those who disagree with him and his minions.
Trump's birthday parade, displaying our military might, sadly seems like a great setup for a violent confrontation. The tragedy of Americans spilling Americans' blood on the streets is a real possibility, yet again.
Will it be time for an update of 'Four Dead in Ohio' by Neil Young?
Leonard Fenn,
Coral Gables
Tell it straight
The May 29 Miami Herald editorial, 'Marco Rubio betrayed Miami's Venezuelans on TPS,' was too gentle and too vanilla.
Our U.S. Secretary of State, 'Little' Marco Rubio, is a gutless hypocrite with no backbone and very few principles.
Marc A. Kuperman,
Miami
Animal feeding
I've been involved in veterinary medicine for 52 years and have owned a veterinary hospital for 27 years. Our goal has always been to prevent suffering, have compassion, help those who have no voice and focus on the welfare of all animals.
I was shocked and appalled at the ordinance that Miami-Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado tried to sponsor: a ban on feeding stray cats, dogs and other animals.
Since when do politicians say who lives or dies?
Starvation is inhumane and there are other solutions. As a resident of this county, I was deeply concerned about this ordinance. Animals such as dogs and cats were failed by human owners. There are other humane methods, such as Trap-Neuter-Return for cats. It works.
Palmetto Bay once proposed an ordinance similar to Regalado's, which was withdrawn, and it was rejected due to the efforts of outraged citizens who fought against it. Her ordinance was cruelty to animals. This should not be a political issue and should not be considered or revisited. We do not need leaders like Regalado.
Haydee Sanchez,
Palmetto Bay
High tech schools
Re: the May 28 story, 'How Miami-Dade schools are leading 100,000 students into the AI future.' This is wonderful news to read that finally, school districts such as Miami-Dade County Public Schools are embracing technology and doing so in a pedagogically, professional manner.
Don Deresz,
Miami
Be proud, America!
On Memorial Day, I thought about a lyric in 'The Star Spangled Banner,' our national anthem, '...oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave...'
In past years, I would think, America is strong, invincible! I felt differently on this year's holiday, however.
America is polarized. On a recent visit to Washington, D.C., I took a lunch break in the U.S. Senate Office Building cafeteria. A group of diners, wearing MAGA caps, exclaimed somewhat loudly about how President Trump was going to make America great again. Meanwhile, some federal government workers who sat nearby, talked worriedly about the massive government cutbacks and their financial futures. The federal employees moved to another table, away from the MAGA diners, much the way non-smokers would move away from smokers.
Both groups, however, fail to realize where America's future and strength lies. It isn't in the stability of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, pension plans or personal property values. Neither does it lie in the shining marble statuary and gleaming sculptures that make Washington beautiful.
Our strength lies in the revitalization of the old fashioned values we were taught in school: compassion for one another, reverence for freedom of speech, pride in being American, willingness to be honest with one's self about what's right or wrong and being informed on current events and political views. This means not just going along with whatever wave of popular opinion comes along.
There's no guarantee the 'Stars and Stripes' will last forever. There are cracks in the foundation, threatening the freedom of future generations to come. Let's make America proud again!
Karin Stahl,
North Miami
Distorted America
Re: the May 19 opinion by Isadora Rangel, 'I was fortunate to become a citizen. Does Trump want people like me in the U.S.?' President Trump has transformed the meaning of America to foreigners and Americans alike in a manner that makes it almost unrecognizable.
We're witnessing in real time a president and his administration turn our nation's back on welcoming immigrants from every corner of the globe. From the almost complete suspension of the modern and wildly successful refugee program, revocation of visas for promising foreign students, denial of due process to those threatened with deportation, untimely termination of Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in this country who have fled conflict and natural disasters, to legal retribution against state and local officials (including a judge) suspected of not fully cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
The president has simply exploited Americans' sympathy for tough immigration measures after years of record migration at the border, only to foster a nastiness and cruelty reserved for enemy combatants in wartime.
Instead of swinging the pendulum to the absolute extreme in terms of enforcement priorities, why not recognize that immigrants have historically contributed to the vibrancy of this nation and become proud Americans.
Anthony Arnaud,
Laguna Niguel, CA
Retire already
Too many journalists and individuals live their careers and lives in the shadow of President Trump. The oversaturation of this highly controversial, banal president in the media is much, too much.
I'm looking forward to the day when Trump's 15 minutes of fame are over.
David Myles,
Aventura
Some day...
President Trump said the war in Ukraine was not his, but Biden's and Zelenskyy's. If I am not mistaken, Biden and Zelenskyy did not invade Russia.
Trump also said he would end the war in one day. He did not, however, specify what year.
Mario Signorello,
Port St Lucie