New College of Florida Was Progressive. Then Gov. DeSantis Overhauled It. [View all]

[Zorro]

At the state school, gender studies is out. ‘The Odyssey’ is required reading. A Charlie Kirk statue is coming. Has one ideological bubble replaced another?

April Flakne strides into the classroom to teach a course on “The Odyssey,” a new requirement at New College of Florida.

She has taught philosophy at the small state college for 25 years, but this class is different — seven weeks on one classic book, required of all students. Normally, her focus is on philosophers like Hannah Arendt and Simone de Beauvoir, and their theories of totalitarianism, revolution and feminism.

This class on Homer is a turnabout from all that, and marks a signature accomplishment for conservatives who want to redirect higher education.

In early 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, executed what many viewed as a conservative takeover of New College, a struggling state school. With fewer than 1,000 students, the liberal arts college had long been a draw for nonconformists, where grades were verboten and students designed their own classes and majors.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/us/new-college-ron-desantis-florida-conservative.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AFA.u7mp.cjGpH533xtxR&smid=url-share