SARASOTA, Fla. — There are surely other things that Debra Polito would like to do with her Tuesday afternoon.

What You Need To Know

  • Hundreds of students from New College of Florida held a demonstration against the new board members appointed by Gov. DeSantis

  • Parents and students are worried about the direction of the public liberal arts college because the new members are more conservative minded

  • Gov. DeSantis says a change is necessary because of dwindling enrollment at the school

  • New board members say they want to recapture and reinvent the school from a progressive mindset

Instead, she spent it on the side of the road putting signs around the New College of Florida’s campus in Sarasota.

“We’re concerned about what’s going to happen to our child’s school and our education,” Polito said.

When her daughter chose to attend New College, it was because of the reputation the school had accumulated over the years of being a progressive public liberal arts college.

“It’s just really innovative,” Polito said. “The professors really interact with the students. They get full feedback on what they’re doing and what they’re learning.”

But earlier this month, she and her daughter found out that Governor Ron DeSantis appointed several new members to the school’s board of trustees with the goal of making some major changes to the college’s approach to education which Debra wants no part of.

“What they’re suggesting and what they want to bring is a completely politically biased take on what education should be,” Polito said.

She said her daughter and her classmates share this concern and are scared of what’s coming.

That’s why hundreds of students came to a demonstration outside Tuesday afternoon’s Board of Trustees meeting.

The overarching theme is that they picked this school for a reason and it’s not the direction they see it going.

“I’m out here because I love New College,” said Madison Markham, a fourth-year student.

Markham, one of the speakers at the demonstration, is studying sociology and gender studies and said her time here has made a world of difference in her life.

“My friends, my faculty, my academics and my extra curriculars have made the last three and a half years some of the most formative years of my life,” Markham said.

With a seemingly more conservative approach, she feels like the free expression she and her classmates have had during her time here will be taken away.

“That’s what’s at stake today and what we’re here to protect: the freedom to learn, the freedom to think and the freedom to be who we are,” Markham said.

But DeSantis and the new board members say a change is necessary and so they’re looking to do just that.

It’s created enough of an issue amongst folks here that the line for today’s meeting was packed with people hoping to speak and police to keep things peaceful.

For parents like Debra, that came out hours ago in the hot sun, she hopes this demonstration makes a difference in how New College moves forward.

According to news partner the Tampa Bay Times, the school’s president, Patricia Okker, stepped down from her role with the school and will be replaced by Richard Corcoran, Florida’s former House speaker and former education commissioner.