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New College students hold alternative graduation to protest state takeover

Civil rights leader Maya Wiley will deliver the keynote address at Thursday's alternative commencement.

SARASOTA, Fla. — Students at the New College of Florida in Sarasota put together an alternative graduation ceremony a day ahead of the small liberal arts college's main graduation event set for Friday.

Maya Wiley, the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, spoke at the alternative commencement event Thursday evening.

The students are protesting the hostile takeover of their school and several bills recently signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. They are also not in favor of the choice of commencement speaker for the main graduation event, Scott Atlas.

Atlas was a former adviser to President Donald Trump at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but resigned in November 2020. He was criticized by public health leaders and the medical community over his views on the health crisis and some of his recommendations.

New College has been the target of DeSantis to remove what he calls left-leaning "woke" indoctrination on campuses across the state. Earlier this year, he and allies reformed New College's 13-member Board of Trustees and installed mostly conservative members.

Board members then fired the college president, replacing her with former state education commissioner Richard Corcoran, and voted to dismantle the office that handles diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

The students have raised more than $100,000 in an online fundraiser for the private graduation ceremony in Sarasota.

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