Students at the University of North Florida gathered with rainbow flags and rallied in support of the LGBTQ Center on Wednesday afternoon. While their chants rang across campus, the Florida Board of Governors met 175 miles away in Tallahassee and regulated exactly what those students protested for — diversity. 

Specifically, state universities are now barred from spending state and federal funds on diversity programs and initiatives. The approval came after a yearlong debate over diversity’s place in higher education — part of the “war on woke” championed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Hours after the Board of Governors approved the regulation, UNF released an email announcing that the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and its diversity centers will begin to be phased out. According to the email from President Moez Limayem, the action includes the Intercultural Center, Interfaith Center, LGBTQ Center and Women’s Center.

“It is sad that the road to the end is starting today,” said Marlo Crosby, vice president of UNF Students for a Democratic Society, a student-led activist group on campus.

That’s not to say the decision was unexpected. Many UNF faculty and staff have spent months anxiously awaiting a final policy from the state’s governing body that would solidify the impact of Senate Bill 266.

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Passed in the middle of last year, the law banned universities from using any money to fund programs or initiatives concerning “diversity, equity and inclusion” and “social or political activism,” according to its language. Derived from the law, the board’s regulation Wednesday gives more specific guidance for schools and outlines how those terms are meant to be defined. 

For example, diversity, equity and inclusion is defined as “any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.”

Although the guidance is technically official, the final effect could still be months away as the university determines what resources and employees are impacted and how to shift their resources to comply. 

According to the regulation’s language, state universities “may not expend any state or federal funds” to promote, support or maintain any programs or campus activities that advocate for DEI and political or social activism. 

Some who spoke during a public comment period Wednesday afternoon were concerned how the regulation would affect student clubs, which are funded by student fees. Later, Vice Chair Alan Levine clarified that student fees were specifically carved out in the regulation as allowed. 

The Board of Governors decision comes a week after the Board of Education implemented similar rules that banned diversity, equity and inclusion at Florida’s public colleges. It marks a big win for DeSantis and fulfills a pledge he made almost exactly one year ago to defund all DEI initiatives at state universities. 

“It’s tough to feel like our fight is a lonely one, but as we saw today, it is a popular fight and one we will keep fighting for as long as we can, because it is for our survival on every level,” Crosby said.

The UNF president’s Wednesday night email confirmed many student’s worst fears. Yet, even as the future is more clear with the Board of Governors regulation, the exact future of diversity initiatives is undetermined.

“We want UNF to be a place where all people feel safe and welcome, and where there is no place for hate. This semester, we will begin seeking ways to reinforce UNF’s values in everything we do, and we will review and expand resources as necessary to ensure success for all members of our campus community,” wrote President Limayem.

Lead Image: University of North Florida students rally in the Student Union on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, calling for support of the university’s LGBTQ Center and other diversity programs. | Carter Mudgett, Jacksonville Today