Free New College from the shackles of DeSantis’ crass political agenda | Guest Opinion

“You could never get away with that at New College.”

This comes to mind as dismayed professors sound the alarm over students using Chat GPT, an artificial-intelligence program, to write papers.

The rigorous educational model at New College stands in stark contrast to concerns over students using technology to coast through their education. The number of one-on-one or small-group interactions with academic all-star professors at New College — in which students analyze and critique academic topics — would quickly reveal the lie in any AI-aided essays.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently appointed six members to New College’s board of trustees, with the stated aim of turning the college into the “Hillsdale College of the South.” Some of the new trustees have manufactured a story about New College as part of this politically motivated campaign.

The gap between New College and Hillsdale is vast, raising concerns that DeSantis will sacrifice a valued institution of public education for a crass political agenda. Hillsdale College is a private, Christian college with an annual tuition more than four times that of New College. It represents an extreme version of private education, declining all federal funding and even prohibiting its students from receiving federal financial aid in order to avoid standard oversight, such as reporting the racial makeup of its student body.

At New College, a public honors college, personalized education, critical thinking and rigorous academics are central pillars of the experience. Primary texts are favored over textbooks. Narrative evaluations or other more in-depth metrics are preferred over multiple-choice tests, for example. Students must complete a senior capstone project or senior thesis based on their coursework. Undergraduates defend their projects to an audience of professors and peers to get their degrees. New College makes an Ivy League-level education accessible to many students in Florida.

We attended New College at various times during the past 40 years. The common thread in our education was the focus on academic rigor and critical thinking. Among us are a marketing communications executive and entrepreneur, an editor, a lawyer, an ESL teacher and a doctor. For several of us, New College’s undergraduate demands matched or exceeded the difficulty of achieving a master’s degree.

Another common thread was being allowed the flexibility to develop our passions and points of view. Trina Sargalski got small business experience as part of a team creating the initial business plan for the Four Winds Coffeehouse.

Lexi Allen valued traveling to Guatemala to produce a documentary on indigenous art during her time at New College. Later, she worked with her academic sponsor to design her own course centered around editing, translating and framing this documentary.

Anne-Laure Grignon defended two theses in her separate tracks of study: biology and French. The double major allowed her to be more balanced and, as a doctor, she focuses on ALS research at the University of Miami.

At a recent meeting at the New College campus for students and faculty, the trustees were well-spoken but provided little information. One, Christopher Rufo, the Manhattan Institute propagandist, recently mentioned improvements he’d like to make, including returning the school to a “classical liberal model.” What is more classically liberal than studying Latin with primary texts? Than having open and analytical discussions across disciplines with no agenda beyond finding the truth?

The trustees’ manufactured political campaign threatens to upend the lives of New College students and faculty, and dismantle a uniquely successful model of higher education. We should all care — this is an attack on public and liberal-arts education.

We want our own kids to have the freedom to learn, to be themselves and to grow up healthy and safe. We want them to have access to quality public education that is accessible to a diverse group of students across Florida. But a handful of politicians are stoking Floridians’ fears, putting their desire for political power over students’ futures.

Floridians must speak up and take action to protect Floridians’ access to public education unfettered by political agendas.

Sofia Ali Khan (1992), Lexi Allen (2011), Grant Balfour (1986), Anne-Laure Grignon (2005) and Trina Sargalski (1995) are alums of New College of Florida. Learn more at @savenewcollege on Instagram and Twitter.