Ariana Rodriguez | Staff Writer
Censorship is putting higher education on life support, and Florida is the ICU.
As a psychology major minoring in English, I’ve seen this firsthand. Imagine signing up for a course only to find out that the syllabus has been gutted because the state thinks it knows better.
What is more devastating is that FIU is following with this ridiculous compliance of SB266, which cuts funding for anything DEI. On Oct. 3, 22 courses were cut and only two trustees voted against the move.
Entire courses are being canceled, not because students don’t need or want them, but because the powers that be have decided that certain topics related to race, gender and sexuality are “too much” for our young minds.
These are subjects that challenge us to think, to grow and understand the world.
Florida institutions, according to Inside Higher Ed, have slashed general education offerings across the board under the disguise of “protecting” students from materials that might make them feel uncomfortable.
Except, that’s not what I signed up for.
This kind of censorship is a direct threat to the essence of higher education. College is supposed to be a place where you encounter new ideas, even those that make you squirm a little because that discomfort is where real learning happens.
The reality is that I didn’t go to college just to reinforce the beliefs I already had, I went to challenge them. And yet, here I am, sitting in classes where entire readings, debates and ideas have been scrubbed out.
It’s frustrating. I didn’t pay thousands of dollars to receive a diet version of my education.
And it’s not just about my own experience. It’s about the broader implications of what’s happening when universities cave to political pressure.
Censorship is not only shortchanging students like me but is hollowing out the integrity of our educational institutions. Universities are supposed to be beacons of free thought, places where ideas can be explored without fear of retaliation or political meddling.
But when a state decides it can dictate what can and cannot be taught with harmful bills such as SB266, that mission gets thrown out the window.
They think it’s all about keeping education appropriate and balanced. But let’s be real: it’s about control. It’s about shaping young minds to fit a particular narrative, to avoid challenging the status quo.
It’s ironic that our universities are being turned into echo chambers that only reflect back what the state deems acceptable. As a student, that feels like a betrayal.
It’s time to call this censorship what it is, a dangerous precedent that’s dismantling the foundations of higher education. This is more than just cutting content from courses but how much control is being taken away from students and their education. We deserve better than that.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented on this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect the perspectives of contributing writers and/or university community members.
The post Censorship is killing higher education appeared first on PantherNOW.