Hundreds of LGBTQ+ books tossed, library dean at Florida college placed on leave

[Jessica_Rose]

After hundreds of LGBTQ+ books tossed, library dean at Florida college placed on leave

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-hundreds-of-lgbtq-books-tossed-library-dean-at-florida-college-placed-on-leave/ar-AA1p8ehf?ocid=windirect&cvid=fd2d6f48e47a4a4cbb6482df446b5658&ei=58

Story by Steven Walker (Aug 2024)

A library dean at a Florida college that has been overhauled by state Republicans and their allies has been placed on administrative leave after hundreds of books, many of which contained LGBTQ+ themes, were sent to a landfill last week.

A spokesperson on Monday confirmed to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Shannon Hausinger, New College of Florida's dean of the library, was placed on administrative leave.

The book disposal and Hausinger's leave are the latest developments at New College, a small liberal arts school in Sarasota that has undergone a significant transformation over the last year as Gov. Ron DeSantis has led a campaign to turn the school into the "Hillsdale College of the South," referencing the private, conservative Christian liberal arts school in Michigan.

New leadership was installed while many students and longtime faculty fled to other universities. The new board voted to terminate the gender studies program, after which DeSantis celebrated the college as "the first public university to push back on gender indoctrination."

On Aug. 13, hundreds of books were seen overflowing from a dumpster behind the Jane Bancroft Cook Library. Pictures and video of the heaping pile of books, many of which were on LGBTQ+ topics and religious studies, incited immediate backlash and widespread media coverage.

[KathyLauren]

History repeats itself.