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Opinion | Politics
I’m Tired Of Defending Florida
Why the Floridian identity has been hijacked.
My long-time partner is a university professor here in Florida. She works in cultural heritage as an archaeologist.
She’s been more than a little stressed about what’s been happening in our state. There was a university meeting yesterday with all the professors. Leadership went through a standard procedural discussion of the status quo at the university.
After that — it became a barrage of questions about academic freedom and new curriculum guidance from the legislature — which includes sweeping rules that prevent humanities professors from doing their jobs.
For the first time, Florida universities are having widespread trouble filling professor roles because academics don’t want to work in Florida.
Typically, when you post a faculty position, you get hundreds of applications from great, brilliant candidates within a few days. These are great jobs, not soul-shredding roles in adjunct hell. They are salaried positions with good pay, great benefits, incomparable PTO, and often — a pension.
Now, they sit vacant.
It’s a weird situation that gives historians a chilling sense of Deja Vu. The predicament brings to…
