DeSantis ramps up ‘war on woke’ with new attacks on Florida higher education

Republican Florida governor unveils plans for overhaul of state university system as he prepares for expected presidential bid

Alex Obraud, a 21-year-old anthropology student in his third year at New College in Florida, did not expect to be on the frontlines of America’s culture wars simply by attending university in the state.

But Florida’s rightwing Republican governor, Ron DeSantis – and likely would-be presidential candidate for 2024 – has launched a relentless campaign of attack on higher education in the state, seeking to appeal to his party’s Trumpist base by positing that the state’s colleges and universities are a bastion of liberal extremism that needs to be reformed.