In Sarasota, Florida, a group of moms (and a few dads) are standing up to protect public education.
What’s now unfolding at the New College of Florida in Sarasota is one of those intensely local David and Goliath stories with real consequences for the state and the country. The backdrop is the political push from the radical right to reshape public education—academic freedom, LGBTQ+ rights and free speech, be damned.
When the trustees met on Jan. 25, they promptly fired New College’s president, Pat Okker, and moved to eliminate the office responsible for diversity initiatives on campus. As faculty, students and alums scrambled to respond, the NCF Parent Advocacy group coalesced to defend the “Barefoot U” where their kids had found their academic home.
Their weekly meetings are virtual, and yet they’ve formed a tight-knit bond. According to Tamara, an educator from Sarasota and mother of an alum, that sense of community was immediate. She met Tracy, the group’s leader, at a public meeting with local Republican legislators: “She had signs and was ready to fight and I said, ‘You are my people.’”
That sentiment clearly resonated. Multiple parents echoed those same words when asked about their reasons for joining the fight: “Hell no!”
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