University of Central Florida (UCF) students will rally outside of Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting to demand university officials maintain Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in wake of recent calls to defund them by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
UCF students and allied organizations will rally outside the Live Oak Center between 8:30 a.m and 10:30 a.m to “demand our Board of Trustees to protect and maintain [DEI] programs, minority scholarships, and opportunities,” according to a flyer advertised by Stay Woke FL, a website with information regarding advocacy against “anti-woke movement.” The rally comes after the DeSantis administration announced their intent to defund DEI in higher education and requested a report from all public universities outlining how much taxpayer money was used to fund DEI programs.