From Save Uplands
Speak for the trees!
A cherished coastal preserve is under attack right now by the campus administration appointed last year by Governor DeSantis in the rightwing takeover underway at New College of Florida.*
The clearing of trees for a sporting facility is a clear violation of the Campus Master Plan (CMP), which states multiple times that the Uplands preserve is to remain undeveloped as open space for passive recreational, preservation, and flood control purposes.
Clearing the land may also violate a local tree protection ordinance and federal law protecting mangroves and coastal waters.
The decision to disregard the CMP, local ordinances and federal oversight occurred without input from environmental agencies, students or the neighborhood bordering the preserve, as required.
The destruction of protected trees and mangroves along the coast must be challenged.
Other ways to support the fight:
Watch and share our new video on Facebook or Twitter.
Join us in speaking and hand-delivering letters at the State University System Board of Governors meeting, June 27 in Orlando.
If you are a Florida student, you can file a formal complaints to the Inspector General’s office explaining your opposition to disregarding the Campus Master Plan process, which sets a bad precedent for schools across the state.
Stay tuned, there’s more to come,
the Save Uplands crew
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*The American Association of University Professors, wrote in a report that New College’s “unprecedented politically motivated takeover” was a “complete departure from shared governance.” Florida A&M law professor LeRoy Pernell added, “What we are witnessing in Florida is an intellectual reign of terror.”