DeSantis signs law requiring college faculty, students to take surveys on beliefs
23 June 2021
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signedlegislation requiring state colleges and universities to annually survey their students, faculty and staff about their beliefs to ensure "viewpoint diversity and intellectual freedom."
Why it matters: The legislation doesn't specify for what the survey results will be used, but at a press conference on Tuesday DeSantis said that schools found to be "indoctrinating" students aren't "worth tax dollars" and are "not something we’re going to be supporting going forward."
The big picture: The survey will assess the "extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented" and determine whether students, faculty and staff "feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom," per the legislation.
What they're saying: DeSantis said Tuesday the bills would prevent state schools from becoming “hotbeds for stale ideology."
- He added it is now the "norm" for schools to be "intellectually repressive environments" that promote "orthodoxies," though he didn't specify which orthodoxies were being promoted or which schools have this problem," per the Tampa Bay Times.
What's next: The law goes into effect on July 1. The survey will be conducted annually with reports published each September, starting Sept. 1, 2022.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.