Florida University students are on edge about what is supposed to be a survey gauging University sentiments around free speech, many refusing to take it, fearing where their information may be sent to.
Ron DeSantis introduced Florida House Bill 233, the Intellectual Freedom and Viewpoint Diversity survey, during the 2021 legislative session. The first survey was a 21-question multiple-choice instrument whose audience was students. The second was a 24-question meant for employees.
While the survey disguises itself as a way of gauging the flow of diversity in school, DeSantis made its objective clear when it was announced, claiming it as a way to see if higher education stifles free speech from conservatives.
“We want our universities to be focused on critical thinking and academic rigor. We do not want them as basically hotbeds for stale ideology,” Desantis said back in 2021 when DeSantis first introduced the survey.
Much to DeSantis’ chagrin, though, students and faculty are now refusing to take the survey emailed to them, fearing that Government officials may use their political affiliations against them.
The Florida Education Association warned against the survey in 2021, saying, “Such a survey creates opportunities for political manipulation and could have a chilling effect on intellectual and academic freedom.”
Examples of some of the questions asked in the survey include, “[Do you] feel that it is important to be able to express [your] political viewpoints without fear of
negative consequences,” and “Which of these two statements comes closer to your own opinion?: A) Political correctness helps people avoid offending others. B) Political correctness has silenced important discussions our society needs to have.”
The survey asks many personal questions of students, including their ethnicity, race, and political beliefs. While the survey does not ask for students’ identification, they must sign in with their school emails, which causes students to fear the government will use their personal information.
The survey was actually suspended in 2023 due to a law passed the previous year, which pushed back the annual deadline for reporting results from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31. It was only reintroduced in the Spring.
In the first round of surveys, most faculty members who responded described themselves as politically moderate. Most expressed that their campus was equally tolerant of liberal and conservative ideas and beliefs. However, the number of people who have completed the survey in past years has been sparse. In 2022, only 2.4% of responses were recorded from all the Florida public universities it was sent to.
This Spring shows to be no different, with students around Florida avoiding the survey in droves, refusing to fill it out, and warning others against completing it. The goal is to render this survey useless.
Florida International University student Joselyn Peña explained why they and other students feel afraid to take the survey, fearing that answers can be used for “nefarious purposes.”
“We’ve seen a lot of both historical and recent examples of different surveillance and targeting tactics used on marginalized communities, and people don’t trust that it won’t occur again,” Peña said.
Oscar Alvarez, the president of FIU’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter, also spoke highly of the survey.
“Having conservative viewpoints that are not backed by science or backed by bigotry, {Florida] need to make sure there are safe places for their misinformation. I don’t think Ron DeSantis should have access to our political views.”
FIU sent out another email on Thursday encouraging students to fill out the survey, incentivizing students with a chance of winning $500 to spend at their campus bookstore.
“It seems they are bribing students for their political views, and the demographic is broke college students who will take that check,” says Alvarez. “We have seen the extent to which students are willing to sell their ethics.”
Alvarez says it shows universities’ desperation to obtain students’ political information. “The fact they are willing to go to these lengths is concerning,” Alvarez said.
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