美国国家公共电台 NPR--Why there will be 2 commencement ceremonies at New College of Florida

Why there will be 2 commencement ceremonies at New College of Florida

Transcript¹

Students graduating from New College of Florida, angry at their school's takeover by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis, have organized their own alternative commencement ceremony.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

There will be two very different commencement ceremonies at New College of Florida this week. Some students at the liberal arts college in Sarasota are upset at the direction of the school under a new president and board of trustees appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. So they're holding an alternative commencement. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE²: For decades, New College of Florida drew little attention from state policymakers. It was the smallest and most poorly funded of the state's public universities. The liberal arts honors university drew a diverse student population, attracted by its low tuition and its individualized curriculum, allowing undergraduates to design their own course of study. But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided³ this year to put the school on a different path.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RON DESANTIS: So we are committed to the mission here. I would love for this to be - and I think it will be - the top classical liberal arts college in America.

ALLEN: New College has always scored well in national rankings, rated fifth recently by U.S. News & World Report among public liberal arts schools. Governor DeSantis has another model in mind, one that has begun reshaping the school along the lines of Hillsdale College, a private Christian⁴ liberal arts institution in Michigan. In January, DeSantis replaced the board of trustees at New College with his own appointees, among them conservative educational activists⁵ and a Hillsdale professor. DeSantis's board immediately made waves, firing the school's popular president and appointing Florida's former education commissioner⁶ interim⁷ president. More changes followed. The board eliminated the school's Office of Diversity, Equity⁸ and Inclusion, fired staff, including two LGBTQ faculty⁹ members, and denied tenure¹⁰ to several others. Students, faculty and community members have opposed most of the changes. This week when he appeared on campus, DeSantis made light of the protests.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DESANTIS: Yeah, I saw some of the protesters out there. I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for more, but, you know.

ALLEN: The interim president, Richard Corcoran, has big plans for the school's transformation¹¹ and the money to carry it out. Lawmakers allocated¹² $50 million to help him reshape the school. Corcoran says the changes are already paying off.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RICHARD CORCORAN: It's leading to what will be - and I'll say it publicly - record enrollment¹³. We are on the verge¹⁴ of having the largest incoming class ever in the history of New College in just 90 days.

ALLEN: Left out of much of the discussions and all of the decisions about the changes at New College are those most affected¹⁵, the students and faculty. K.C. Casey is a senior who's graduating soon. They're one of a group of students who organized an alternative to the university's official commencement ceremony.

K C CASEY: I think it started as simple as I don't want to shake this person's hand, this new president's hand.

ALLEN: Students and alumni raised more than $100,000 for their alternative event. The commencement speaker is Maya Wiley, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Casey says one of the most distressing¹⁶ things about the school's new leadership is the message that's been sent to students.

CASEY: We have board members who are actively¹⁷ telling students that if they aren't mission-aligned, that they should leave the school. They intentionally¹⁸ are trying to remove people for their identities and their beliefs.

ALLEN: Casey is graduating, has begun applying for theater apprenticeships. They're worried, though, that DeSantis's takeover of New College is part of a larger effort to influence the next generation.

CASEY: They want you to be complacent¹⁹. They want you to think like they think, so that you won't go out in the world and make a change. And New College students are the people who will go out in the world and make a change.

ALLEN: The alternative graduation event, scheduled tonight, comes a day before the school's official commencement. The speaker of that event is Dr. Scott Atlas²⁰, former President Trump's adviser²¹ on COVID.

Greg Allen, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

5 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

8 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

9 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

10 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

11 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

12 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

13 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

14 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

15 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

16 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

17 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

18 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

19 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

20 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

21 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。