A rally planned by campaigning Governor Ron DeSantis at Florida Gulf Coast University on Sunday has sparked promises of a peaceful protest by one student group.
Members of the Young Democratic Socialists of America at FGCU are organizing the protest against the governor's “Don’t Tread on Florida” tour stop at Alico Arena at 6 p.m. Sunday.
In a news release on the protest, the YDSA is calling for student and community solidarity against DeSantis using the university to boost his own image before the election in Fort Myers.
The governor, with First Lady Casey DeSantis, are headlining the “Don’t Tread on Florida” tour, featuring stops across the state that began late Friday and run through Monday.
The group cited several reasons for the rally including what the organization termed as, "an all-out attack on working-class Floridians, censorship of public K-12 teachers and university staff and faculty, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill (HB 1557), The “Stop Woke Act” (HB 7), erasure of accurate history that includes the experience of LGBTQ people and people of color, removing the ability for some to make healthcare decisions about their own bodies, the Florida Board of Medicine's vote to ban gender-affirming healthcare for youth and the looming threat of a statewide complete abortion ban."
"Students at FGCU won’t stand for DeSantis using our town and school, which has been left vulnerable after Hurricane Ian, as a political pawn," the group's emailed statement said.
The group said it would rally at Florida Gulf Coast University beginning at the front of FGCU’s Veterans Pavilion at 4:20 p.m. and then walking down sidewalks and crosswalks near the front of Alico Arena where the DeSantis’s campaign event is planned.
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