Dozens of protesters descended on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus Wednesday to express their distaste over the confirmation of a president at a campus more than 400 miles away.

Some Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University community members are unhappy with Marva Johnson, who the Florida State University System Board of Governors confirmed at the meeting on campus. To them, Johnson represents the state’s shift towards a politically infested higher education system. 

“I’m feeling very disappointed,” said Kimberly Godwin, former president of ABC News and FAMU alumna. “We just want an excellent president, just like everybody else, and we feel like nobody is listening to the voices that matter.”

The decision to appoint Johnson, a strong ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Board of Education chair, as the school’s next president is part of a broader trend of DeSantis allies advancing his conservative education agenda. Two other allies were also confirmed as presidents at other state universities.

Among those confirmed at the BOG meeting was former Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as president of Florida International University.

“Throughout every step of my career, both in the professional setting and in the public office setting, I have championed FIU,” said Nuñez during her confirmation. 

Florida Department of Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. was also appointed to office, confirmed as the University of West Florida’s interim president following the resignation of former President Martha Saunders on May 12.

Another example of this trend in higher education in the backyard of Boca Raton is FAU’s sitting president, Adam Hasner, who is a former Republican lawmaker and private prison executive.

In a March interview with the University Press, Hasner mentioned that universities are becoming more open to leaders without traditional academic backgrounds. When asked if former politicians should lead public universities, he said there’s value in having someone who can champion the school, like himself.

Hasner encountered similar protests this February, following the presidential forum during the presidential search that went on for nearly two years. Many of whom had cited similar concerns to those who protested against Johnson as FAMU’s 13th president. 

Among the community members who chose to share their opinions with the board during public comment time was Devin Nobles, a senior computer engineering student at FAMU, who expressed his concerns with the appointee. 

“If you guys confirm this candidate right here, you reaffirm to all of us. Our school, our faculty, our staff, our alumni, and the 18,000 people who signed a petition online that our voices do not matter,” Nobles said. 

Gwenuel Mingo, a 1963 FAMU graduate and FAMU Hall of Fame inductee, firmly believes that politics have no place on university campuses, which he expressed during public comment.

“I stand here today to urge you to not let politics ruin the selection of the president of FAMU,” Mingo said. “It appears to me that the presidential election did not follow strong, transparent practices.”

Alan Levine, vice-chair of the BOG, addressed the FAMU protestors’ comments, explaining that Johnson’s strength throughout the confirmation itself demonstrates her leadership qualities. 

“We saw in Marva a resilience and a spine to sit up and listen to every one of these speakers and engage with every single one,” Levine said. “That’s who this woman is, and she deserves this opportunity because she earned it.”

Iana Bridges, a sophomore criminal justice student at FAMU, has one piece of advice for other students concerned with the recent events within the state university system: “Stay aware.”

“Be present, stay informed on Board of Trustees meetings, Board of Governors meetings. Get to know your peers so that you can form as one unit at your university, so that if you feel the need to fight back against these types of things, you can fight back,” Bridges said. 

Gabriela Quintero is the Managing Editor for the University Press. For more information on this or other stories, you may contact Quintero at gabiquintero2007@gmail.com.