John Oliver on New College’s Maga takeover: ‘More about political posturing than students’ lives’

John Oliver: ‘Spoiler: it’s not going great.’ Photograph: HBO View image in fullscreen John Oliver: ‘Spoiler: it’s not going great.’ Photograph: HBO John Oliver on New College’s Maga takeover: ‘More about political posturing than students’ lives’ The late-night host detailed how the Florida liberal arts college became a testing ground for a rightwing agenda John Oliver dedicated Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight to examining how Florida’s New College has been taken over by the conservative state governor, Ron DeSantis , and his allies. New College used to promote itself with videos that emphasized its inclusive community and unique academic program – a rarity for a US state college. “Back when Ron DeSantis thought he still had a shot at being president, he made a lot of noise about how he was going to ‘de-wokeify’ New College, despite admitting he didn’t know much about it” said Oliver. DeSantis said: “If you want to spend your time on some Marxist commune, if that’s what you want to do with your life, who am I to say? But I don’t want the taxpayers of Florida funding that.” In 2023, the small liberal arts college became national news when DeSantis appointed six of his allies to the board of trustees, including “conservative activist” Christopher Rufo. “I’d call it a hostile takeover of a college known for its ultra-progressive policies,” said one Fox News commentator. For Rufo it was a chance to “put his ideas into practice”, said Oliver. “His goal was nothing less than to offer a blueprint for what conservatives could then do for education nationwide.” So what happened when “a bunch of anti-woke crusaders were given free rein and nearly unlimited resources to build a school on their own terms? “Spoiler: it’s not going great,” said Oliver. New College was founded in the 1960s with “complete freedom of inquiry”, Oliver said. “No grades would be given, with each [student] focusing on independent study.” John Oliver on Trump’s pardons: ‘He’ll put violent people back in the streets because they support him’ Read more In the following decades, it became a sanctuary for “nerds and dorks”, Oliver joked, as well as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community. According to a 2018 report, it ranked third in the US in producing graduates who go on to earn doctoral degrees. Oliver noted that it felt “galling” when Rufo’s first address to the New College community focused on “how much the school sucked”. Rufo said that the school had a “culture problem” and was mainly composed of people that were “politically correct, druggies, weirdos”. Rufo and his fellow trustees ousted New College’s president and brought in Richard Corcoran, a former speaker of the Florida house. “Right from the start, he took some big dumb swings,” said Oliver. “We requested two million dollars for a ‘cancel cancel culture center’,” Corcoran told NBC. “Calling it a ‘cancel cancel culture center’ is pathetic,” said Oliver. “It sounds like the headquarters of a cult founded by Russell Brand