Well, chalk one up for sanity in Florida—and frankly, for the entire country’s higher education system. The defeat of Santa Ono’s bid to helm the University of Florida is more than just a local win. It’s a statement, loud and clear, that the American public is getting mighty tired of watching our universities morph into ideological playgrounds for the far left. The fact that this guy was the only nominee? That alone should’ve raised some eyebrows. When a single candidate is served up as the inevitable choice, you’d better believe there’s an agenda lurking behind the curtain.
Let’s not mince words here: our universities, once the proud beacons of intellectual rigor and free inquiry, have spent the past decade barreling down the road of identity politics, ideological conformity, and—yes—good old-fashioned anti-American sentiment. You know the drill by now. First came the safe spaces. Then the land acknowledgments. Then the hyper-focus on “systemic inequities” and “original sins.” And lately? Anti-Israel encampments tolerated (if not outright encouraged) by administrators too paralyzed by political correctness to uphold basic campus order.
Enter Santa Ono. The so-called “moderate” choice. If that’s moderation, the Overton Window is in free fall. This is the same man who stood on stage at the University of Michigan vowing to unleash “DEI 2.0” on the campus. For those unfamiliar, DEI 2.0 isn’t some friendly refresh—it’s an explicit plan to embed leftist orthodoxy into every nook and cranny of university life. Institutionalize it. Make it permanent. Forever. And just in case anyone forgot, Ono’s record at the University of British Columbia included writing op-eds wringing hands over “systemic racial inequities” and issuing the obligatory land acknowledgments to prove his progressive bona fides.
Meet Santa Ono, social justice activist and finalist for President of the University of Florida.
He says it makes him very happy that students have become political activists to fight systemic racism and campus should be a place for creating cultural change to behaviors and laws… pic.twitter.com/Ytu1qk7sol
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 13, 2025
Now, when the rubber met the road—after October 7, when anti-Israel radicals hijacked Michigan’s campus—Ono suddenly remembered the words “pluralism” and “free speech.” Too little, too late. He let the radicals run wild, while the voices who dared to challenge them were left twisting in the wind. That’s not leadership. That’s cowardice.
Fast forward to this year’s little redemption tour. Ono suddenly starts penning op-eds claiming he now values “intellectual diversity” and opposes “ideological capture.” Cute. Except, just weeks before, the same guy was happy to slap his name on an anti-Trump letter. Only after it became clear he was under consideration for the Florida post did that little signature magically vanish. Poof. You’ll forgive us for not buying the sudden change of heart.
But here’s the good news: Florida didn’t fall for it. The Florida Board of Governors, with a backbone thanks in large part to appointments by Governor Ron DeSantis, wasn’t going to rubber-stamp a candidate simply because he looked shiny on paper. It took guts to overturn a unanimous vote by the University of Florida Board of Trustees—but that’s exactly what the BoG did. A 10-6 vote, one abstention, and one Santa Ono headed back to Michigan, DEI handbook in tow.
BREAKING:
The University of Florida’s Board of Governors have BLOCKED the hiring of Michigan President, Santa Ono.
Ono tried to run from his problems, but integrity and justice prevailed.
Michigan’s hearing with the NCAA Committee on Infractions is this Friday. pic.twitter.com/FjYL23nkKv
— Ohio’s Tate (@BarstoolTate) June 3, 2025
Board members asked the right questions. They demanded answers. Vice Chair Alan Levine pressed Ono on why Michigan’s campus descended into chaos on his watch—and why he did so little to stop it. The answers? Evasive and unconvincing. When Ono finally promised, “Antisemitism will not rear its head again,” one could almost hear the collective eye roll. Not at UF it won’t—and not with him at the helm.
The lesson here? We can—and must—fight back against the ideological capture of our universities. Florida just showed the rest of the country how it’s done. Let’s hope others take note. The stakes couldn’t be higher.
