New College of Florida sends legal warning to opposition 'Alt New College' group
New College of Florida sent a cease and desist letter to an online learning platform run by several ex-students and campus leaders on Thursday.
Alt New College, established just weeks ago through the New York-based Bard College, is "an online institute to support the academic freedom of faculty and students following the hostile takeover of New College of Florida," according to the organization's website.
It faces legal action claiming the organization infringed on the "New College" trademark.
The cease-and-desist letter sent by the Miami-based law firm Malloy & Malloy, directs the organization to remove any mention of "New College" or "Alt New College" from its website or any other materials. It also directs Alt New College to transfer its website domain, altnewcollege.org, and social media handles, @altnewcollege, to the trademark holder.
The organization has until Oct. 6 to comply with the cease-and-desist letter's directions before further legal action is taken, according to the letter.
“Imitation is the best form of flattery,” said New College spokesperson Nate March in a statement to the Herald-Tribune, “but in this case it’s highly illegal.”
The letter also included photo references to pages on the organization's website that refer to New College. As of Friday evening, the organization's website and social media pages were still active.
Alt New College representatives were not immediately available for comment.
New College has been the subject of a conservative overhaul since January, spearheaded by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The governor appointed new trustees tasked with shaping the small liberal arts school into the "Hillsdale College of the South," who proceeded to fire the president and other staff while implementing rapid changes.
Hillsdale College is a private, conservative Christian liberal arts school in Michigan.
The school's leadership dissolved the college's diversity department, abolished the gender studies program, fired an LGBTQ librarian and denied tenure to five faculty members set to receive it. The board also dissolved the school's gender studies program in a vote at the end of a meeting on Aug. 10.
New students and student-athletes were given priority in housing assignments as the college shuttered dorms on campus due to mold issues. The influx of students combined with the restricted housing supply has caused a housing crisis on campus, pushing most new and returning students who aren't student-athletes into living at off-campus hotels.
In recent weeks, the college has had at least two federal civil rights complaints filed against it. One complaint, which the U.S. Department of Education opened for investigation that Corcoran called "not an investigation", involved a lack of disability access on the college's website. As of Thursday, the college settled this complaint with the department.
The separate complaint filed to the department two days earlier alleged an ongoing trend of discrimination against "protected groups" such as LGBTQ+ students, and the creation of a hostile environment toward those students. The agency has not responded to inquiries about whether it is investigating that complaint.
Amid the changes, more than a third of faculty have left New College causing course cancellations and staffing vacancies for the fall semester. Also, about 125 students have left New College, according to a college spokesperson.
Follow Herald-Tribune Education Reporter Steven Walker on Twitter at @swalker_7. He can be reached at sbwalker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New College of Florida takes legal action against 'Alt New College'
