Tucker Carlson says FSU scholarship promotes 'race hatred'; university updates language

Just days after New College of Florida’s recently appointed trustee Christopher Rufo attacked Florida State University on Twitter with claims about its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Fox News host Tucker Carlson did the same Monday on camera.

While airing his nightly political talk show “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the conservative political commentator accused FSU of being a college that pushes anti-white lesson plans as he claimed that the university recently adopted diversity, equity and inclusion programs that “promote bigotry openly.”

He then added that the university offers “racially segregated scholarships” that put white individuals at a disadvantage as they do not meet the requirements listed in certain application descriptions, echoing Rufo’s claims.

“It bars white students from applying, which is illegal, but it's also race hatred,” Carlson, who has been hosting the talk show on Fox News since 2016, said. “What's another word for it? There isn't one. It's race hatred.”

While not acknowledging Carlson's comments, FSU released a statement Tuesday noting they had updated the scholarship description and criteria.

“Upon reviewing the program’s description on our website, we found the language was antiquated and inconsistent with current university practices. We have corrected the issue.”

Backstory:FSU faculty say it's 'rubbish' as Christopher Rufo targets FSU 'radical' diversity programs

The statement refers to the Leslie N. Wilson-Delores Auzenne Assistantship, a statewide financial assistance program created in the 1980s by the Florida Board of Regents — the then-governing body of the state university system.

When creating the program, the regents’ goal was to encourage minority students to pursue graduate degrees in areas where they are underrepresented, according to an FSU spokesperson.

But Rufo created a Twitter post with screenshots Tuesday afternoon ahead of the released statement to further attack the university.

The screenshots show an old version of the criteria saying that “applicants of the award must be minority students (African American, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander and Native American)” alongside a screenshot with an updated description that says the assistantship is “available for all new and currently enrolled graduate students” and that preference may be given to applicants "who are historically underrepresented."

“Florida State University has deleted the application information for its racially-segregated scholarship program,” Rufo tweeted. “The university also scrubbed the discriminatory language that violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.”

“They got caught and now they're covering it up,” he added.

The latest broadside again FSU diversity programs comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis continues his efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and activities at public colleges and universities in Florida.

Reports revealed that FSU spends over $2.4 million on DEI programs, with $2.2 million funded by the state.

“We have an ongoing process to review our programs to ensure they reflect the values of a state university,” FSU stated at the end of its Tuesday release. “As we previously stated, FSU will continue to provide the high-quality educational experience that our students, their parents, and the taxpayers of Florida have come to expect.”

More on DEI spending:A detailed look at how much FSU, FAMU spend on diversity, equity and inclusion programs

The pendulum swing:Florida universities were told to prioritize diversity plans. Now, DeSantis aims to gut them

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Fox News host Tucker Carlson calls out FSU for minority scholarship