According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, LGBTQ+ books were seen outside the New College of Florida's "now-defunct" Gender and Diversity Centre on Thursday (15 August). The books, including When I Knew, a collection of stories from LGBTQ+ people about coming out, were reportedly thrown in a skip in the wake of the liberal arts college's decision to cancel the gender studies programme last year.
The college claimed that getting rid of the books - reportedly including HG Wells's classic War of the Worlds - was part of routine maintenance, and that because the gender studies programme, which has been offered to students since 1995, had been discontinued, the books were being 'weeded' out.
Amy Reid, the former chairperson of the gender studies department, and a representative to the board of trustees, told the Herald-Tribune that she was blindsided by the removal of the books, saying she wanted a period of mourning for the lost material. 'I want to do that for books because books are what matter,' she said.
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