1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:02,960 Oh. 2 00:00:32,970 --> 00:00:38,190 Thank you so much for joining us. It has been a busy week. CBS News fired Scott 3 00:00:38,190 --> 00:00:40,850 Pelley for the crime of being too cool in a meeting. 4 00:00:41,190 --> 00:00:45,730 The DOJ is investigating George Santos for insider trading on Kalshi because, 5 00:00:45,730 --> 00:00:46,730 course. 6 00:00:47,030 --> 00:00:51,030 And there was the headline, Masturbation among birds is natural and should not 7 00:00:51,030 --> 00:00:52,410 be punished, say experts. 8 00:00:53,210 --> 00:00:56,770 Which sounds like what Sesame Street's PR team would say, a big bird got caught 9 00:00:56,770 --> 00:00:58,370 Jeffrey Toopening on a work zoom. 10 00:00:58,610 --> 00:01:01,930 Don't worry, it's natural for birds, no punishment necessary. 11 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:07,020 Meanwhile, Trump announced he'd nominate Todd Blanche, his former lawyer for 12 00:01:07,020 --> 00:01:10,540 Attorney General, a man whose impartiality is probably best summed up 13 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:13,560 remarks he made after being named acting AG last month. 14 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,480 I love working for President Trump. It's the greatest honour of a lifetime. And 15 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,740 if President Trump chooses to keep me as acting... 16 00:01:22,110 --> 00:01:26,270 That's an honor. If he chooses to nominate me, that's an honor. If he 17 00:01:26,270 --> 00:01:30,170 nominate somebody else and I go back to being the DAG, that's an honor. If he 18 00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:33,750 chooses to nominate somebody else and asks me to go do something else, I will 19 00:01:33,750 --> 00:01:35,330 say, thank you very much. I love you, sir. 20 00:01:36,310 --> 00:01:37,370 Jesus, Todd! 21 00:01:38,170 --> 00:01:41,070 There is sucking up and there's whatever that was. 22 00:01:41,470 --> 00:01:44,850 It sounds like he's freestyling a version of Green Eggs and Ham about what 23 00:01:44,850 --> 00:01:46,090 willing to do for the president. 24 00:01:46,780 --> 00:01:50,980 I'd kiss his ass on a boat. I'd tickle his balls with a goat. I'd love the 25 00:01:50,980 --> 00:01:54,460 president with my soul. I'd yield to him my every hole. 26 00:01:55,500 --> 00:01:59,360 This week also saw primaries take place around the country. Congressman Tom Kane 27 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:02,940 Jr. won in New Jersey despite the fact he's not been seen in public for nearly 28 00:02:02,940 --> 00:02:03,940 three months. 29 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,940 With his chief of staff even saying mysteriously, there's no cameras where 30 00:02:07,940 --> 00:02:11,980 is. Which is wild given there are cameras literally everywhere. 31 00:02:12,420 --> 00:02:14,980 And if you don't believe me, just ask the birds. 32 00:02:16,140 --> 00:02:19,540 who, despite being very natural and private about it, masturbated their way 33 00:02:19,540 --> 00:02:20,540 the news. 34 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:24,740 But perhaps the craziest race this year is for Governor of Colorado. For the 35 00:02:24,740 --> 00:02:27,500 Democrats, the leading contenders are Colorado's AG and one of its senators. 36 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,660 But on the Republican side, things are much wilder. There are three candidates. 37 00:02:32,020 --> 00:02:35,720 State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer has been painted as the adult in the room, which 38 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,640 is striking given she once led an attempt to pursue secession and form a 39 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:45,280 state. But the other two candidates are something else. Take Scott Bottoms. At 40 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,660 this week's candidate debate, he had this alarming exchange with the 41 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,540 You said that you are deeply honored to have the endorsement of your good friend 42 00:02:52,540 --> 00:02:57,200 Joe Oltman, the MAGA podcaster who has called for the execution by hanging of 43 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,620 Colorado's governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, who he calls 44 00:03:01,620 --> 00:03:03,260 synagogue of Satan Jews. 45 00:03:03,460 --> 00:03:06,280 If you're elected governor, would Mr. Oltman have a role in your 46 00:03:08,420 --> 00:03:12,000 Assuming it's not around Jewish people, probably. 47 00:03:14,020 --> 00:03:15,360 Holy shit! 48 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:20,790 Look! Probably is a fine answer to questions like, will the sun rise 49 00:03:20,790 --> 00:03:25,050 have Mike Lindell ever fucked a pillow? But it is not ideal when you've just 50 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:28,790 been asked, if someone spewed anti -Semitic rhetoric, would you still hire 51 00:03:29,010 --> 00:03:33,810 Then there is Victor Marx, a self -described high -risk humanitarian who 52 00:03:33,810 --> 00:03:38,230 claims to be the world's fastest gun disarmer and a seven -degree black belt 53 00:03:38,230 --> 00:03:39,630 Cajun karate kaiju. 54 00:03:40,150 --> 00:03:42,430 Something apparently invented by his dad. 55 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:46,220 as a form of 100 % American Christian karate. 56 00:03:47,540 --> 00:03:50,920 Over the years, Marx has made some wild claims, and when the journalist who 57 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,220 moderated that debate sat down with him last week, he addressed one of the big 58 00:03:54,220 --> 00:03:58,360 ones. Your claim that your abusive stepfather forced you to kill a man when 59 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,800 were seven years old, is that the only person you've ever killed? 60 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:18,200 I would say as a child, yes. 61 00:04:18,620 --> 00:04:25,500 But I've been in other situations where, 62 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:31,820 you know, possibly people or persons died as 63 00:04:31,820 --> 00:04:36,640 a result of me defending myself in other countries. Do you think that you've 64 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:37,700 killed people as an adult? 65 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:41,140 Does it matter? 66 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:43,420 Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah. 67 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:45,760 Yeah, I think I'd say so, too. 68 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,700 I don't think anyone needed to say our elected official should at least have a 69 00:04:49,700 --> 00:04:53,340 guesstimate of how many people they've killed, but it seems we're in a new era 70 00:04:53,340 --> 00:04:56,660 right now. There's protein in the Pop -Tarts. The rules are over. 71 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,320 And look, I'm not saying a seventh -degree black belt in karate their dad 72 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:05,540 up isn't capable of killing, but it's not great that a potential governor of 73 00:05:05,540 --> 00:05:09,520 Colorado has an aura best described as the final hour of a true crime 74 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:10,520 documentary. 75 00:05:10,990 --> 00:05:14,710 And incredibly, that interview got even wilder, because it turns out Marx also 76 00:05:14,710 --> 00:05:18,850 performs exorcisms, or as he calls them, spiritual warfare. And that reporter 77 00:05:18,850 --> 00:05:20,410 had some understandable questions. 78 00:05:20,970 --> 00:05:25,010 You command the demons out of someone. Can you explain to folks how that works? 79 00:05:25,030 --> 00:05:28,790 They can hear you describe it. Well, I don't command the demons to come out of 80 00:05:28,790 --> 00:05:34,090 someone. I think of them as assignments or attachments to people. 81 00:05:34,430 --> 00:05:38,910 And we identify the demon, like Jesus did. 82 00:05:39,390 --> 00:05:42,550 We ask what their name is, and then we give them commands. 83 00:05:43,790 --> 00:05:47,870 And they very frequently and typically will answer. 84 00:05:48,190 --> 00:05:51,210 Through the person's mind, they'll tell us what they hear. 85 00:05:51,590 --> 00:05:56,710 And then we destroy them, banish them to perfect judgment from Christ. 86 00:05:58,090 --> 00:06:02,630 You also perform these exorcisms by phone. Are those just as effective? 87 00:06:03,690 --> 00:06:04,690 Oh, I'm sure. 88 00:06:05,230 --> 00:06:09,150 In fact, I bet they're even more effective, because even for a demon, I 89 00:06:09,150 --> 00:06:13,610 imagine a worse hell than being stuck on the phone with yassified Billy Mays 90 00:06:13,610 --> 00:06:18,270 here. Now, Marx was on the debate stage this week, and during which, that 91 00:06:18,270 --> 00:06:21,610 reporter asked him this truly incredible question. 92 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:25,380 You claim that you've been all around the world, armed to the teeth, rescuing 93 00:06:25,380 --> 00:06:29,280 women and children from captivity, that you've stopped human smugglers at the 94 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:33,440 Mexico border and made them pay a price, that you as a civilian called in a U 95 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:37,420 .S. military airstrike that killed 70 ISIS fighters, that you were the first 96 00:06:37,420 --> 00:06:41,960 American into Gaza during the war with Israel, that you've done 150 high -risk 97 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:43,760 missions and every one has been a success. 98 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:46,900 You told me last week that it's all true. 99 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:49,960 and that you don't need to prove it to anyone. 100 00:06:50,180 --> 00:06:51,680 But you're talking to voters now. 101 00:06:51,940 --> 00:06:56,100 How should voters decide whether you've lived one of the most extraordinary 102 00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:59,620 lives in human history or whether you're a liar and a fraud? 103 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:07,060 Spectacular. That might be the first debate in history won by the moderator. 104 00:07:07,060 --> 00:07:09,240 just look at his co -host there. 105 00:07:09,500 --> 00:07:12,780 He must be thinking, hey, I didn't know we were allowed to be sassy bitches 106 00:07:12,780 --> 00:07:13,780 tonight. 107 00:07:14,250 --> 00:07:18,010 And if you are thinking there is no answer that could possibly be stranger 108 00:07:18,010 --> 00:07:20,610 that question, I'm afraid you are wrong. 109 00:07:21,010 --> 00:07:24,670 I can't help it if I've had an extraordinary life. 110 00:07:25,170 --> 00:07:26,510 I'm an ordinary fella. 111 00:07:26,930 --> 00:07:32,950 And starting from my childhood all the way to now, me standing up on a stage 112 00:07:32,950 --> 00:07:38,170 running for governor, Reagan, I said I was going to talk about you. This little 113 00:07:38,170 --> 00:07:40,930 dog, she's going to go bite you right now, Kyle. 114 00:07:41,690 --> 00:07:43,750 She was in Syria and... 115 00:07:45,200 --> 00:07:47,100 So, is she lying too? 116 00:07:48,740 --> 00:07:49,740 Incredible. 117 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:53,580 That is a grand slam answer to a home run question. 118 00:07:54,020 --> 00:07:58,120 His brain is truly one of a kind because who else on earth would hear the 119 00:07:58,120 --> 00:07:59,380 question, are you a fraud? 120 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,260 And even think to answer with, hey, are you calling my dog a liar? 121 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,960 Also, I love how the dog is looking straight into the camera there. 122 00:08:08,540 --> 00:08:12,220 I have to say, the Craigslist ad said nothing about Syria. 123 00:08:14,860 --> 00:08:17,760 weird, and he's even weird by Colorado standards. 124 00:08:18,220 --> 00:08:21,880 A state whose major airport features goggles and suitcases over the baggage 125 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:26,300 claim area in order to help ensure the safe arrival of baggage, whatever the 126 00:08:26,300 --> 00:08:27,300 fuck that means. 127 00:08:27,460 --> 00:08:32,760 And outside has this 32 -foot blue Mustang statue with glowing red eyes. 128 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:34,580 nickname is Blucifer, and fun fact, 129 00:08:35,309 --> 00:08:38,909 While it was being finished, a piece fell off and killed the artist who made 130 00:08:38,929 --> 00:08:43,450 and yet somehow, even in a state that is home to luggage gargoyles and a 131 00:08:43,450 --> 00:08:47,910 homicidal airport horse demon, the weirdest resident is still this fucking 132 00:08:48,690 --> 00:08:53,490 Anyway, Colorado's primary is on June 30th, so there'll be more to say about 133 00:08:53,490 --> 00:08:54,970 in the coming weeks, or maybe not. 134 00:08:55,610 --> 00:08:59,790 Because I don't really know what more there is to say about a guy who's coy 135 00:08:59,790 --> 00:09:03,850 about how many people he's killed and offers dial -up exorcisms. All I'm 136 00:09:03,850 --> 00:09:04,759 here is... 137 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:08,780 That if you are a Republican in Colorado, I would strongly recommend a 138 00:09:08,780 --> 00:09:12,640 candidate for governor. Because frankly, the most sensible individual on that 139 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:17,200 stage this week was the one with four paws and a Jim from the office stare. 140 00:09:17,620 --> 00:09:18,980 And now, this. 141 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:24,860 And now, prom season has people on TV feeling nostalgic. 142 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:27,040 Do you remember your prom? 143 00:09:27,340 --> 00:09:29,160 Who you took? What you wore? 144 00:09:29,700 --> 00:09:31,800 I remember all of it. You do? Okay. 145 00:09:39,580 --> 00:09:40,840 Did you go to prom? 146 00:09:41,100 --> 00:09:44,600 Were you allowed to say prom at your hometown if there was a bunch of people 147 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:45,600 didn't want you dancing? 148 00:09:45,620 --> 00:09:47,500 My grandma still thought I went to a banquet. 149 00:09:47,780 --> 00:09:53,380 I went to three proms. I still remember Big Baller. I had a guy light prom on 150 00:09:53,380 --> 00:09:54,380 fire for me. 151 00:09:55,020 --> 00:09:56,020 Yeah. What? 152 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:57,600 He burned the school down? 153 00:09:57,860 --> 00:10:02,020 That's commitment. It was rope with gasoline. Not safe. Don't do it. My 154 00:10:02,020 --> 00:10:04,280 year was the year of Chumbawamba. 155 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:06,060 My prom was welcome to the jungle. 156 00:10:06,420 --> 00:10:08,720 What? Yeah, welcome to the jungle. 157 00:10:09,140 --> 00:10:11,100 Mine was wind beneath your wings. 158 00:10:11,380 --> 00:10:15,200 Oh, God. Welcome to the jungle. You look like you guys had a good time. What did 159 00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:16,640 you guys do after prom? What was your after prom? 160 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:19,680 So we didn't go to the after prom party. 161 00:10:20,300 --> 00:10:22,660 Full transparency, I got a hotel room. 162 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Okay. 163 00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:28,680 We had a party. Let's just stop the conversation right here. 164 00:10:30,780 --> 00:10:35,440 Moving on. Our main story tonight concerns college. The setting of beloved 165 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:39,900 American works of art, like Matt Damon does math, dorks do sex crimes, and I'm 166 00:10:39,900 --> 00:10:41,600 sorry, Chevy said what to who? 167 00:10:42,820 --> 00:10:46,360 Specifically, we're going to talk about New College of Florida, a small, quirky, 168 00:10:46,500 --> 00:10:48,880 state -funded school which used to promote itself like this. 169 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:53,420 The culture at New College is as unique as our academic program. 170 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:58,120 There's really a strong sense of camaraderie and community amongst both 171 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,020 student, the faculty, and the staff. 172 00:11:00,490 --> 00:11:05,010 I've never been to a place where everybody just had such, you know, good 173 00:11:05,010 --> 00:11:09,470 intentions for each other. It's a very inclusive community, and it's full of 174 00:11:09,470 --> 00:11:12,150 unique people, both the faculty, staff, and students. 175 00:11:12,470 --> 00:11:16,550 We're all pretty unique in our own right, and so it's nice for us all to 176 00:11:16,550 --> 00:11:19,290 and work together in this one -of -a -kind community. 177 00:11:19,770 --> 00:11:23,090 Yeah, seems nice, doesn't it? I'll be honest, I could have done without the 178 00:11:23,090 --> 00:11:25,750 multiple barefoot students in class, but that is just me. 179 00:11:26,350 --> 00:11:29,250 I'm going to say something Quentin Tarantino's never uttered in his life. 180 00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:31,070 the love of God, put some shoes on. 181 00:11:32,050 --> 00:11:35,170 Bare feet are something you should only show your partner, your doctor, and your 182 00:11:35,170 --> 00:11:37,850 hundreds of followers on OnlyFans. You want the piggies? 183 00:11:38,310 --> 00:11:42,690 You pay the price. And if you are thinking, why are you talking about a 184 00:11:42,690 --> 00:11:46,010 college in Florida? Well, a few years ago, it was actually national news. 185 00:11:46,620 --> 00:11:50,120 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is transforming a liberal arts school into 186 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:51,320 conservative institution. 187 00:11:51,700 --> 00:11:56,440 The campus now at the center of a conservative takeover after DeSantis 188 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,900 six political allies to its board of trustees. 189 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,760 It's another bold move, and I'm cheering it on. 190 00:12:02,140 --> 00:12:06,080 Florida's Governor DeSantis has launched the takeover, I'd call it a hostile 191 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:10,320 takeover, of a college known for its ultra -progressive policies. 192 00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:12,640 Okay, can I be vulnerable for a minute? 193 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:15,380 Do I sound like that? 194 00:12:17,580 --> 00:12:20,740 I know some people can't distinguish one British accent from another, but 195 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:23,760 please, tell me I don't sound like that. 196 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,720 That is the accent of a man who just spit on an orphan. 197 00:12:27,420 --> 00:12:31,040 He's not like someone who just threw a kid's wooden leg on a fire to keep warm. 198 00:12:31,360 --> 00:12:35,020 But anyway, what happened was, back when Ron DeSantis still thought he had a 199 00:12:35,020 --> 00:12:38,080 shot at being president, he made a lot of noise about how he was going to de 200 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:41,980 -wokify New College, despite admitting he didn't know much about it. 201 00:12:42,490 --> 00:12:46,490 You know, when I became governor, I remember the Speaker of the House at the 202 00:12:46,490 --> 00:12:50,870 time came to me and said, hey, we need to talk about a new college. 203 00:12:51,150 --> 00:12:52,610 I didn't know what it was. 204 00:12:53,470 --> 00:12:57,990 I was like, we need a new college? We have enough colleges in Florida. He's 205 00:12:57,990 --> 00:12:58,990 like, no, no, no. 206 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,340 He's like, no, no, new college in Sarasota. 207 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:06,800 He's like, I want to shut it down. It's communist, all this stuff. I'm like, let 208 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:13,480 me see. Look, if you want to go be on some Marxist commune, if that's what you 209 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,860 want to do with your life, look, who am I to say? But I don't want the taxpayers 210 00:13:16,860 --> 00:13:18,340 of Florida funding that. 211 00:13:18,900 --> 00:13:20,260 That's just not the way it goes. 212 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:24,780 Okay, so there is a lot there, but I have to say that of the many, many 213 00:13:24,780 --> 00:13:28,900 stereotypes people have of Florida, I don't think anyone would describe it as 214 00:13:28,900 --> 00:13:30,440 place with too many colleges. 215 00:13:30,980 --> 00:13:35,200 I say this with medium respect to the state. It's known for having too many 216 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,900 of things, too many geysers, too many swamps, too many fist -sized bugs, and 217 00:13:38,900 --> 00:13:43,420 exactly one too many wrongs to sanctify. But no one is ever going to reasonably 218 00:13:43,420 --> 00:13:45,620 accuse Florida of excessive academia. 219 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,560 Nevertheless, DeSantis decided to make a big show out of picking a fight with 220 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:52,500 New College by literally taking it over. 221 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,120 He appointed six new board members who were political allies, including Chris 222 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,780 Ruffo, the conservative activist who then tweeted, we are now over the walls 223 00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:02,340 ready to transform higher education from within. 224 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:06,160 Now, if Ruffo is at all familiar to you, it may be because we've talked about 225 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:09,480 him before in our shows on critical race theory and trans rights. And quick 226 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,520 spoiler, he wasn't exactly the hero of those stories. 227 00:14:13,020 --> 00:14:17,120 He was more like a cartoon supervillain if they dressed exclusively. in Land's 228 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,440 End and looked like the picture on a megachurch's website paired with a post 229 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:24,180 titled, How I Turned My Hands to God After Spending Years Masturbating Eight 230 00:14:24,180 --> 00:14:25,180 Times a Day. 231 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,940 Rufo is constantly sounding the alarm over the woke indoctrination of young 232 00:14:29,940 --> 00:14:34,200 people, but being appointed as a trustee at New College actually represented 233 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,260 something new for him, a chance to put his ideas into practice. 234 00:14:38,860 --> 00:14:42,560 And as he explained at the time, his goal was nothing less than to offer a 235 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:46,020 blueprint for what conservatives could then do for education nationwide. 236 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:48,520 This has really never been done before. 237 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,000 Conservatives have been feeding territory institutionally. 238 00:14:52,690 --> 00:14:56,470 decade after decade after decade for the past half century. 239 00:14:56,750 --> 00:15:00,870 And never once have they said, we're going to actually go and retake an 240 00:15:00,870 --> 00:15:04,730 institution. We're actually going to go and recapture a university. It starts 241 00:15:04,730 --> 00:15:09,910 with this hostile takeover of the new College of Florida on the beaches of 242 00:15:09,910 --> 00:15:14,790 Sarasota. And if we are to be successful, I think that we're going to 243 00:15:14,790 --> 00:15:17,790 model for red state governors all over the country. 244 00:15:18,270 --> 00:15:21,890 That is pretty aggressive, and while I don't want to give any pointers to Rufo, 245 00:15:21,950 --> 00:15:25,550 why would you choose that picture to represent your enemy? 246 00:15:25,970 --> 00:15:29,050 I don't want to take that over. If anything, I just want to ask if they 247 00:15:29,050 --> 00:15:30,310 more for Hacky Sack. 248 00:15:30,830 --> 00:15:33,930 That might be the most beautiful place I have ever seen. 249 00:15:34,210 --> 00:15:37,770 It's the first image I've ever encountered that makes me want to go to 250 00:15:37,890 --> 00:15:38,890 and I mean ever. 251 00:15:38,990 --> 00:15:42,130 Now, that was three years ago, and a lot had happened since then. Rhonda 252 00:15:42,130 --> 00:15:44,630 Stanton, as you may have noticed, did not become pregnant. 253 00:15:45,550 --> 00:15:48,730 But this guy did, and his administration is now trying to carry out a similar 254 00:15:48,730 --> 00:15:53,690 anti -woke agenda throughout higher ed, with Chris Ruffo very much cheering them 255 00:15:53,690 --> 00:15:57,370 on. So given all that, we thought tonight it might be worth checking in on 256 00:15:57,370 --> 00:16:01,610 College to see what exactly happened when a bunch of anti -woke crusaders 257 00:16:01,610 --> 00:16:05,810 given free reign and nearly unlimited resources to build a school on their own 258 00:16:05,810 --> 00:16:08,330 terms. I'll give you a hint, it's not going great. 259 00:16:09,180 --> 00:16:12,420 And before we talk about what New College has become, a quick mention of 260 00:16:12,420 --> 00:16:13,399 once was. 261 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:18,100 It was founded in the 1960s to be a college with complete freedom of 262 00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:22,120 place where no grades would be given and where they focused on independent study 263 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,440 with each student working closely together with their professors. And over 264 00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:29,620 even as it became part of Florida's publicly funded higher ed system, it 265 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:33,700 a reputation for being LGBTQ friendly with an exceptionally personalized 266 00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:34,760 approach to education. 267 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,540 Students are allowed to propose their own classes and find someone who's 268 00:16:39,540 --> 00:16:42,140 to help them out with it. And then we journey together. 269 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,000 You can invent anything you want to study. 270 00:16:45,420 --> 00:16:48,480 Ultimately, I could take whatever classes I want. I could make up classes. 271 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:49,480 could make up my own major. 272 00:16:49,580 --> 00:16:51,840 Like I got to shadow a doctor as an undergraduate. 273 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:58,140 I've been very happy to have a lot of students interested in somewhat esoteric 274 00:16:58,140 --> 00:17:02,560 chemistry topics that I'm totally willing to explore with them. 275 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:04,099 Yeah. Bet you are. 276 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,740 In fact, there are exactly three things I'm sure of in this world. 277 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,800 One, death comes for all of us. Two, Stephen Miller cries when he comes. And 278 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:17,099 three, this man is totally willing to explore esoteric chemistry topics with 279 00:17:17,099 --> 00:17:18,099 you. 280 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:22,200 In case it wasn't obvious already, New College was a school for, and I say this 281 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,420 with love, nerds and dorks. 282 00:17:24,970 --> 00:17:28,030 Its whole deal is perhaps best summed up by the fact that years ago, when 283 00:17:28,030 --> 00:17:31,550 students were unable to agree on a college mascot, as a placeholder, the 284 00:17:31,550 --> 00:17:35,430 constitution wrote in a set of empty brackets to be replaced when a new 285 00:17:35,430 --> 00:17:40,430 was ultimately chosen. But students then made those brackets their mascot, and 286 00:17:40,430 --> 00:17:44,190 from then on, the mathematical term for brackets, the null set, served as new 287 00:17:44,190 --> 00:17:48,350 college's mascot, which might be the single dorkiest thing I have ever heard. 288 00:17:49,350 --> 00:17:54,680 Typically... A mascot is adorable, or terrifying, or horny, or a healthy 289 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:59,220 combination of all three. But no, no, not for this college full of Sheldons. 290 00:17:59,220 --> 00:18:00,740 They went another way. 291 00:18:01,540 --> 00:18:05,280 And while the whole design your own curriculum, we don't give out grades 292 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:08,980 approach might make you roll your eyes, you should know that the results were 293 00:18:08,980 --> 00:18:09,980 pretty impressive. 294 00:18:10,430 --> 00:18:14,010 A report from 2018 showed that 80 % of new colleges' graduates attended grad 295 00:18:14,010 --> 00:18:17,570 school within five years of graduation, and the school ranked third in the 296 00:18:17,570 --> 00:18:20,810 nation among all public and private universities in producing graduates who 297 00:18:20,810 --> 00:18:21,810 earned doctoral degrees. 298 00:18:22,110 --> 00:18:26,070 Which is not to say it didn't also have problems. Like many small liberal arts 299 00:18:26,070 --> 00:18:29,690 colleges, it suffered from years of declining enrolment, which in turn led 300 00:18:29,690 --> 00:18:33,210 increasing disinvestment from the Florida state legislature. Though when 301 00:18:33,210 --> 00:18:37,350 DeSantis took over the school in 2023, there were already signs that it was on 302 00:18:37,350 --> 00:18:38,350 an upswing. 303 00:18:38,510 --> 00:18:41,370 A recently appointed president had helped recruit the largest entering 304 00:18:41,370 --> 00:18:45,690 since 2016, and many students and faculty were feeling optimistic, which 305 00:18:45,690 --> 00:18:49,310 makes it so galling that at Chris Ruffo's first big address to the college 306 00:18:49,310 --> 00:18:53,350 community, he seemed to go out of his way to tell them just how much their 307 00:18:53,350 --> 00:18:54,350 school sucked. 308 00:18:54,890 --> 00:18:58,410 Every single person, with one exception that I've talked to, behind closed doors 309 00:18:58,410 --> 00:19:00,430 says New College has a culture problem. 310 00:19:00,650 --> 00:19:04,350 And even the consultants that the university has hired, they said that New 311 00:19:04,350 --> 00:19:05,710 College has become an echo chamber. 312 00:19:06,250 --> 00:19:10,090 When they did a study, these consultants hired by the college, they said that 313 00:19:10,090 --> 00:19:14,570 the three words, the three phrases that most describe the culture here, quote, 314 00:19:14,630 --> 00:19:18,030 politically correct, druggies, weirdos. 315 00:19:19,050 --> 00:19:24,290 The vast majority of you, 90, 95 % roughly, agree with me that there are 316 00:19:24,290 --> 00:19:25,830 significant problems here. No. 317 00:19:26,890 --> 00:19:27,890 No. 318 00:19:27,970 --> 00:19:28,970 Look, 319 00:19:29,470 --> 00:19:33,610 I don't think Rufo will ever experience real justice. 320 00:19:34,170 --> 00:19:37,430 But there is something satisfying about him having to sit there as the crowd 321 00:19:37,430 --> 00:19:40,910 tells him he is the problem while he waves a sweaty piece of paper saying, 322 00:19:41,010 --> 00:19:43,330 according to this study, you agree with me. 323 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:48,220 that druggies and weirdos thing. It's been so often the case with Rufo. He's 324 00:19:48,220 --> 00:19:52,900 taking a real thing and exaggerating it without key context. Because it is true 325 00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:57,220 there was a report by consultants that polled accepted applicants on 326 00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:01,360 of new college. And in one subsection it tested perceptions about the social 327 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:05,020 culture at the school. But it only gave people six phrases to choose from and 328 00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:08,200 made a point of saying potentially negative associations with the college 329 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:09,320 intentionally included. 330 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:14,280 And I would argue five of the six options were pretty negative given as 331 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,880 can see the remaining three were crunchy granola, slackers, and at a school with 332 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,140 zero fraternities or sororities, Greek. 333 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:26,640 It's like me announcing that polls show the celebrity I look most like is Remy 334 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:31,940 the Rat, and then revealing the only other option was The Rock. I mean, sure, 335 00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:36,680 a scale of Rat to Rock, I lean hard in one direction, but it was a pretty 336 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:37,980 question from the start. 337 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,520 Also, elsewhere in that report, far higher percentages described the school 338 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:46,380 terms like excellent faculty, personal attention, and rigorous courses. But 339 00:20:46,380 --> 00:20:50,460 despite all that, Ruffo and the other trustees set about making big changes. 340 00:20:50,740 --> 00:20:55,040 One of the biggest was bringing in a new president, Richard Corcoran, a former 341 00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker of the Florida House. And as you would expect from a man holding a 342 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:02,820 hammer that comically large, right from the start, he took some big, dumb 343 00:21:02,820 --> 00:21:03,820 swings. 344 00:21:04,330 --> 00:21:07,850 You have requested $2 million for a cancel culture center. 345 00:21:08,270 --> 00:21:13,390 We requested $2 million for a cancel cancel culture center. 346 00:21:13,630 --> 00:21:18,870 Why? Because it needs to happen. We need a nationwide beacon that says this is 347 00:21:18,870 --> 00:21:21,770 how you do it. We're going to have great debates out here on the yard. 348 00:21:22,050 --> 00:21:23,430 Liberals, conservatives, come. 349 00:21:23,630 --> 00:21:26,130 Let the students be exposed to every aspect. 350 00:21:26,860 --> 00:21:31,600 Okay, first, calling it a cancel -cancel culture centre is pathetic. It sounds 351 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,660 like the headquarters of a cult founded by Russell Brand, which is barely even a 352 00:21:35,660 --> 00:21:39,380 joke, given that he was invited to be a guest speaker at New College on the 353 00:21:39,380 --> 00:21:44,120 topic of thinking without permission, which is a bold sequence of words, 354 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:45,400 as you know, everything. 355 00:21:46,620 --> 00:21:49,980 Fun fact, by the way, his appearance at the cancel -cancel culture school is 356 00:21:49,980 --> 00:21:51,660 currently postponed, but... 357 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,660 Corcoran quickly made it clear that he was determined to change New College's 358 00:21:55,660 --> 00:21:59,100 culture, including by convincing the board to change its mascot from the null 359 00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:04,580 set to this, the mighty banyan tree. And I admit, if you wanted the spiritual 360 00:22:04,580 --> 00:22:09,280 opposite of a set of brackets, this steroid tree would be it. 361 00:22:09,660 --> 00:22:11,820 It looks like Groot if he hulked. 362 00:22:12,700 --> 00:22:15,900 It looks like the trees from Wizard of Oz if they guzzled creatine and got 363 00:22:15,900 --> 00:22:17,140 really into the manosphere. 364 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:22,080 If Samantha from Sex and the City saw that tree, she'd say, shiver me timbers, 365 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:23,500 talk about some hard wood. 366 00:22:24,380 --> 00:22:28,580 I bet him split me open and count my nuva ring. Girls, that tree would make a 367 00:22:28,580 --> 00:22:29,580 fabulous fuck. 368 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:38,960 But the mascot change was just the beginning. For all Corcoran's rhetoric 369 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,400 building a school that would engage in great debates, certain sides were 370 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:44,600 deliberately purged. For instance, the school... 371 00:22:44,990 --> 00:22:48,690 got rid of its gender studies programme, with Rufo bragging they'd gotten rid of 372 00:22:48,690 --> 00:22:53,250 a massive and radical department that indoctrinates students, despite the fact 373 00:22:53,250 --> 00:22:57,510 that in reality it had a budget of just $7 ,000 for programmes and expenses and 374 00:22:57,510 --> 00:22:59,010 a part -time office manager. 375 00:22:59,250 --> 00:23:03,330 And when the students were away on break, the school cleared out the Gender 376 00:23:03,330 --> 00:23:07,350 Diversity Centre, which was basically just a lounge with couches and a student 377 00:23:07,350 --> 00:23:10,030 -curated library, and threw all the books away. 378 00:23:10,410 --> 00:23:15,210 Rufo Evo even gleefully retweeted coverage of that, saying... We abolished 379 00:23:15,210 --> 00:23:18,210 gender studies program, now we're throwing out the trash. 380 00:23:18,650 --> 00:23:25,150 And setting aside that one of those books is a book of fucking puzzles, I 381 00:23:25,150 --> 00:23:28,850 even want to say what I need to say right now, so I'm not going to say it. 382 00:23:28,850 --> 00:23:33,570 said, and remember, I am not saying this, but say what you will about, here 383 00:23:33,570 --> 00:23:34,570 comes, the Nazis. 384 00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:39,190 But stick with me, credit where it's due, I know, when the Nazis went after 385 00:23:39,190 --> 00:23:43,330 books. They went big. They didn't wait for the students to be on break. At 386 00:23:43,330 --> 00:23:45,890 the Nazis, I hear it too, were bold. 387 00:23:47,110 --> 00:23:51,170 And as all this was happening, many professors were being fired, quitting or 388 00:23:51,170 --> 00:23:55,210 taking leave. In fact, just months into the takeover, more than a third of New 389 00:23:55,210 --> 00:23:59,570 College's faculty had left for part or all of the upcoming academic year. And 390 00:23:59,570 --> 00:24:03,910 what that meant was some students were suddenly left without teachers or 391 00:24:03,910 --> 00:24:07,430 advisors for their majors, which, as this mother of one student majoring in 392 00:24:07,430 --> 00:24:09,890 marine biology explained, Put them in a spot. 393 00:24:10,710 --> 00:24:14,010 She logged in to see her classes, and her classes were all gone. 394 00:24:14,330 --> 00:24:19,430 There was not one class for marine bio that was being offered, and she called 395 00:24:19,430 --> 00:24:25,490 the school, and the response was, oh, we don't have the teachers on staff to 396 00:24:25,490 --> 00:24:28,390 teach those classes anymore, so just go pick something else. 397 00:24:29,450 --> 00:24:31,590 Oh, my God. And she was like, what? 398 00:24:32,390 --> 00:24:36,610 Yeah, that's not great, is it? Especially because it's not like 399 00:24:36,610 --> 00:24:38,870 is... kind of like marine biology. 400 00:24:39,670 --> 00:24:43,490 No one wants to dedicate their life to studying the dark pits where we keep our 401 00:24:43,490 --> 00:24:45,130 worst and weirdest freaks. 402 00:24:45,710 --> 00:24:49,170 We'll be content studying anything else. What are they supposed to do instead? 403 00:24:49,350 --> 00:24:50,470 Study literature? 404 00:24:52,170 --> 00:24:56,710 You think a student could be wowed by reading Moby Dick after they've already 405 00:24:56,710 --> 00:24:58,050 seen literal hell? 406 00:24:59,050 --> 00:25:03,670 Or math? You are telling me someone could get wet for numbers after they've 407 00:25:03,670 --> 00:25:05,290 the angel that killed God? 408 00:25:07,210 --> 00:25:10,550 Wait, these kids have been event horizons. They need two things, a marine 409 00:25:10,550 --> 00:25:13,050 biology teacher and to be left alone forever. 410 00:25:14,270 --> 00:25:17,950 And look, so far, I've focused on the things that have been destroyed, but it 411 00:25:17,950 --> 00:25:19,630 also worth looking at what has been built. 412 00:25:19,890 --> 00:25:23,950 Because to hear Rufo tell it, all of this was just to reorient New College 413 00:25:23,950 --> 00:25:25,650 toward a simple goal. 414 00:25:26,190 --> 00:25:30,590 We're getting the college back to basics, back to the classical liberal 415 00:25:30,690 --> 00:25:32,930 and I'm certainly not going to apologize for that. 416 00:25:33,210 --> 00:25:34,790 Okay, Chris, then don't apologize. 417 00:25:35,630 --> 00:25:39,670 I'd maybe consider apologising for going on TV looking like a Keebler elf 418 00:25:39,670 --> 00:25:43,510 graduated from Wharton, but hold strong on everything else, you're doing great. 419 00:25:44,150 --> 00:25:48,570 The thing is, though, that classical liberal arts education seems so far to 420 00:25:48,570 --> 00:25:51,670 involve a heavy dose of culture war bullshit. 421 00:25:52,350 --> 00:25:55,430 For instance, Corcoran brought in presidential scholars in residence, 422 00:25:55,430 --> 00:25:58,970 included controversial figures like Bruce Gilley, author of the book The 423 00:25:58,970 --> 00:26:03,870 for Colonialism, which argues that European colonialism was actually a good 424 00:26:03,870 --> 00:26:05,730 thing. Huge for me, if true. 425 00:26:06,130 --> 00:26:12,330 And it's also written that for Africans, being enslaved under the British Empire 426 00:26:12,330 --> 00:26:15,990 was about as good as it got, which is a big old yike. 427 00:26:17,100 --> 00:26:20,680 And the college also started something called the Socratic Stage Dialogue 428 00:26:20,680 --> 00:26:24,740 Series, which it says seeks to advance free speech, civil discourse and 429 00:26:24,740 --> 00:26:28,820 dialogue. But it seems pretty clear which ideas they want to promote, given 430 00:26:28,820 --> 00:26:32,480 while they've had the occasional speaker like Bill Nye, they've generally skewed 431 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:36,920 strongly rightward and have included the likes of Ron Hantis, Tom Homan and Alan 432 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:40,840 Dershowitz, who, fun fact, actually spoke at their commencement too. 433 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:46,360 And it is a bold choice to go with a speaker so tied to Jeffrey Epstein you 434 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:47,900 could miss... fake him for a noose. 435 00:26:48,780 --> 00:26:53,800 Meanwhile, there have been some questionable administrative hires. At 436 00:26:53,820 --> 00:26:57,880 they hired a guy who'd worked as a spokesperson for DeSantis and Corcoran 437 00:26:57,880 --> 00:26:59,120 school's communications director. 438 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:03,520 He'd already been embroiled in a political sex scandal, and then soon 439 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:07,040 was hired, he was arrested for indecent exposure, which he blamed on medications 440 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,560 he was taking. But the thing is, if they'd done their homework properly 441 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:15,120 hiring him, they'd have learned that it was by no means a one -off incident. 442 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,660 Fred Piccolo has three separate cases open in Sarasota County. The first 443 00:27:20,660 --> 00:27:24,800 incident allegedly happened back in August. An affidavit says he went into a 444 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:29,100 dressing room at the Banana Republic in University Town Hall and stood with his 445 00:27:29,100 --> 00:27:33,160 pants down and shirt off in front of the store's assistant manager. A week and a 446 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:37,280 half later, another person reported Piccolo to police for doing the same 447 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:41,440 in a Dillard's dressing room. And one day after that, he's accused of doing 448 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,080 same thing to a different person at that same Dillard's. 449 00:27:44,890 --> 00:27:49,250 Not great. And listen, I think we all know malls have been struggling for a 450 00:27:49,250 --> 00:27:50,250 while now. 451 00:27:51,130 --> 00:27:54,790 Department stores like Dillard's especially need support. But if they 452 00:27:54,790 --> 00:27:58,510 get their name back into the national conversation, might I suggest changing 453 00:27:58,510 --> 00:28:02,570 their slogan from Dillard's The Style of Your Life to Dillard's Please Don't 454 00:28:02,570 --> 00:28:03,570 Whip Out Your Dick Here. 455 00:28:03,750 --> 00:28:07,690 It might be just the viral marketing splash that they need. Hey, I'm just 456 00:28:07,690 --> 00:28:08,690 spitballing here. 457 00:28:09,100 --> 00:28:11,180 It's not like I'm the head of marketing somewhere. 458 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,600 And it turns out now, neither is he. 459 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:18,640 Now, as for Dean of Students, they hired David Rancourt, a Florida lobbyist with 460 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:20,260 no relevant experience in higher education. 461 00:28:20,540 --> 00:28:24,680 The most noteworthy thing he's done since then was participate in a school 462 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,880 -up comedy night. Here is just a taste of his set. And I'll spare you the full 463 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,660 set -up. Just know it involves him at age seven and a girl the same age called 464 00:28:32,660 --> 00:28:36,740 Susie who was always showing off that she had more than he did. Until one day, 465 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:37,880 this happened. 466 00:28:38,260 --> 00:28:40,940 I said, Suzy, I want to show you something. 467 00:28:41,180 --> 00:28:42,220 Whipped down my pants. 468 00:28:43,060 --> 00:28:45,760 I pulled out that little pecker and I said, this is called a penis. 469 00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:48,120 I got one, you don't have one. 470 00:28:48,980 --> 00:28:51,900 She kind of looks at me, doesn't say anything. We go to school, everything's 471 00:28:51,900 --> 00:28:52,859 good. 472 00:28:52,860 --> 00:28:56,500 Next morning I get up, I walk on down a school bus stop feeling really good 473 00:28:56,500 --> 00:28:57,359 about myself. 474 00:28:57,360 --> 00:28:59,800 I see that little bitch, she's got a big old grin on her face. 475 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,560 Big old grin on her face. And I go, alright Suzy. 476 00:29:03,980 --> 00:29:07,980 What you got? She looks at me, smiles, lifts up her skirt and says, David, my 477 00:29:07,980 --> 00:29:11,060 mama says I got one of these. I haven't had as many of those as I want. 478 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:13,000 Yeah. 479 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,280 So, quick stand -up tip. 480 00:29:17,620 --> 00:29:21,940 Maybe don't tell a story in which you show a child your dick and call her a 481 00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:22,940 little bitch. 482 00:29:23,630 --> 00:29:26,950 Not only does it make you sound like a raging pervert, it also sounds like you 483 00:29:26,950 --> 00:29:30,170 stole it from a joke that your grandpa kept in his bathroom called Uncle Dick's 484 00:29:30,170 --> 00:29:33,210 Filthy Fartstravaganza of dirty jokes and toilet giggles. 485 00:29:33,530 --> 00:29:36,950 Now, I should say, when asked for comment on that routine, a New College 486 00:29:36,950 --> 00:29:41,630 spokesperson said, cancelled culture is over at New College, comedy is a work of 487 00:29:41,630 --> 00:29:46,170 art. Which, I'll be honest, is what a lot of comedians say right after they 488 00:29:46,170 --> 00:29:49,530 bomb. And remember, he was the fucking Dean of Students. 489 00:29:50,190 --> 00:29:52,590 Although, to be fair, he is not in that job anymore. 490 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,120 But that's only because he's been promoted to Vice Provost. 491 00:29:56,420 --> 00:29:59,780 Still, I will give the new administration credit for one thing. 492 00:29:59,780 --> 00:30:03,540 actually manage to increase enrolment. They proudly announced a new incoming 493 00:30:03,540 --> 00:30:07,860 class of 328 students for the first full academic year of Corcoran's tenure. 494 00:30:08,060 --> 00:30:13,140 But there is a big asterisk on that number. Because former admissions office 495 00:30:13,140 --> 00:30:16,060 employees have claimed the school boosted enrolment by sharply lowering 496 00:30:16,060 --> 00:30:19,540 standards. One recalled a colleague showing him an admissions essay that was 497 00:30:19,540 --> 00:30:21,140 screenshot of cell phone notes. 498 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,160 Riddled with incorrect spelling and grammar, and apparently that person went 499 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,160 to be accepted. 500 00:30:26,220 --> 00:30:30,500 And to be clear, when recruiting, New College was apparently selecting for a 501 00:30:30,500 --> 00:30:35,060 very specific type of student, as this video from Chris Ruffo makes clear. 502 00:30:35,460 --> 00:30:39,820 In a single academic term, President Corcoran has engineered the beginning of 503 00:30:39,820 --> 00:30:44,400 incredible turnaround. He's also begun the work of changing the culture, hiring 504 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:49,040 a new slate of all -star faculty, and recruiting a new cohort of mostly male 505 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:50,100 student -athletes. 506 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:54,020 who will begin to rebalance the hormones and the politics on campus. 507 00:30:54,460 --> 00:30:58,140 Well, so there is a lot to unpack there, but let's start with the phrase 508 00:30:58,140 --> 00:31:03,380 rebalancing the hormones, because unless you are a doctor, a nurse, or a woman 509 00:31:03,380 --> 00:31:06,840 whose TikTok algorithm is telling her that she's perimenopausal, you do not 510 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:09,440 to be discussing rebalancing hormones. 511 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,020 But Rufo was openly said. 512 00:31:12,490 --> 00:31:15,750 He wants to change New College's gender makeup. Apparently, before the takeover, 513 00:31:15,850 --> 00:31:20,090 two -thirds of its students were women. And he said that that was a wildly out 514 00:31:20,090 --> 00:31:23,890 -of -balance population that caused all sorts of cultural problems. 515 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,500 By the fall of Corcoran's first full academic year, the school had increased 516 00:31:27,500 --> 00:31:31,140 male enrollment by more than 23 percentage points. And as that video 517 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:37,480 the way they did that was by recruiting a fuckton of male athletes. Of those 328 518 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:43,280 new students, 115 were student athletes, with 70 enrolled for baseball alone. 519 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:48,780 They recruited 70 baseball players. I want to make absolutely sure you are 520 00:31:48,780 --> 00:31:49,780 hearing me here. 521 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:51,540 70 baseball players! 522 00:31:52,300 --> 00:31:56,860 That is multiple dozen too many. For context, the University of Florida, 523 00:31:56,860 --> 00:32:02,300 has a student body 60 times New College's size, had only 37 student 524 00:32:02,300 --> 00:32:04,940 its baseball team that year. And it gets even more ridiculous when you learn 525 00:32:04,940 --> 00:32:10,480 that they recruited, again, 70 baseball players to a school that at that point 526 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:14,940 had no intercollegiate athletics program and didn't even have a baseball team. 527 00:32:16,100 --> 00:32:20,300 So they were just bringing in... board players and expecting one to magically 528 00:32:20,300 --> 00:32:23,040 appear like some kind of reverse field of dreams. 529 00:32:23,780 --> 00:32:27,700 And while it is not important, I do still need you to know that of those 530 00:32:27,700 --> 00:32:33,280 recruits, fully 12 of them were listed as catchers, with 7 first basemen. 531 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:37,020 And the school made a point of prioritising those athletes over 532 00:32:37,020 --> 00:32:38,580 students like this one. 533 00:32:39,230 --> 00:32:43,070 Marshall Bustamante is about to start his fourth and final year at New 534 00:32:43,270 --> 00:32:48,010 but even before the semester begins, he's learning senior stripes no longer 535 00:32:48,010 --> 00:32:52,510 guarantees you first choice at senior digs. Who took over your room? 536 00:32:52,750 --> 00:32:57,270 Well, I mean, the administration removed me from my room so that athletes could 537 00:32:57,270 --> 00:33:01,430 be there. That's bullshit, though, isn't it? Senior housing is one of the only 538 00:33:01,430 --> 00:33:03,170 good things about being a senior. 539 00:33:03,900 --> 00:33:06,780 You shouldn't have to worry about losing decent housing in an insanely 540 00:33:06,780 --> 00:33:11,020 competitive and cutthroat marketplace. That is for, as we all know, the rest of 541 00:33:11,020 --> 00:33:12,020 your life. 542 00:33:12,430 --> 00:33:16,070 And if you're wondering why baseball players would even want to come to a 543 00:33:16,070 --> 00:33:20,030 without a baseball field, New College made it work there well, because despite 544 00:33:20,030 --> 00:33:23,370 scoring worse on average than other applicants, incoming student -athletes 545 00:33:23,370 --> 00:33:27,810 earned a disproportionate number, around half of the school's new $10 ,000 per 546 00:33:27,810 --> 00:33:31,370 year merit -based scholarships. Scholarships, by the way, that were paid 547 00:33:31,370 --> 00:33:35,150 of an extra $15 million that DeSantis got for New College from the state 548 00:33:35,150 --> 00:33:38,530 legislature. And if you're thinking, that's an awful lot of money. 549 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:42,260 to spend just to rebalance the hormones of a small school. 550 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:47,240 You're right about that, but then money has seemingly been no object when it 551 00:33:47,240 --> 00:33:50,460 comes to this project. In fact, a state audit last year found that the public 552 00:33:50,460 --> 00:33:56,120 cost to produce a degree at New College had swelled in 2024 to nearly $500 ,000, 553 00:33:56,460 --> 00:34:00,560 dwarfing what has been spent per student at any other public university. 554 00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:05,720 In fact, here is the chart from that report, showing by how much New College 555 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,199 outspending all the other state schools. 556 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:11,840 And while Corcoran dismissed that report, saying it compares apples to 557 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:15,199 and simply reflects a one -time investment to improve infrastructure 558 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:19,600 of deferred maintenance, it is worth noting that no new dormitories or other 559 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,780 major projects have broken ground since his appointment, including that 560 00:34:22,780 --> 00:34:24,380 cancelled cancel culture centre. 561 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:30,540 But, at the same time, administrative costs... have ballooned with one major 562 00:34:30,540 --> 00:34:34,219 expenditure being Corcoran's own salary. Because when you include perks and 563 00:34:34,219 --> 00:34:38,080 bonuses, he has the highest per -student salary of any president in Florida's 564 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:41,880 university system, worth more than a million dollars a year. All of which 565 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:45,760 it more than a little infuriating that when he took the stage at that stand -up 566 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:48,300 comedy night, this is how he opened his set. 567 00:34:48,900 --> 00:34:49,900 Thank you. 568 00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:55,639 I'm actually the president of New College, and you got to... Yeah, yeah. 569 00:34:57,870 --> 00:35:00,150 The job doesn't really pay well, but it's a good job. 570 00:35:00,550 --> 00:35:06,590 Okay, if, gun to my head, I had to say something positive about that, he did 571 00:35:06,590 --> 00:35:09,910 manage not to talk about flashing a seven -year -old girl with his dick, and 572 00:35:09,910 --> 00:35:11,810 now know that's not nothing. 573 00:35:12,390 --> 00:35:16,490 Look, in case it's not clear by now, the whole new college experiment has been a 574 00:35:16,490 --> 00:35:17,910 complete shitshow. 575 00:35:18,250 --> 00:35:22,590 In researching this piece, we talked to so many students, and one big takeaway 576 00:35:22,590 --> 00:35:26,470 was that while they're grateful that some of the old faculty have tried to 577 00:35:26,470 --> 00:35:30,790 around and help them, the school's administration seems to care much more 578 00:35:30,790 --> 00:35:35,490 political posturing than it does about their actual lives. And it is not like 579 00:35:35,490 --> 00:35:36,650 one saw this coming. 580 00:35:36,990 --> 00:35:40,430 Just listen to this student, interviewed not long after the takeover, outlining 581 00:35:40,430 --> 00:35:43,230 what she could see happening right in front of her. 582 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:49,680 It feels like New College has become a political playground to try out what 583 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:52,280 these people want the country to be. 584 00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:53,500 I'm upset. 585 00:35:53,740 --> 00:35:55,140 This is my education. 586 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:59,780 Exactly. She's right. She and everyone else at that school deserve for their 587 00:35:59,780 --> 00:36:03,620 education to not be co -opted by a bunch of dipshits doing political theatre for 588 00:36:03,620 --> 00:36:04,459 their own gain. 589 00:36:04,460 --> 00:36:08,140 As we all know, the only theatre done in college should look like this. That is 590 00:36:08,140 --> 00:36:09,760 me in college. 591 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:11,538 Doing theatre. 592 00:36:11,540 --> 00:36:16,720 Yeah, I waited this whole episode to show you that, and I only showed it to 593 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:18,520 because I lost a bet. 594 00:36:18,820 --> 00:36:24,060 And it is infuriating that a key leader of all of this has seemingly abandoned 595 00:36:24,060 --> 00:36:24,919 his post. 596 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:29,300 Because Chris Ruffo, despite claiming he was going to reinvent education, left 597 00:36:29,300 --> 00:36:33,200 the Board of Trustees this year, only to be replaced by former football coach 598 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:37,140 turned broadcaster Urban Meyer, which, sure, at this point, fuck it, why not? 599 00:36:38,190 --> 00:36:42,290 Meanwhile, Corcoran is still there and is insisting that his makeover's 600 00:36:42,290 --> 00:36:46,470 cannot be reasonably measured until 2028, which you'll never guess happens 601 00:36:46,470 --> 00:36:47,990 when his contract expires. 602 00:36:48,470 --> 00:36:53,590 And look, the stated mission of those behind the takeover of New College 603 00:36:53,590 --> 00:36:58,190 just to recapture an institution, but to provide a model for red states to then 604 00:36:58,190 --> 00:37:01,530 replicate. But if this is that model, it fucking sucks. 605 00:37:01,850 --> 00:37:06,010 Because it is possible to create a college that instills conservative 606 00:37:06,070 --> 00:37:07,070 There are plenty of places. 607 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:11,040 that have done that slowly over a long period of time. I don't want to go to 608 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:15,620 of them, but I at least recognise that they took real work to build. But this? 609 00:37:16,020 --> 00:37:17,300 This is pathetic. 610 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:22,520 And depressingly, it is the exact sort of smash and grab we're seeing in so 611 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,460 places right now, from public health to newspapers to broadcast news. 612 00:37:27,100 --> 00:37:30,600 Ideologues capturing something that they hate, claiming that they want to fix 613 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:32,440 it, and then destroying it instead. 614 00:37:32,860 --> 00:37:35,820 But seldom has that move been more blatant. 615 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,200 than watching people talk about great debates and classical education, only to 616 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:44,860 then drive away faculty, refer to books as trash, and assemble a veritable 617 00:37:44,860 --> 00:37:49,660 Avengers of D -list conservatives, celebrities, creeps and weirdos, all so 618 00:37:49,660 --> 00:37:52,380 they can lecture the world's single largest baseball team. 619 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:59,820 They have destroyed a rare haven for gentle nerds, and all they've really 620 00:37:59,820 --> 00:38:03,100 us in return is one, admittedly, very fuckable tree. 621 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:08,110 Girls, Call me a woodpecker because I'd tap that trunk. 622 00:38:08,350 --> 00:38:09,350 Cheers. 623 00:38:11,530 --> 00:38:13,230 And now, this. 624 00:38:14,410 --> 00:38:19,910 And now, the very strange world of ads for personal injury lawyers. 625 00:38:20,530 --> 00:38:21,830 Collision? Calamity? 626 00:38:22,030 --> 00:38:27,230 Catastrophe? Are you innocent? Faultless? Above reproach? If you want 627 00:38:27,230 --> 00:38:28,109 need an attorney. 628 00:38:28,110 --> 00:38:29,650 You need a bulldog. 629 00:38:30,030 --> 00:38:33,570 In a wreck and thinking about dealing with the insurance company yourself? 630 00:38:34,650 --> 00:38:38,110 Stop! I'm not signing or recording anything with the insurance company 631 00:38:38,110 --> 00:38:41,930 talk to Tom Dunyan. Be careful. After my car wreck, I was careful. 632 00:38:42,130 --> 00:38:43,410 I called Tom Dunyan first. 633 00:38:43,630 --> 00:38:46,430 After our client was hit by a dump truck, the insurance company initially 634 00:38:46,430 --> 00:38:51,310 offered her $16 ,000. We did what we do best. We pushed, and we got our clients 635 00:38:51,310 --> 00:38:52,850 $330 ,000. 636 00:38:53,190 --> 00:38:56,710 Get that deposition done? Got it. Nice. Get that Smith case settled? 637 00:38:57,610 --> 00:38:58,790 Settled for six figures. 638 00:38:59,190 --> 00:39:00,038 Nailed it. 639 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,460 I'm Kevin Kurgis, and I'm a lawyer. I've played sports my whole life, and I play 640 00:39:03,460 --> 00:39:06,660 to win. Don't let the insurance company break away with your settlement. 641 00:39:06,940 --> 00:39:09,780 Warrior injury law is your personal injury power play. 642 00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:16,500 Team Tice is here to listen, here to care, here to get you results. 643 00:39:17,060 --> 00:39:19,720 They'll even tell you how much money your case could be worth. 644 00:39:19,940 --> 00:39:24,860 $300 ,000, $2 million, $86 ,491, all sorts of numbers. 645 00:39:27,210 --> 00:39:30,230 That's our show. Thank you so much for watching. Mixed in 4. 646 00:39:30,510 --> 00:39:32,290 See you next week. Good night. 647 00:39:34,290 --> 00:39:39,510 Slip and falls, work accidents, car, truck, bus, motorcycle, motorbike, e 648 00:39:39,690 --> 00:39:43,030 tandem bike. These bulldogs will make sure people pay.