Like many undergraduates, Jami Zeller had never taken a sociology course before college. As a freshman at the University of Florida, she enrolled in SYG2000, an introductory sociology course, because she was interested in the subject matter and the class fulfilled a general education graduation requirement.
“I took the course because I thought it would be interesting and ended up really loving it,” she said. “I’m someone who follows the news very closely and is very politically minded and very conscious about social issues… I’d never learned about those things in a classroom setting before.”
Zeller ultimately decided to major in sociology. But starting next school year, freshmen will have less incentive to take the course that helped shape the trajectory of her academic career.
Zeller chose to pursue a major in sociology at a tumultuous time for the discipline across the state. Florida’s Board of Governors, in a surprise vote on March 26, removed SYG2000 from the list of general education course options at Florida’s public universities.
The vote followed the approval of a heavily revised introductory sociology textbook in 2025, developed in part by state officials to ensure course materials comply with a state law limiting instruction on DEI-related topics. Entire chapters about race, gender and sexuality were removed from the textbook.
In 2024, the board also voted to remove introductory sociology from the state core’s list of social science course options — another graduation requirement.
Sociology professors say the state’s actions represent an infringement on academic freedom. Although UF opted not to adopt the revised textbook and syllabus, faculty members worry continued efforts to marginalize the discipline could affect students and the department’s future.
Evan Lauteria, an assistant professor of sociology at UF, said removing SYG2000 from the general education course list makes students less likely to take the class and creates additional hurdles for students in other majors who are required to enroll in it. UF premed students, for example, must take SYG2000 to prepare for the MCAT, meaning they now have to take an additional social science course to satisfy their general education and major requirements.
“It’s putting an undue burden on student planning … preventing other majors from taking it just out of curiosity and interest and minimizing the number of majors we might get in the long run,” Lauteria said.
Lauteria said he was blindsided by the board’s vote, which was not included on the meeting agenda. The agenda item instead addressed requests from some campuses seeking to remove introductory sociology from the general education course list.
“My initial reaction was anger over that being on the agenda,” he said. “But then using that to try and remove all sociology gen eds, even from campuses that did not request it to be removed, seemed like really obnoxious behind the scenes maneuvering and really shady backdoor decision making,” he said.
Sociology students at UF said they were similarly upset by the decision. Zeller worries incoming students may lose the opportunity to explore ideas that broadened her worldview.
“I think that college is about education, and I think limiting students’ opportunities to gain an education in any subject is wrong, especially a subject that is so important to our understanding of the world,” she said. She also worries the board’s latest vote could be a first step toward removing more sociology courses from the curriculum.
Amy Hoang, a UF junior, also decided to major in sociology after taking SYG2000. She said the course helped her better understand her own experiences growing up as a low-income student in Central Florida who had to travel to another school to attend an engineering and STEM magnet program.
At the Board of Governors’ March meeting, State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues urged members to remove the course, saying sociology had become “social and political advocacy dressed in the regalia of academia.” His remarks echoed Gov. Ron DeSantis and other conservative politicians, who have criticized the field as “woke” indoctrination that they argue undermines patriotism and civic engagement and should be eliminated from higher education.
Hoang disagrees, saying students should be able to decide for themselves whether to take the course.
“There are so many gen ed classes that you can take to fulfill a requirement. When you take away sociology as a choice, that is honestly more indoctrinating than just keeping it there and letting people either ignore it or pick it,” she said. “When I took the intro to sociology class, everyone had pretty diverse opinions and thoughts about the concepts we learned … no one leaves that class with the same thoughts as the rest of their peers.”
Students will still be able to take Introduction to Sociology as an elective. However, state officials continue to reshape university curricula by limiting discussions of race, gender and sexuality. Lauteria said universities are also being advised to follow new state guidelines for teaching introductory American history courses — United States to 1877 and United States since 1877 — which remain state core and general education social science options.
Those discussions, Lauteria argues, should be embraced. A UF alum, he said he was closed-minded when he took SYG2000 as a freshman.
“I had not really interacted with lots of people different from me, and I hadn’t really thought about the role of institutions in shaping social life, and this intro, course, really pushed me to think more complexly about the world,” he said.
Although he did not major in sociology like Zeller and Hoang, Lauteria said the course left a lasting impression. Contrary to its critics, he describes sociology as a discipline grounded in empirical data and theory.
“As a science, it’s one of the most useful tools we can give everyday citizens for improving social lives,” he said.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF students speak out after sociology cut from Florida gen ed
Reporting by Chelsea Long, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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