Anthropologists on governor Rick Scott's hit list

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Governor Rick Scott got a friendly reception from a Tallahassee business group he met with Tuesday. Facing another tight budget, Scott is going after the usual: taxes and regulations. but also university curriculum.

“How many more jobs do you think there is for anthropology in this state? Do you want to use your tax dollars to educate more people who can’t get jobs? In anthropology? I don’t,” the governor said.

Scott’s words are troubling to Dr. Geoffrey Thomas. Thomas just got his Ph.D. in anthropology

Thomas believes Scott is just wrong. “There are numerous jobs in numerous universities across the country, as well as applications outside universities, outside academia.”

Melissa Dehart is a creative writing major who uses her study of humanity as the basis for her writings. “I mean, you can learn from your past and all that stuff, and forgetting the past is not a good thing.”

But the message Scott seems to be floating is that universities can’t keep raising tuition and that they are going to have to do without some programs. “Do we need to do all those programs, rather than the first thing is we’ve got to raise tuition every year?”

Whether Scott will seek to keep anthropology from being taught in each of the state's universities or whether it will be left up to individual schools is unclear.

Like his jobs plan, Scott says his legislative agenda will be focused on seven items, with university programs and tuition one of them. He is also expected to seek an end to tenure at the university level.