Last updated on November 21, 2025
Oct. 28 — In May, 2025, a memorial honoring the approximately 50 students who transferred from the New College of Florida (NCF) was completed in the Airport Lounge (APL). Two students among the NCF transfers—Libby Harrity F23 and Emma Curtis S24—spearheaded the artistic initiative to embed NCF’s story within the history of Hampshire College.
According to Harrity, NCF used to be “a haven for free thought and expression”. Like Hampshire, the school prioritized experimental learning and provided a welcoming environment for members of the LGBTQ community. For instance, Harrity referred to their initial experience at NCF as “paradise on Earth” before the inception of Governor Ron DeSantis’s “hostile takeover” of the institution in January, 2023. In an effort to eradicate “wokeness”, the governor usurped the school’s leadership by appointing sympathetic officials that were loyal to his conservative agenda.
Fortunately, Hampshire provided NCF students with a favorable deal to continue their nontraditional education. At their new institution, Harrity led an effort to ensure that future generations of Hampshire students remember those originally from NCF. While Harrity focused on writing and organizing, Curtis painted a recreation of her original mural that was destroyed at NCF during DeSantis’s “hostile takeover”. With assistance from Lorenzo Conte, Hampshire’s Gallery Director, and Rachel Beckwith, the former Library Director, Harrity and Curtis gained approval to use the APL as a location to preserve the memory of NCF through the installment.
Curtis’s mural depicts numerous cranes in flight over a skyline with bright colors. Describing its symbolism, Curtis remarked “The cranes represent transition from one place of nourishment to another. They are reflective of the experience of each cohort of students coming to school, dancing together, and then leaving all on our own paths. For NCF students at Hamp, we made that transition twice. It was worth it both times. Sandhill cranes are native to Florida, and the colors in the piece represent both a sunset and a sunrise, beginnings and ends.”
As many NCF students graduate from Hampshire, the installation takes on extra meaning. The plaque accompanying the mural encourages the Hampshire community to remember the NCF students. It reads “throughout 2023-2025, students in exile from NCF brought a radical Hampshire vigor to campus. Please remember us!”
Reflecting on his experience of working with Harrity and Curtis, Conte saw the enthusiastic spirit brought from New College firsthand and affirmed its lasting legacy upon the Hampshire community. He remarked “in my time working with students at Hampshire, the students that transplanted from New College have been some of the most driven and creative and active participants at Hampshire College. Having a chance to honor them in this installation is meaningful. But they’ve definitely left their mark on this place for sure.”
REVIEWED BY: Blaise Paine, Alexis Espinoza, Kenzie Doherty
