White Supremacy as an Exam Assignment – How a Constitutional Essay Revealed a University’s Moral Bankruptcy

Gainesville – This is a scandal that reaches far beyond the campus: At the University of Florida’s law school, a 29-year-old law student, Preston Damsky, was awarded the prestigious “book prize” for the best seminar paper. The topic of his work? The claim that the United States Constitution was written solely for white people. The award Damsky received is more than just an academic honor. It is a wake‑up call. For a society that is on the brink of betraying its own constitution. Damsky, a self-professed antisemite and adherent of the ideology of white supremacy, argued in his paper for stripping non‑whites of voting rights, issuing shoot‑to‑kill orders against “criminal infiltrators” at the border, and justifying violence to preserve “ethnic sovereignty.” The paper was graded by conservative Federal Judge John L. Badalamenti, appointed during Donald Trump’s first term. He co‑taught the seminar alongside Ashley Grabowski, a conservative federal court clerk, who also remained silent. The university administration’s defense: At a public university, professors cannot grade based on ideological content but must focus solely on form and argument structure. But this reveals the fatal confusion of neutrality with indifference. The Constitution of 1787 may have lacked protections for non‑whites—but the post‑war amendments 13, 14, and 15 introduced those protections, upheld by over 600 Supreme Court decisions through 1941. Damsky’s positions contradict not only current law but also every civilizational norm.

That such an essay was awarded the highest grade is not only a legal absurdity but a moral catastrophe. Damsky wrote, “The People cannot be expected to meekly swallow this demographic assault on their sovereignty.” And further, “If the judiciary fails, the problem will not be solved by the scales of justice being weighed, but by the cruel sword of its blade.” A barely concealed call to violence, an intellectually polished manifesto for a racially motivated coup—and yet the text was celebrated as outstanding scholarship. The university defended the decision initially by citing academic freedom and neutrality. Only after Damsky posted additional antisemitic and racist remarks on the Elon Musk–controlled platform X, including demanding that Jewish people be “eliminated by any means necessary,” did they suspend him and impose a three‑year campus ban. But the message had already been sent: Those advocating for the end of equality can apparently be rewarded with academic recognition in Florida.

The case fits into a political landscape increasingly shaped by authoritarian tendencies. Governor Ron DeSantis has repeatedly placed close political allies into university administrative positions, most recently on June 19 2025. The renaming of a course taught by Professor Carliss Chatman from “Race Equity Entrepreneurship and Inequality” to simply “Entrepreneurship” exemplifies how deeply ideological control has penetrated. Damsky’s references to authors like Sam Francis and Richard Lynn, both proponents of racist eugenics, make it clear this is not a one‑off mistake but an ideologically consistent worldview. The fact that a racist essay denying this constitutional evolution was honored by a federal judge is a wake‑up call. It shows that part of the American justice and education system may be choosing the wrong side of history.

The political dimension is clear: Governor Ron DeSantis has installed loyalists into the university’s leadership. On June 19 2025, three new conservative officials were confirmed in leadership roles. The influence is real. Professor Carliss Chatman, a visiting lecturer at the law school, said, “I can’t call my seminar ‘Race Equity Entrepreneurship and Inequality’ but a student can write manifest‑like papers advocating white supremacy and get an award.” The university has now banned Damsky from campus, and the prosecutor’s office revoked his internship. But it remains unclear whether the court will expel him. In interviews, he has identified as a follower of Sam Francis and Richard Lynn, noted proponents of eugenics. And he said, “I’d be glad if the judge was a white nationalist.” He claims he was punished simply for his ideas.