Protest ban at Florida university after anti-Sasse rally
The University of Florida is going to start enforcing a decades-old prohibition against indoor protests following a raucous demonstration earlier this month against the selection of U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as a finalist for the school president’s job
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The University of Florida is going to start enforcing a decades-old prohibition against indoor protests following a raucous demonstration earlier this month against the selection of U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse as a finalist for the school president's job.
The current university president, Kent Fuch, said Monday in a letter to the university community that a protest inside a forum where Sasse was taking questions on Oct. 10 made it difficult to hear the Nebraska senator's responses as protesters were banging their fists on windows, walls and furniture. Because of the demonstration involving 1,000 protesters, the discussion had to be moved online and shortened.
While the university supports the First Amendment right to free speech, “with this commitment comes an obligation to protect the rights of everyone in our community to speak and to hear," Fuchs said.
The regulation against protests inside campus buildings has been on the books for two decades, but it wasn't enforced in recent years because protesters “were respectful of others and their rights to speak and to hear," Fuchs said.
The policy will be enforced next week when the school's board of trustees meets to consider Sasse's candidacy, and students who violate it may be subject to discipline, Fuchs said.
Sasse, a Republican in his second Senate term, has drawn criticism from some at the school in Gainesville, Florida, for his opposition to same-sex marriage.
Sasse called the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision legalizing same-sex marriage “a disappointment to Nebraskans who understand that marriage brings a wife and husband together so their children can have a mom and dad."
He also declared as unnecessary a bill protecting same-sex marriage that cleared the U.S. House in July.
When asked at the University of Florida forum earlier this month whether he opposes same-sex marriage, Sasse noted that it is now national law as ruled upon by the Supreme Court and that his goal is to create a “place of respect and inclusion for all Gators," referring to the school's nickname.
Others question his qualifications to run such a sprawling school with more than 50,000 students, and the secretive selection process used in choosing Sasse. A new Florida law allows universities to conduct much of the process outside of the state’s open meetings and public records laws.
Sasse, 50, was previously president of Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, which has just over 1,600 students.