GAINESVILLE, Fla. — About 200 student protesters crowded into the University of Florida’s Emerson Alumni Hall on Monday and refused to leave in protest of U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, the lone finalist to be the school’s next president.
The protesters waved signs and filled the hall’s lobby chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho. Ben Sasse has got to go.” Their shouts could be heard inside the President’s Ballroom, where Sasse was speaking at one of three forums scheduled as part of his campus visit.
Sasse, 50, paused a few times and smiled as the chants grew louder, then ended the student session about 15 minutes early. The protesters then flowed into the ballroom where the Nebraska Republican was scheduled to meet next with university employees.
To avoid the noisy scene, the university held the employee session online instead.
The protesters made five demands. They wanted Sasse to decline the president’s job and the UF board of trustees to release the names — thus far withheld — of all 12 people they had interviewed for the post. They also demanded more transparency during the selection process and the repeal of a new Florida law that makes presidential searches at state colleges and universities largely secret.
In addition, they wanted UF to commit to picking a person who demonstrated “consistent advocacy and respect for people of all sexual orientations, genders and races.”
The large group stayed until the employee session with Sasse ended shortly after 4 p.m. Some of them said they planned to return on Nov. 1, when Sasse is scheduled to be interviewed by the board of trustees.
Sasse’s day started with an earlier session addressing faculty members, where he quickly faced a tense line of questioning.
Faculty members quizzed him on his positions regarding tenure, which he ended during a five-year period as president of tiny Midland University in eastern Nebraska. Sasse drew distinctions between Midland and UF, saying tenure was a necessity for recruitment at a large research university. He said he would be a “zealous defender of tenure” in Florida and would take it upon himself to explain its merits to people who might not understand in Tallahassee, a place he said he’s never been.
But his first question from both faculty and students was how he would protect LGBTQ individuals, based on his statements opposing same-sex marriage.
Amanda Phalin, president of the faculty senate, said many UF faculty are “deeply concerned” about Sasse’s stance on that issue and read him the university’s nondiscrimination policy.
Sasse responded, saying his stances were a “subset” of who he was.
”I believe deeply in the immeasurable worth and universal dignity of every single person,” he said.
He said the law of the land is set and nothing is currently under consideration at UF that would call that into question.
”People vigorously wrestle about what the issues are in the classroom, but the community is a place for respect and inclusion for all Gators,” he said.
He said he would meet with the LGBTQ advisory group on campus to learn more about the metrics of what is needed to create a more inclusive community.
Lucca Carlson, a sophomore at the protest, said while he expected a conservative appointment he didn’t expect a politician currently in office “who had publicly made hateful statements.”
Andrew Taramykin, a UF junior, said it was evident Sasse’s political experience was what got him the job over his experience as president of Midland.
He noted that UF’s current president, Kent Fuchs, entered the president’s job having come from Cornell.
———
