Sane-minded people who felt a sense of despair after seeing how the pro-Hamas college protests were playing out early on at places like Columbia University and UCLA were heartened in late April when the University of Florida issued a no-nonsense response to the “outrage” that ensued from the arrest of some campus agitators.
Advertisement
As RedState reported at the time, the statement released by U of F school spokesman Steve Orlando confirmed that they were not a daycare center and that if their rules were not followed, then consequences would follow.
“This is not complicated: The University of Florida is not a daycare, and we do not treat protesters like children — they knew the rules, they broke the rules, and they’ll face the consequences,” he noted.
READ–>> Go Gators: Statement From University of Florida After Arrest of Campus Occupiers Was Perfection
What was especially fascinating about the school’s response was knowing that former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) is now their president.
Sasse, as RedState readers will recall, left a lot to be desired during his time as Senator, but his administration’s handling of the encampments has earned a lot of praise from many of his conservative critics.
In an update to this story, Sasse himself followed up with an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that put an exclamation point on how these protests should be handled both from a free speech perspective and the perspective of making sure the campus is kept safe and welcoming for all students:
Advertisement
To cherish the First Amendment rights of speech and assembly, we draw a hard line at unlawful action. Speech isn’t violence. Silence isn’t violence. Violence is violence. Just as we have an obligation to protect speech, we have an obligation to keep our students safe. Throwing fists, storming buildings, vandalizing property, spitting on cops and hijacking a university aren’t speech.
[…]
Second, universities must say what they mean and then do what they say. Empty threats make everything worse. Any parent who has endured a 2-year-old’s tantrum gets this. You can’t say, “Don’t make me come up there” if you aren’t willing to walk up the stairs and enforce the rules. You don’t make a threat until you’ve decided to follow through if necessary. In the same way, universities make things worse with halfhearted appeals to abide by existing policies and then immediately negotiating with 20-year-old toddlers.
Appeasing mobs emboldens agitators elsewhere. Moving classes online is a retreat that penalizes students and rewards protesters. Participating in live-streamed struggle sessions doesn’t promote honest, good-faith discussion. Universities need to be strong defenders of the entire community, including students in the library on the eve of an exam, and stewards of our fundamental educational mission.
Advertisement
In my view, Sasse has provided an important blueprint other higher education institutions should follow when it comes to drawing the line in the sand as to what is and is not okay.
To reiterate a point I’ve made before, hats off to people like Sasse and others who are making the critically important distinctions between what protecting free speech means versus the enforcement of sensible policies designed to make campuses safe, secure, and welcoming for all, especially at a time when cries of “First Amendment violations” are nearing fever pitch.
Related: Absolute Hilarity Ensues After Pro-Hamas Vanderbilt ‘Sit-In’ Does Not Go According to Plan