U.S. Senator Ben Sasse appointed president of the University of Florida amid protests

On October 24th, outgoing University of Florida president Kent Fuch announced the enforcement of a prohibition against indoor protests following the announcement of U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) being selected as a finalist for the position of university president. Much of the unruly protests surround Sasse’s opposition to same-sex marriage and the secretive search process used to select the U.S. Senator. Yet, the Senator has expressed his commitment to continue President Fuchs’ strong support of the LGBTQ+ community at the university. Further, Sasse pledged to abstain from politics and stay focused on improving academics and life at UF as president.

When announcing the regulation of protests on campus, Fuch expressed the university’s commitment to the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Fuch reasoned the protests were infringing on the rights of others to speak to and hear from Sasse, and thus needed management. Members of the faculty union and some professors criticized letter and the regulation of the protests, believing their voices were being stomped out in the important process of choosing the university president [1]. Since then, the University of Florida Board of Trustees have unanimously approved Sasse’s appointment. The Board of Governors confirmed Sasse’s hiring on November 10th, marking the final approval needed for the Republican Senator to become university president [2].