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‘I’m A First Amendment Zealot’: College President Tells CNN How He Stopped Anti-Israel Protests At Graduation

UF President Ben Sasse told CNN how he stopped protesters from disrupting graduation. [Screenshot/X/cnnsotu]

[Screenshot/X/cnnsotu]

Julianna Frieman Contributor
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University of Florida (UF) President Ben Sasse told CNN’s Jake Tapper how he stopped anti-Israel protesters from disrupting his school’s graduation ceremonies Sunday on “State of the Union.”

Tapper said most parents and students “would want” a graduation ceremony celebrating their accomplishments rather than the event being focused on the foreign conflict at the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Islamic terror group Hamas. Sasse told the CNN host that the multiple commencements at UF have been “pretty glorious” over the weekend because “they’re not being disrupted.”

Tapper questioned Sasse about his decision not to have UF comply with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order to shut down Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) groups following the governor’s October 2023 directive.

“Where does a university president draw a line between free speech concerns with the right of every student on campus to feel safe and secure, and also frankly to enjoy college and graduation?” Tapper asked. (RELATED: ‘I Don’t Think So’: Bill Maher Criticizes Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness For ‘Jew-Hating’ Protesters)

“Here here, great question,” Sasse replied. “I think the line is between speech and action. Uh, I’m a First Amendment zealot, and it’s a glorious thing that our first amendment gives us free speech, freedom of religion, press, assembly, protest or redress of grievances, our five glorious freedoms of the First Amendment. And what we tell all of our students, protesters and not, is there are two things we’re gonna affirm over and over again. We will always defend your right to free speech and free assembly, and also, we have time, place and manner restrictions, and you don’t get to take over the whole university.”

“People don’t get to spit at cops, you don’t get to barricade yourselves in buildings — you don’t get to disrupt somebody else’s commencement. We don’t allow protests inside,” he continued. “On my run this morning after I left The Swamp, which is our football stadium, I get to run the stadium this morning. I ran by our group of protesters waving their Palestinian flag. We protect their right to do that, but we have rules. And one of those rules is we don’t allow camping on campus. And so you can’t start to build an encampment. Our goal is not to arrest people, it’s to help them get into compliance with rules. They can protest, they can try to persuade people, but they don’t get to build a camp. Nobody, nobody else does either.”

The University of Florida made clear its tolerance level of anti-Israel protests soon after encampments sprung up on campuses across the U.S., starting at Columbia University. A memo issued by UF established firm boundaries, noting that the university allows peaceful protest while prohibiting amplified sound, protests inside campus buildings, threats and violent behavior.