{"id":2237428,"date":"2024-05-04T23:21:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T03:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-of-florida-president-ben-sasse-blasts-asinine-entitlement-of-pro-hamas-protesters\/"},"modified":"2024-05-04T23:22:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T03:22:06","slug":"university-of-florida-president-ben-sasse-blasts-asinine-entitlement-of-pro-hamas-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-of-florida-president-ben-sasse-blasts-asinine-entitlement-of-pro-hamas-protesters\/","title":{"rendered":"University of Florida President Condemns Pro-Hamas Protesters&#8217; &#8216;Entitlement"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Funiversity-of-florida-president-ben-sasse-blasts-asinine-entitlement-of-pro-hamas-protesters%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2237428&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, now \u2064the President of the University\u2063 of Florida, criticized pro-Hamas demonstrators \u200bfor causing \u2064chaos on U.S. campuses. Sasse emphasized \u2064the\u2063 importance of upholding university rules and safety, denouncing violence and mob behavior.\u2063 He emphasized the need for universities\u200c to focus on genuine education rather than identity politics. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also \u2063expressed zero tolerance for such behavior after a recent terrorist attack.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p>Former U.S. Senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/ben-sasse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ben Sasse<\/a> (R-NE), now the president of the University of Florida, slammed pro-Hamas demonstrators this week who have created chaos on college campuses across the U.S. and the weak leadership at the universities that has allowed the behavior to happen.<\/p>\n<p>Sasse\u2019s remarks come after the school released a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/university-of-florida-slams-leftist-protesters-while-announcing-arrests-not-a-daycare\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> early in the week revealing that numerous arrests were made on campus because the school would not tolerate disorderly conduct that was in violation of the school\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHigher education has for years faced a slow-burning crisis of public trust,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/the-adults-are-still-in-charge-at-the-university-of-florida-israel-protests-tents-sasse-eca6389b?mod=opinion_lead_pos7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> in an op-ed at The Wall Street Journal. \u201cMob rule at some of America\u2019s most prestigious universities in recent weeks has thrown gasoline on the fire. Pro-Hamas agitators have fought police, barricaded themselves in university buildings, shut down classes, forced commencement cancellations, and physically impeded Jewish students from attending lectures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sasse said that parents were right to be angered over the \u201casinine entitlement of these activists and the embarrassing timidity of many college administrators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that at the University of Florida, the message that the school sends to parents and the future employers of college students is that \u201cthe adults are still in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo cherish the First Amendment rights of speech and assembly, we draw a hard line at unlawful action,\u201d he said. \u201cSpeech isn\u2019t violence. Silence isn\u2019t 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\u2019t speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that school\u2019s making empty threats to quell bad behavior is not effective and only serves to embolden those who are violating policies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAppeasing mobs emboldens agitators elsewhere,\u201d he said. \u201cMoving classes online is a retreat that penalizes students and rewards protesters. Participating in live-streamed struggle sessions doesn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that the school made the rules clear to the protesters who were on campus, and many of them decided that the consequences were worth it and have since been arrested and thrown off campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe said it. We meant it. We enforced it,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wish we didn\u2019t have to, but the students weighed the costs, made their decisions, and will own the consequences as adults. We\u2019re a university, not a daycare. We don\u2019t coddle emotions, we wrestle with ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"sk-tooltip-9096\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1700760801843000&#038;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG\">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>He said that schools needed to \u201crecommit themselves to real education\u201d instead of focusing on identity politics and other woke nonsense.<\/p>\n<p>He continued:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><em>  Rather than engage a wide range of ideas with curiosity and intellectual humility, many academic disciplines have capitulated to a dogmatic view of identity politics. Students are taught to divide the world into immutable categories of oppressors and oppressed, and to make sweeping judgements accordingly. With little regard for historical complexity, personal agency or individual dignity, much of what passes for sophisticated thought is quasireligious fanaticism.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The results are now on full display. Students steeped in this dogma chant violent slogans like \u201cby any means necessary.\u201d Any? Paraglider memes have replaced Che Guevara T-shirts. But which paragliders\u2014the savages who raped teenage girls at a concert? \u201cFrom the river to the sea.\u201d Which river? Which sea?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Young men and women with little grasp of geography or history\u2014even recent events like the Palestinians\u2019 rejection of President Clinton\u2019s offer of a two-state solution\u2014wade into geopolitics with bumper-sticker slogans they don\u2019t understand. For a lonely subset of the anxious generation, these protest camps can become a place to find a rare taste of community. This is their stage to role-play revolution. Posting about your \u201callergen-free\u201d tent on the quad is a lot easier than doing real work to uplift the downtrodden.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Florida Governor Ron DeSantis set the tone in the state regarding what behavior would not be tolerated on college campuses in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attack.<\/p>\n<p>Just a couple of weeks after the attack, DeSantis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/desantis-orders-florida-colleges-to-shut-down-pro-palestinian-student-groups-that-expressed-support-for-hamas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ordered<\/a> the state to crack down on collegiate student groups that showed support for Hamas\u2019 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood terrorist attack.<\/p>\n<p>The governor directed Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, to send notices to the University of Florida and the University of South Florida notifying them that they must deactivate their\u00a0chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) because they allegedly broke Florida laws about terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring a holy Jewish holiday, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shock-video-idf-warns-gazan-man-to-evacuate-children-before-bombing-he-responds-if-the-children-need-to-die-then-theyll-die\/\" title=\"Shock Video: IDF Warns Gazan Man To Evacuate Children Before Bombing. He Responds: \u2018If The Children Need To Die Then They\u2019ll Die\u2019\">recognized terrorist organization<\/a>, Hamas, launched an unprovoked attack on Israel \u2013 among those killed were babies, women, and elderly,\u201d Rodrigues\u00a0said\u00a0in a letter to the presidents of Florida\u2019s public universities. \u201cTo date, approximately 1,400 Israelis have been killed, including 31 American citizens. Governor DeSantis, our State University System and the Florida College System have condemned these attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response to the Palestinian Islamic terrorist attack, \u201cNational Students for Justice in Palestine (National SJP) released a \u2018toolkit\u2019 which refers to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood as \u2018the resistance\u2019 and unequivocally states: \u2018Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement,\u2019\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n<p>The letter noted that under Florida law, it is a felony to \u201cknowingly provide material support . . . to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/palestinian-terrorists-issue-death-threat-on-american-reformer-as-biden-admin-seeks-closer-ties\/\" title=\"Palestinian Terrorists Issue Death Threat on American Reformer as Biden Admin Seeks Closer Ties\">designated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-consider-enacting-statute-to-increase-punishments-for-domestic-terrorism\/\" title=\"Lawmakers consider enacting statute to increase punishments for domestic terrorism\">foreign terrorist organization<\/a><\/a>. . .\u201d Hamas is\u00a0designated\u00a0by the Untied States as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere, National SJP has affirmatively identified it is part of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood\u2014a terrorist led attack,\u201d the letter continued, later adding: \u201cBased on the National SJP\u2019s support of terrorism, in consultation with Governor DeSantis, the student chapters must be deactivated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter concluded by saying that Florida will continue to monitor events on college campuses and will be \u201cusing all tools at our disposal to crack down on campus demonstrations that delve beyond protected First Amendment speech into harmful support for terrorist groups.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Sasse, ex-U.S. Senator, now University of Florida President, criticized pro-Hamas protesters causing chaos on U.S. campuses. He blames weak university leadership for allowing such behavior. Sasse\u2019s comments followed a university statement denouncing the turmoil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":2237429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/05\/Ben-Sasse-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/05\/Ben-Sasse-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2237428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2237428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2237428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2237428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2237428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}