Florida’s leading university is warning its students against anti-Israel protests seen in colleges across the U.S. In a directive released on Friday, the University of Florida made it clear what behavior is acceptable and what is not for those who want to express their right to free speech in a protest in the school premises.
University of Florida lays out clear consequences for disruptive student, faculty protesters https://t.co/atUGXqH995
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) April 27, 2024
Laying out consequences for students or staffers who cross the line, the university said that protesters have a right to speech while expressing their viewpoints and can hold signs in their hands. However, the school prohibits the use of amplified sound, violence and threats, as well as protests being held inside campus buildings.
In a warning to deter encampment protests which have sprung up on other school campuses, including Columbia University, the University of Florida also made it clear that no tents or sleeping bags are allowed to be used by protesters on campus.
According to the Florida university, disruptive protesters run the risk of great punishment, as the school said any student who engages in any of the prohibited activities outlined in its directive and break the rule will be banned from the school campus for three years and suspended.
As for employees of the university who engage in the prohibited activities, including professors, the penalty is termination.
Speaking to Fox Business about the memo, University of Florida VP of Communications James Wegmann said, “This is Adulting 101: Actions have consequences.”
The directive from the top university in Florida, comes after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said that the anti-Semitic protests going on in several universities across the U.S. will not be tolerated in Florida.
Speaking at a press conference this week, he stated, “Some of the stuff with the Hamas, I think, is absurd that someone would go out and demonstrate on that. But when you’re chasing Jewish students around, when you’re not letting a Jewish professor enter a building, when you’re targeting people like that, that’s not free speech. I mean, that’s harassment, that violates appropriate conduct.”
“And yet at Columbia, at Yale, all these places, those guys, those folks rule the roost. They do whatever they want, and these administrators and the presidents of these universities are weak, they’re scared, and they don’t do anything. You know, you do that in Florida at our universities, we’re showing you the door, you’re gonna be expelled when you’re doing that stuff. And you know what? The minute people start to face consequences, you are not gonna see this nonsense going on,” he added.
At places like Columbia and Yale, Hamas protesters rule the roost, and the universities are too weak and scared to do anything—even as these mobs harass Jewish students and faculty.
If you try that at a Florida university, you are going to be expelled. pic.twitter.com/pY1VkoiTwn
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) April 25, 2024
