Nebraska Republican U-S Sen. Ben Sasse faced pointed questions and loud protests Monday during his first visit to the University of Florida as the lone finalist for the school’s presidency.
Sasse had separate meetings on campus with students, faculty and staff. Some questioned his qualifications to run a school with more than 50,000 students since his prior experience was as president of Midland University, a school of 1,600 near Omaha.
Some criticized Sasse for his stance on same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ issues. Asked whether he opposes same-sex marriage, he said it’s now the law – adding that his goal is to create a “place of respect and inclusion for all Gators,” Florida’s sports mascot.
Sasse also said while he’s “had political positions and policy positions that represent the views of Nebraskans,” the University of Florida’s president’s job “is to celebrate all of what’s going on in this community, and to be a storyteller and resource getter and salesman for it.”
The Gainesville Sun reported that at least one of the campus meetings was disrupted by about 1,000 people yelling “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Ben Sasse has got to go.” Protest organizers included the UF College Democrats, Young Democratic Socialists. and Graduate Assistants United.
Sasse said the students have every right to protest and while“Obviously I wish they didn’t have the position they have, I strongly support the right of people to protest and exercise their free speech rights.”.
Some students were concerned about the secretive selection process used in making Sasse the lone finalist. A new Florida law allows universities to conduct much of the process outside of the state’s open meetings and public records laws.
Sasse still faces a vote by the school’s board of trustees and then must be confirmed by the state board of governors before officially getting the job as president.