Leftist Students Shout-Down Sen. Ben Sasse at University of Florida, ‘Ben Sasse is *ss’ – Watch
Leftist students and faculty at the University of Florida rallied in protest against the plan to invite Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb) to be the university’s next president. He is a finalist in the search.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Emerson Alumni Hall. Sasse was scheduled to participate in a Q&A forum with students on Monday. Just a few minutes after the forum started, approximately 300 anti-Sasse demonstrators were entering the building. They began chanting and banging in the hallway outside of the President’s Ballroom while the senator tried to answer questions.
“Hey hey, ho ho, Ben Sasse has got to go,” the protesters shouted. They carried signs reading, “Keep Sasse out of our swamp” and “Ben Sasse is ass.”
The demonstration was caught on video by reporters for the Alligator, a campus newspaper.
Because those participating in the forum could not even hear Sasse’s answers, it was cut short by 15 minutes.
“Obviously, I wish they didn’t have the position they have, but I strongly support the right of people to protest,” Sasse said. “I don’t precisely welcome the protesters, but I intellectually and constitutionally happily welcome the protesters.”
The protest was allegedly organized by the Alachua County Labor Coalition, Graduates Assistants United, the UF Young Democratic Socialists, United Campus Workers UF, UF College Democrats, and Take Action Florida.
After the forum was over and Sasse along with the moderator had left, protesters entered and took the stage.
“If you see Ben Sasse, shout at him,” a protester said from the stage. “Scare the s**t out of him.”
“Get the f**k out of our swamp,” they demanded
Sasse went on to another Q&A session with staff and the presidential search committee. The two-term senator was later seen being escorted into a waiting car by the University Police Department, the Alligator reported.
Students objected to Sasse’s conservative voting record and statements defending traditional marriage. They also criticized him for only taking pre-approved questions at the Q&A forum.
“I think he’s a coward,” public relations junior Grace Smith, 20, told the Alligator. “As a queer student, I think his presence is a threat to my well-being here, and if he actually becomes president, he won’t live a day of peace.”
Watch:
— Isabella Douglas (@_issadouglas) October 10, 2022
Protesters have gotten into the forum hall and literally and figuratively taken the stage here pic.twitter.com/Lss4V0qZJt
— Christian the Rocky Raccoon Defender (@vanityhack) October 10, 2022
