Brad Swanson

🐊University of Florida President Dr. Ben Sasse: I have four simple messages. First, to the Floridians who pay our bills: The University of Florida will always uphold speech and assembly rights, and we will also always follow the law. Too much of higher education has been captured by a lot of nonsense over the course of the last weeks, and that won't happen at the University of Florida. To the law enforcement officers who have kept things peaceful: Thank you. Your professionalism has been amazing. Over the course of the last two weeks in particular, you have been long suffering, giving protestors the right to exercise their free speech rights, but also the opportunity to come into compliance with our time, place & manner restrictions. Our goal has not been to arrest. It has been to help people get into compliance with the law. And what you have done in the face of being spit on, being shouted at with profanities, has been amazing. The professionalism of our law enforcement is a model for lots and lots of people across the country. To the protestors: You have heard us say this again and again. You have a constitutional right to protest, and we will protect that. But anyone who crosses the line with prohibited actions will face the consequences. This is a big university where not everyone is going to agree. We have 86,000 souls on this campus, and we will treat each other with respect. Unlike many institutions across the country, I'm incredibly proud that over the course of our 21 commencements over the last six days, we were able to celebrate our students and celebrate their families, which is the purpose of the commencement time. Too often in our time and place, we give the most voice to the loudest and angriest people. The University of Florida is not filled with angry people, and it's been wonderful to see a lot of moms have tears streaming down their cheeks as we were able to hold commencements over the course of the last week. And that's because of the fortitude and professionalism in particular of our law enforcement. And finally, to our Jewish students: UF is proud to be home to the most Jewish students anywhere in the country. This is the most Jewish university in the country, and it is great to be a Jewish gator. I want all of our students to feel safe. But more than the subjective feeling, I want our students to BE safe. And that is true today, and we're glad to have you, and we're excited to celebrate a big future together. @UF @BenSasse @GovRonDeSantis