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UF President, Ben Sasse, Shows All Other Universities How to Write Public Statements
This statement from Ben Sasse, the president of the University of Florida, is pretty much perfect in every way:
Dear Jewish Gator Alums,
Many of you have reached out about the vigil at UF last night. I was overwhelmed to see a thousand Gators standing with Israel. You can find my remarks here.
The chaos at the event was an unfortunate end to a beautiful gathering, but I wanted to let you know that there was no attack on campus and the injuries that have been reported seem to be relatively minor. From what we can gather, a student passed out and, when a fellow student called for 911, other students – understandably on edge – fled.
While we all wish the night had ended differently, we are tremendously proud of the students who came to stand with Israel. I hope Rabbi Jonah and Rabbi Berl reschedule the vigil, and I hope the community reconvenes.
Like you, I am tremendously grateful for our students. The University of Florida is home to the largest number of Jewish students at any university in this country. We are honored by and committed to that legacy. Our Jewish students and alumni around the world have been devastated by Hamas’ terrorism.
I will not tiptoe around this simple fact: What Hamas did is evil and there is no defense for terrorism. This shouldn’t be hard. Sadly, too many people in elite academia have been so weakened by their moral confusion that, when they see videos of raped women, hear of a beheaded baby, or learn of a grandmother murdered in her home, the first reaction of some is to “provide context” and try to blame the raped women, beheaded baby, or the murdered grandmother. In other grotesque cases, they express simple support for the terrorists.
This thinking isn’t just wrong, it’s sickening. It’s dehumanizing. It is beneath people called to educate our next generation of Americans. I am thankful to say I haven’t seen examples of that here at UF, either from our faculty or our student body.
As for us, our educational mission here begins with the recognition and explicit acknowledgment of human dignity – the same human dignity that Hamas’ terrorists openly scorn. Every single human life matters. We are committed to that truth. We will tell that truth.
In the coming days, it is possible that anti-Israel protests will come to UF’s campus. I have told our police chief and administration that this university always has two foundational commitments: We will protect our students and we will protect speech. This is always true: Our Constitution protects the rights of people to make abject idiots of themselves.
But I also want to be clear about this: We will protect our Jewish students from violence. If anti- Israel protests come, we will absolutely be ready to act if anyone dares to escalate beyond peaceful protest. Speech is protected – violence and vandalism are not.
I’m grateful to have heard from so many of you. Like I said at the vigil last night: When evil raises its head, as it has in recent days, it is up to men and women of conscience and courage to draw strength from truth and commit ourselves to the work of building something better – to the work of pursuing justice and pursuing peace. That is what we aim to do through education, compassion, and truth here at the University of Florida.
Sincerely, Ben
This letter is morally clear. It is outraged without being saccharine or flustered. It’s universalist in tone and in detail. It defends free expression. It makes it clear what is speech and what is not speech. It distinguishes between principle (“our Constitution”) and analysis (“the rights of people to make abject idiots of themselves”). It is, in short, what every such statement ought to be — and, because it is in response to something concrete (“the chaos at the event”) it has an obvious rationale for existing in the first place.
Other universities ought to look and learn. Bravo.
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