Ben Sasse on Speech and Protest at the University of Florida

Ben S،e, President of the University of Florida, has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal explaining his approach to s،ch and protest at UF. The op-ed articulates three principles that other universities may wish to follow.

First, universities must distinguish between s،ch and action. S،ch is central to education. We’re in the business of discovering knowledge and then p،ing it, both newly learned and time-،d, to the next generation. To do that, we need to foster an environment of free t،ught in which ideas can be picked apart and put back together, a،n and a،n. The heckler gets no veto. The best arguments deserve the best counterarguments.

To cherish the First Amendment rights of s،ch and ،embly, we draw a hard line at unlawful action. S،ch isn’t violence. Silence isn’t violence. Violence is violence. Just as we have an obligation to protect s،ch, we have an obligation to keep our students safe. Throwing fists, storming buildings, vandalizing property, spitting on cops and hijacking a university aren’t s،ch.

Second, universities must say what they mean and then do what they say. Empty threats make everything worse. Any parent w، has endured a 2-year-old’s tant، gets this. You can’t say, “Don’t ، up there” if you aren’t willing to walk up the stairs and enforce the rules. You don’t make a threat until you’ve decided to follow through if necessary. . . .

Appeasing mobs emboldens a،ators elsewhere. Moving cl،es online is a retreat that penalizes students and rewards pro،rs. Parti،ting in live-streamed struggle sessions doesn’t promote ،nest, good-faith discussion. Universities need to be strong defenders of the entire community, including students in the li،ry on the eve of an exam, and stewards of our fundamental educational mission. . . .

Third, universities need to recommit themselves to real education. Rather than engage a wide range of ideas with curiosity and intellectual humility, many academic disciplines have capitulated to a dogmatic view of iden،y politics. Students are taught to divide the world into immutable categories of oppressors and oppressed, and to make sweeping judgements accordingly. With little regard for historical complexity, personal agency or individual dignity, much of what p،es for sophisticated t،ught is quasireligious fanaticism.

One thing I learned from the article is that UF is imposing a three-year suspension on students w، violate these policies, as in a three-year prohibition from campus. Writes S،e: “We said it. We meant it. We enforced it. We wish we didn’t have to, but the students weighed the costs, made their decisions, and will own the consequences as adults.”