The University of Florida released a statement saying that Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska is the finalist to be University of Florida's next president. He has received unanimous support from the selection committee and their decision whether or not to appoint Sasse will be released at the beginning of November. 

This decision is met with indignation from the student body as Ben Sasse has political views that do not align with the values that the students at the University of Florida hold. They are discriminatory and non-representative of our student population.

Some examples of Sasse's questionable political views in the past are shown below. 

In 2015,  same-sex marriage laws were enacted into legislation, Senator Ben Sasse responded with contempt and released a statement stating that "Marriage brings a wife and a husband together so their children can have a mom and a dad."

He proceeded to call the ruling a "disappointment to Nebraskans"

 In 2016, ESPN erased footage from Curt Schilling's baseball Major League baseball game following him being fired for openly objecting transgender bathrooms. Senator Ben Sasse released a tweet to ESPN saying 

"Are you really changing sports history based on your preference in present culture-warring?" 

On November 3rd, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that it would not provide immigrants with payments to kickstart their life in the United States. Senator Ben Sasse responded to this by saying that:

 "It shouldn't have taken pressure from Senate Republicans to keep President Biden from handing our bags of cash to illegal immigrants. The President's job isn't to cater to AOC and Bernie Sanders."

Senator Ben Sasse does a poor job of representing the student body at the University of Florida as his political viewpoints have proved to be discriminatory and harmful for many individuals. 

The University of Florida should strive to be an establishment where everybody, regardless of their background, feels like they are in an environment that nurtures their identity and makes them feel safe. If the individual heading our university doesn't value that safety and fails to embrace individuality, then it's virtually impossible for the student's to feel secure in their environment as well.

The executive board at UF regards the university as a prestigious institution. Appointing an individual who exhibits blatant disrespect for the identity of many individuals in the student body does more to diminish that prestige than it does to uphold it. Having a position that holds such a significant amount of legislative power over the decisions of the university can result in devastating consequences regarding the freedom and values held by the individuals in our student body! 

 

Sign this petition to send to the Board of Trustees at UF, Ben Sasse should not be our next president