A sign outside the University of Florida. (@GreenPlusAnE / X screen shot)
The University of Florida is making headlines for its firm stance on campus demonstrations, particularly those in support of Hamas terrorist.
Amidst a national wave of collegiate protests, the administration issued a stern reminder regarding the boundaries of free expression under the First Amendment, drawing a stark line between permissible speech and what it deems disruptive or harmful conduct.
The administration’s straightforward warning delineated the rules:
Allowable Activities
Speech
Expressing viewpoints
Holding signs in hands
Prohibitive Items and Activities
no amplified sound
no demonstrations inside buildings
No littering
No camping
No sleeping
No unmanned signs
No blocking egress
No building structures (chairs, stakes, benches, tables)
No camping, including tents, sleeping bags, pillows, etc.
No disruption
No threats
No violence
No weapons
Any other items and/or activities deemed to be non-compliant with policy and regulations by university officials
Consequences for Non-Compliance
Individuals found responsible for engaging in prohibited activities shall be trespassed from campus.
Students will receive a 3 year trespass and suspension.
Employees will be trespassed and separated from employment.
This direct approach is a departure from the tumultuous scenes observed at other prestigious institutions where pro-Hamas activities have led to significant unrest. Instead of engaging law enforcement or making mass arrests, the university opted to rely on clear communication of its regulations and the consequences of non-compliance.
The Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA) chapter at UF has vocally opposed the new rules. On social media, they expressed their outrage, alleging that the new regulations were “draconian” and intended to crush their “Liberation Zone.”
BREAKING: University of Florida students chose to breakdown their encampment after being handed this of Allowable Activities and Prohibitive Items and Activities.
Look at those Consequences for Non-Compliance
University of Florida’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of… pic.twitter.com/l4jYjrSVcr
— Stu (@thestustustudio) April 26, 2024
At another university in Florida, Florida State University, a fed-up student assisted in giving Pro-Hamas agitators a must-needed sprinkler shower.
members of Tallahassee Students for a Democratic Society set up an encampment on Landis Green to protest Israel’s justifiable actions against Hamas. Other local organizations, such as The Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the Tallahassee Community Action Committee, and the Tallahassee Dissenters, reportedly joined the protest as well.
But campus police forced them to remove their tents, which were set up for only five minutes on the grassy space predawn due to a university rule that bars camping on university lands, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
“As an educational institution, Florida State University welcomes free inquiry, diverse thought, and rigorous debate,” FSU spokesperson Amy Farnum-Patronis told the outlet. “However, these expressions must comply with university regulation and the law.”
During the protest, the sprinklers unexpectedly turned on while the students protested, leaving them soaking wet. The agitators claimed the university deliberately set them off to discourage their protest.
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