UF presidential finalist Ben Sasse confronted by protesters during his first campus visit

In his first visit to campus as the sole finalist to be University of Florida president, U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse faced questions Monday on his conservative political positions — along with a protest that disrupted a question-and-answer session and ended with him speeding off in a police vehicle.

UF announced last week that a presidential search committee was recommending Sasse, R-Neb., as the only finalist for the job.

He spoke Monday to faculty, staff and students in three separate events, answering questions on such issues as same-sex marriage, tenure protections for faculty and climate change.

"I've had political positions and policy positions that represent the views of Nebraskans. It's a completely different job to have the job of president of UF," Sasse said. "The president of UF's job is to celebrate all of what's going on in this community, and to be a storyteller and resource getter and salesman for it."

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Sasse, 50, is serving his second term in the Senate and was previously president of a small Lutheran university in Nebraska. If approved by UF's board of trustees on Nov. 1, Sasse would become the 13th president in the university's history.

Students on Monday protested his selection as the only finalist for the job, at one point disrupting a question-and-answer session with chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, Ben Sasse has got to go."

Protestors then stormed into the ballroom before a session with staff was set to begin, continuing to chant while standing on chairs. His third session was then moved to a different location. He was swarmed by protesters again when it ended before he jumped into a police vehicle that quickly sped off campus.

“Sasse does not really believe in equality on the basis of sexual orientation,” said Nathan Knorst, a UF senior. “So, how can he adequately represent the student body and faculty and UF’s core values, which are diversity, equity and inclusion?”

Questions on political views

During question-and-answer sessions, Sasse was asked about his political views on a number of issues, including his opposition to a Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

Sasse said that the decision "is the law of the land and America is not changing." His responsibility as university president would be to create a "place of respect and inclusion for all Gators," he said.

Sasse spent five years as president of Midland University in Nebraska, which currently has an enrollment of about 1,400 students. Questioned about his criticism of tenure while at Midland, Sasse that the school and a major research university such as UF are "obviously hugely different institutions."

He said he "will be a zealous defender of tenure" at UF, which he said was key to drawing a diverse faculty. But he noted that UF has a post-tenure review policy that has not been applied consistently.

“A professor should not be protected (if they are) not doing their job because they have tenure, but tenure rightly understood is a really important tool and I would be an advocate for it,” he said.

Asking about his views on climate change, Sasse said he believed in the human role in climate change but was skeptical about the federal government's role in being able to address the problem.

"I believe strongly in climate change," he said. "I believe strongly in the role of UF to be involved in research to mitigate climate change, but I might have some differences of opinion with people in the room on what federal policies would be more or less effective to that end."

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Protest attracts hundreds

Multiple student organizations, including the UF College Democrats, Young Democratic Socialists and Graduate Assistants United, organized Monday's protest.

Demands were made during the protest that Sasse seeks a different job that better aligns with his conservative political views and that the Florida Legislature repeal a law allowing for the presidential search to remain secret.

The crowd of students quickly swelled to close to a thousand, with faculty and staff sprinkled throughout. Many students said they opposed Sasse because of his views and public comments on same-sex marriage.

Others questioned his qualifications for the job.

“He was president of a random school in the middle of Nebraska with 1,500 kids,” said R.J. Della Salle, a UF freshman. “I mean, that doesn’t compare to a school as big and diverse as UF.”

Some students expressed concerns about the secretive selection process used in selecting Sasse.

A new Florida law, approved earlier this year, allowed UF to conduct much of the process outside of the state's open meetings and public records laws.

The selection process "was the definition of undemocratic,” Della Salle said. “Our selection for the person that’s going to run our university was made by a bunch of people who I’ve never seen or met. It makes me feel like my voice doesn’t matter.”

For his part, Sasse said he supported the rights of protestors to share their views.

"Obviously I wish they didn't have the position they have but I strongly support the right of people to protest and exercise their free speech rights," he said. “I won’t say I precisely welcome the protesters, but I sort of intellectually and constitutionally have and fully welcome the protesters.”

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF presidential finalist U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse faces questions, protest