“University campus, not prison camp.” “Presidente, no político.” “Students, not prisoners.”
These were some of the signs students held to protest against former state Rep. Adam Hasner — one of three finalist candidates to become the next president of Florida Atlantic University.
FAU’s Board of Trustees is expected to vote for the school’s next president by end of the day Monday.
On Friday, Hasner, a former Republican Majority Leader in the Florida House of Representatives, was on the Boca raton campus on for question-and-answer forums with students, faculty and community members. He is currently an executive at Geo Group, a private prison contractor.
The other candidates for the FAU presidency are John Volin from the University of Maine and Michael Hartline from Florida State University.
Hasner is one of the latest in a line of presidential candidates for public universities who are politically connected with little experience in higher education.
Read more: FIU names Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez as interim university president after DeSantis request
The College Democrats at FAU organized the protest outside the Student Union Center.
" We know that an extreme right wing candidate isn't good for the educational and research prospects of FAU students and their faculty," said FAU junior Nicholas Ostheimer. "Because they don't know how to run a university properly and they're far more preoccupied with their partisan right wing culture war agenda than they are with what's actually in the best interest of the university community."
In a statement prior to Friday's forum, the FAU College Democrats said Hasner "wants to make FAU the next battleground of [Gov. Ron DeSantis's] regrettable culture war."
Hasner struck a nonpolitical tone at the forum after one student expressed worry that securing funding from Tallahassee would come at the cost of programs not aligned with the conservative agenda.
"I check partisan politics at the door. You have my commitment on that," responded Hasner. "I do not view being the president of a university as being politically red or politically blue. This is about advancing the mission of FAU. That’s what I would be hired to do."
Hasner also had supporters. Some held up signs proclaiming "Adam Hasner will keep campus safe” and “Jewish students support Adam Hasner.”
Ellie Raab, a sophomore studying criminal justice, said she was supporting Hasner "because he has a history of fighting antisemitism."
"We believe Adam Hasner is the right candidate to keep Jewish students and all students safe here at FAU," said Raab.
Fears about antisemitism on U.S. college campuses emerged last year following student protests of the former Biden administration's support of Israel and its war with Hamas militants in Gaza.
Copyright 2025 WLRN Public Media
