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The University of Florida said it is deactivating its campus College Republicans as a registered student group after being notified that some members engaged in antisemitism, the school said in a statement. The university said the action follows communication from the Florida Federation of College Republicans, which had disbanded the Gainesville chapter after reaching a finding tied to conduct rules.
UF officials said the federation determined that some members “engaged in a pattern of conduct that violated its rules and values, including a recent antisemitic gesture.” UF said it will work with the federation on an eventual path to reactivation once the federation is ready, including by assisting with restarting the campus chapter under new student leadership.
The UF action is the second time that month a public university in Florida took action against a Republican group accused of involvement in racist or antisemitic behavior, according to the Associated Press. Earlier in the month, Florida International University in Miami launched an investigation into a group chat started by an official with the Miami-Dade chapter of the Republican Party.
In that FIU case, the Associated Press reported that the group chat included “violently racist slurs, antisemitic comments and misogynistic language,” and that it involved students along with several top conservative leaders at Florida International University. The AP account said UF officials were informed by the state federation that it had disbanded the Gainesville campus chapter after its own determination of violations.
The AP report also pointed to a prior example involving state party organization discipline. Last fall, New York’s Republican State Committee suspended a Young Republican organization after the release of a group chat that included jokes about rape and flippant commentary on gas chambers.
In Florida, the UF statement tied its deactivation step to the federation’s decision and to its assessment of antisemitic conduct, while the school said it expects any future campus chapter to be led by new students once the federation and university are prepared to reinstate registration.