Doesn’t Penalizing Students Advocating for Palestinians Infringe on Their Freedom of Speech?

PHILLIP: “One of the things that you’ve done today is introduce a piece of legislation that would pull back federal student aid for schools that in your view facilitate or promote events with an anti-Semitic message. You say this hits them where it hurts, their pocketbooks.”
Scott: “Yes.”
PHILLIP: “But I wonder, I mean, there are a lot of students who are beneficiaries of federal student aid, who have nothing to do with these pro-Palestinian protests. Wouldn’t this just hurt them?”
Scott: “Let’s take a look back. In 2017, I introduced legislation for the definition of anti-Semitism to be codified on college campuses in the same way that we use it in state departments. What we’ve seen on college campuses since October 7th is people, kids protesting — it’s their constitutional right — asking for genocide of Jews, murdering of Jews, supporting terrorism. For those universities and colleges that do nothing to stomp out or stamp out that kind of racism, discrimination and, frankly, support of genocide, that is a problem with American tax dollars.”
PHILLIP: “But, again, doesn’t that just penalize people who may have had absolutely nothing to do with it? That’s a very small minority of anybody who’s on these college campuses. And beyond that, I mean, people have raised questions about — you’ve described it a certain way.”
Scott: “That’s just the way it is. Just take a look at the videos.”
PHILLIP: “It’s fine how you described it, that’s your view of it.”
Scott: “Yes, ma’am.”
PHILLIP: “Some of the protesters would say that we might be penalized simply for advocating for Palestinians. Doesn’t this risk infringing on their freedom of speech?”
Scott: “No, actually, the first thing I said was their freedom of speech is protected. You do not have the freedom to encourage genocide. You don’t have the freedom to say, ‘Let’s murder people in our country.’ You don’t have the freedom to say, ‘We’re going to support terrorism,’ and frankly, supporting terrorism means supporting the death of Americans and others. I think, with my tax dollars that is a part of the federal spending, the colleges and universities are not going to push back on hate on their college campuses, not to the expression of disagreements but saying, ‘Let’s murder people,’ that leadership should be punished.”
PHILLIP: “Leadership should be punished, but I think you would agree students would be as well. I also — “
Scott: “Here’s — let us be clear here. The universities are responsible for the actions on their campuses. The president himself said, we should root out hate. But he didn’t talk about The Squad, he didn’t talk about the universities where we find the hate being fomented.”
PHILLIP: I want to ask you about your Presidential campaign-