Florida Universities ban pro-Palestine Student Groups. Your Organization Should Do the Opposite.

Florida universities are sticking it to Palestinian students. Not surprising for an election year, but your organization doesn’t have to follow suit.

Event: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has taken a hardline, anti-Palestinian stance since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that sparked the current Israel-Hamas war. On Tuesday, Florida universities partnered with the governor to ban pro-Palestinian student organizations, supporting DeSantis’ rebuke of Gazans as the war rages on.

Mundane Perspective: Conservatives are staunch supporters of Israel, mainly due to U.S. foreign policy aligning with fellow Democracies. There is also the religious relationship via Judeo-Christian tradition. However, punishing the diaspora of an entire country due to the extremist acts of a recognized terrorist group that is not supported by most Gazans and Palestinians is a bit much, though not unsurprising during an election period.

Esoteric Perspective: Proverbs 13:16 states, “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” Is it wise foreign policy to punish the diaspora in your own country for the acts of extremist groups around the world? Absolutely not. The entire saga is complex, as the war has led to conflicts on college campuses around the country. The move by Florida universities could be an effort to bring back law and order on campus, which would be very on-brand for a Republican state. However, the only prudence in Florida’s decision is that it sets a tone for the 2024 election season.

What this means for you: Expect interesting policy choices to be made through 2026, especially if the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars are prolonged. These conflicts are going to have qualitative and humanistic effects. It is important to assess the people-focused areas of your organization to ensure proper support. Economic impacts are also expected to continue. Thus, keep an eye on the markets and plan to steer the ship through unstable times.

What to do about it: Reassess your people support programs and your budget plans. Examine your sales and marketing campaigns. How can you optimize to bring in more revenue? Will you need more staff in certain departments or to expand benefits packages in a different way? Will commissions take up too much of your budget? Should you focus on hiring marketing and communications professionals who specialize in digital and automation? Should you build in-house teams or bring on an agency or consultant? Budget cuts are cute until you realize you made huge cuts to the wrong department.

Be honest about your needs and plan accordingly.

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