UF Student Government tensions transferred to social media when Gator Party blocked students from its Facebook page.
About 30-50 students posted statuses and comments on Facebook reporting that Gator Party blocked them after they made comments on one or more of its announcement posts. They can’t like or comment on any post made on Gator Party’s Facebook page.
Users have noticed they were blocked from the page throughout the semester, although it is unknown when the blocking started.
The page has more than 2,000 followers, Gator Party representatives wrote in an email.
“Our social media team blocks any page or account that engages in spam, harassment, racism, sexism, homophobia or content that is hateful or triggering for students,” they wrote.
Jackie Lu, a 22-year-old UF industrial and systems engineering fifth-year, said he was blocked about an hour after commenting on Gator Party’s initial announcement of their establishment on Aug. 28.
“I think I said something along the lines of ‘LOL, look at this,’” Lu said. “And then I tagged one of my friends.”
He said his comment was deleted an hour after he posted it, and he couldn’t comment again.
“All the comments that have stayed on that page are ones that are positive on the new initiative,” Lu said. “Ones that are opposing the ideas that they [Gator Party] have, are not only deleted, but they’re also censored and blocked.”
Lu said some of his friends were blocked before posts were shared on the page.
Gator Party also blocked some UF alumni.
Tyler Richards, a 23-year-old UF alumnus, said he was blocked from the page before it shared its first post.
He said he believes he was blocked because he was outspoken against Florida Blue Key and the majority Impact Party while he was a part of the minority Access Party.
He said this is a pattern because he was was also blocked from Swamp Party’s and Impact Party’s Facebook pages –– previous majority parties.
“If you don’t block people who have any differing views than your own, then the whole system kind of breaks down quickly and everyone sees it for what it is, which is a fraud,” Richards said.
Contact Emma McAvoy at emcavoy@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @EmmaMcAvoy1.
