Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe spoke to four students in the Reitz Union on Tuesday about political activism.
Because of the low turnout, the room was rearranged into a circle with Lowe at its center.
The Community Political Affairs Cabinet hosted the event.
Lowe discussed how he climbed the political ladder, from getting involved in environmental and equality issues before getting involved in Democratic Party issues.
He encouraged students to vote and told a story about winning the District 4 City Commission seat by 16 votes because of the Reitz Union precinct.
The four students asked him questions about being politically involved on an international level, the situation in Syria and the effects social media can have on a future politician.
Lowe also spoke about the Sister City Program of Gainesville. He said he went to Israel in October to visit the sister cities in the West Bank and Israel. He said that although the cities are only a few miles apart, they no longer communicate with each other, but people there want peace.
Community Political Affairs Cabinet Director Claire Miller said she didn’t expect a lot of people to show up because it was during lunch, and people had finals. The 20-year-old public relations junior said the number of students gave it an intimate feel.
“I feel like most students don’t have a chance to talk to a mayor on a one-on-one level,” she said.
Student Sen. Brandon Laines said he hoped to gain insight on student involvement in politics.
“It provided great insight into how students can be active in local community and national level,” said the 19-year-old economics and math freshman.
Contact Samantha Shavell at sshavell@alligator.org.
