When we heard seven UF women are featured in this month's issue of Playboy, we immediately ran to the nearest gas station to buy a copy for our office.
It is true I am a retired University Police Department officer. It is also true I am a Gator graduate (class of 1975), and I can see things from a student perspective as well as from a law enforcement perspective.
"Blowjob." That's the obscenity Andrew Meyer uttered that resulted in him getting Tasered at a free-speech event.
When I saw the aftermath of the police Taser incident, I thought to myself, something is not right. Why has this occurrence become such a huge cause to fight for? Why is this student getting all this attention?
The outrage over Monday's incident at the Sen. John Kerry lecture has gone as far as inspiring protests on campus. Students are livid about the actions of the University Police Department.
Today, we mark the one-week anniversary of the Tase heard 'round the world.
It would be an understatement to say we're glad it's Friday. This all Andrew Meyer, all the time coverage has just about driven us here in the Department of Darts & Laurels over the edge. But nonetheless, we're here for this week's recap of Tasergate. So read on, brave souls. If you don't, we might Taser you. Enjoy this week's "Don't Tase me, bro" edition of…
Disgusting. Sometimes it's difficult to think of a good word for something you observe, but disgusting is just perfect. The 34th Street Wall has often been a source of distraction for me, but today I stopped and turned my hazards on. Who would do something so … disgusting?
After reading Thursday's Letters to the Editor about Tasergate, I must say kudos to the Alligator for allowing both sides to be heard and kudos to many in the student body for seeing the truth. I would think a telecommunication senior like Meyer would understand that it's not about what you say, but often about how you say it.
Just when you believed civilization to be crumbling down around yo, confirmed by all of the fighting, hatred and Tasering going on all over the world nowadays, a magnificent technological breakthrough comes along to lift everyone's spirits. The beacon of hope I am referring to is the Virtual Hills.
Whatever all of this is, it isn't a debate about free speech. Accent shutting off Meyer's microphone violates free speech no more than your professor cutting you off in class. Just as a classroom discussion proceeds according to a protocol set by the teacher of hand-raising and turn-waiting, so too does a speech at an Accent-sponsored event follow a protocol set by the university: a protocol that stipulates, among other things, that questioners approach the microphone orderly, that they wait their turn to speak and that when and if they speak, they do so calmly and without profanity.
The tagging of the Dahlem memorial is one of the most disgusting acts of self-righteousness I have seen in my time spent at UF. I am embarrassed for the student body. This display of ignorance surely reflects poorly on the caliber of students at this university. As someone who disagrees with the actions of the University Police Department on Monday, I am appalled that students would take their frustrations out in such a disrespectful manner. Have your protests, make your signs, stand up for what you believe, but do so in a way that proves the young people of today aren't the self-righteous, spoiled punks with something to prove that we're made out to be. Stay classy, Gainesville.
Torture, brutality, injustice. These are only some of the words being used to describe Monday's spat. I had a lot of reservations to overcome in writing this, knowing full well that the reaction Meyer has received locally and nationally is right up his sadistic alley. For being a punk, he has become something of a martyr.
It seems ridiculous that party lines have been drawn already. Those supporting Meyer are "Krishna-Lunch-eating, college-aged hippies," and those not supporting him are creating a police state. All this along the lines clearly marked on your voting ballots to be cast in a year.
I am sickened by the story and video of the student tortured by the Taser for free speech.
I am very concerned by the apparent degradation of free expression, political debate and academic discourse at UF. I have been following from afar the discussions going on about the Accent Speakers Bureau. It's been troubling to learn that there are some who wish to censor and create vast oversight over the selection of speakers. I have always been proud to be a part of the world's largest student-run speakers bureau. Accent has more than 40 years of history and tradition in bringing insightful, challenging and sometimes even controversial laureates to speak to our students and community.
It never ceases to amaze me how liberals are able to cast any situation in a light that is beneficial to them; the most recent case in point being the infamous "Don't Tase me, bro" incident Monday on our campus. In the amount of time it takes to upload a shaky video on YouTube, the liberal talking points were already spelled out: Fascist police use force to squash free speech.
In regards to the Tasering incident on campus during the Kerry forum, the UPD officers acted appropriately in the handling of Meyer. Students and faculty quick to cry out that this was an injustice need to objectively look at this situation and realize Meyer caused the incident, not the police.
To the individuals who defaced the memorial to Lt. Corey Dahlem on the 34th Street Wall: Regardless about what you may believe about UPD's actions, you have crossed the line. By tagging the now infamous "Don't Tase me, bro!" over a memorial to a dedicated and upstanding officer, you covered up the most visible mark of an officer who exemplified how to protect and serve.
In light of the police report being released, I hope that people will realize that the Meyer Tasering incident was not about First Amendment rights. To say that a person who was able to ask a question even though the allotted question-and-answer time was over, who saw it fit that his questions were more important than the people ahead of him and was able to yell questions at Kerry for a good bit of time before he said "blowjob" was somehow robbed of his First Amendment rights is ridiculous. The police did not remove him for being too controversial or for asking the "tough questions" but for being a belligerent, petulant kid who had complete disregard for the established etiquette of a forum. He was disruptive, and it became clear after watching the video that he didn't really want answers from Kerry, just to stump him. Tasering him was not warranted, but removing him was. If people really want to be outraged about Tasering, they should read about the pregnant woman who was Tasered in her belly in Gainesville recently.
Solutions by The State News
