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Oct. 20, 2017On Thursday, in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Richard Spencer tried to speak.
On Thursday, in the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Richard Spencer tried to speak.
As I write this at nearly 11 p.m. Thursday, it’s been only a few hours since racist Richard Spencer spoke on UF’s campus and failed miserably to divide our community.
The University of Florida sat still on Thursday. Classes continued on like normal, but campus felt dead. Or at least, everywhere except its southwest corner. That’s where white nationalist Richard Spencer’s speech attracted attention and sparked confrontations between his small number of supporters and hundreds of protesters. The event was one of the biggest spectacles in recent university memory, with more than half a million dollars spent on security. But if you took a peek at most Twitter accounts associated with UF athletics, you’d have no idea it happened.
The halfway point in the season is upon us, and Florida is already limping to the finish with a 3-3 record. Luckily for the Gators, they have a bye week, giving their fans a chance to have at least one fall Saturday without inevitable disappointment. With a looming matchup against No. 3 Georgia, things are looking bleak for the Gators’ season. But is it time to officially declare Florida’s 2017 campaign is over? That’s for our writers to decide. Before we make our picks for this weekend’s college football games, alligatorSports editor Matt Brannon and assistant editor Dylan Dixon are going to debate whether Florida’s season is already over.
I had a column published last week about Florida’s football players and their questionable social media profiles.
It’s tough to go into a bye week on a loss. That’s what coach Jim McElwain said after UF dropped its second straight home game to the Aggies, 19-17, on Saturday.
I have watched, with intense interest, the preparations and conversations that have surrounded the visit by Richard Spencer to UF’s campus in Gainesville. I have been a part of the conversations regarding UF President Kent Fuchs’ decisions and a supporter of how UF has placed the safety of the campus and Gainesville community at the forefront. Fuchs and his team have carefully balanced the absolute requirement for student safety with UF’s strong commitment to the freedom of speech.
It seems established in our common knowledge that comedy is tragedy plus time. This applies to what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as what is to come of Richard Spencer’s visit to UF on Thursday. The initial cancellation of Spencer’s event is not an attack on freedom of speech,but actually championing the matter.
By now, everyone has read about the accusations surrounding Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein. His list of accusers has grown significantly over the last week, as dozens of women have now come out and accused him of sexual assault or rape.
Nobody wants to see their city at the end of a “pray for” hashtag. Nobody wants to see their home in a hurricane’s projected path. (Almost) nobody wants to see their university become a meeting point for a white supremacist and his supporters — but Thursday, UF will see exactly that.
As we are sure you are all painfully aware, Richard Spencer, a notorious white supremacist, will be coming to our campus to speak Thursday. While writing this editorial, we at the Alligator are feeling a bit conflicted. Should we be giving Spencer attention? Should people speak out in protest or ignore the hate? Does Spencer have a right to speak at all? We’ve watched as many newspaper editorial boards defended the First Amendment and Spencer’s right to speak. We’ve also heard from countless UF students and faculty members who don’t feel safe on their own campus this Thursday. To those who feel unsafe: We hear you. We struggle to find a world where free speech means it’s OK to encourage others to partake in racism with a violent past, present and future.
The United States men’s soccer team lost to Trinidad and Tobago a week ago, knocking out any chance of the U.S. making the World Cup in Russia next year.
We’re smack dab in the middle of SEC football conference play, and some coaches are already suffering from severe butt sweats from how hot their seats are. Some might also be a little more soothingly warm on the buttocks than you might expect.
We live in a society where sexual assault and abuse are not only too common but pretty much expected. We live in a society where those with power feel entitled to take what they assume they deserve. We live in a society where women are exploited. Worst of all, we live in a society that is allowing all of this to happen. Again. And again. And again.
This week, I’m taking a brief breather from the flurry of politics to discuss a different topic near and dear to my heart: my all-time favorite books and movies that I have fondly deemed my “desert island necessities.” In other words, if you stuck me on a deserted island and said, “Hey, Mia, here’s enough food and water to last you a week on your own, but you can only take three books and three movies along,” this is what I would bring. Yeah, I know it’s not realistic, but this is my column, OK?
We don’t want to be sad. I mean, you can’t really blame us. Why would we want to be sad? Being sad, anxious or upset means being uncomfortable. We fight to avoid discomfort and to find that place where we feel comfortable. We want everything to be just so: nothing out of place, nothing left unaccounted for. We make lists and check them off. We fulfill obligations and settle into a routine that is safe. We pursue happiness. After all, is that not the ultimate goal?
Upon reading the article about UF’s Counseling & Wellness Center fee proposal being denied, I felt deeply disappointed. “Affordability is of the utmost importance to our students.” Really?
I strongly condemn the actions of the four Student Government officials on the local fee committee who recently struck down a possible increase of much-needed funding for the Counseling & Wellness Center, located at 3190 Radio Road.
It has been a trying week for the Florida Gators football program. The team lost by one-point to LSU, lost multiple players with injuries and lost the respect of some fans by ditching the orange and blue uniforms this weekend. The Gators will take the field Saturday against Texas A&M wearing green jerseys that the Oregon Ducks passed on. The jerseys took 18 months to design since the artist accidentally opened Internet Explorer and had to wait for it to close. He then used the remaining 10 minutes to put black polka dots on a greenish-gray background. The team first got the idea for the jerseys when Nike approached them and told them that no one was buying Gators merchandise. A year and a half later, here we are. The Florida-Texas A&M game is sure to be one of the most interesting picks this week. But before we get into all of our picks and meet our competitors, Alligator sports editors Matt Brannon and Dylan Dixon will break down the much-anticipated matchup between Delta State and West Florida. Be sure to catch Statesmen and the Argonauts on Saturday on BLAB TV.