An upcoming speech at UF from Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who spent eight years in prison for assisting more than 130 suicides, has spurred about 1,000 e-mails to UF's administration in the past few days.
The letters all request one thing - cancel the date with Dr. Death.
Kevorkian is scheduled for a speech at the O'Connell Center Tuesday night sponsored by Accent, Student Government's speakers bureau.
Kevorkian, a retired doctor who specialized in disease diagnosis, was released on parole in June.
Janine Sikes, UF spokeswoman, said she and UF President Bernie Machen plan to respond to every e-mail.
Although each one is from a different address, they are all identical in form, and UF doesn't know who's leading the effort, Sikes said.
"With the forced starvation of Terri Schiavo still fresh in our nation's memory," one e-mail states, "I am appalled that a convicted felon like Dr. Kevorkian is being given the microphone at the University of Florida."
Katherine Schinn, president of UF's Pro-Life Alliance, said she didn't know about the e-mails or who was responsible for them, although her organization plans to protest the speech Tuesday.
Schinn and her group plan to demonstrate with signs and fliers but "no crazy stunts," she said.
She said she disagrees with Kevorkian's actions because many of the 130 patients Kevorkian helped die were not physically ill but rather suffering from depression.
Several services for suicidal students exist at UF and in most cities, but Kevorkian's patients weren't offered similar help, Schinn said.
Yiana Michalakopoulos, a UF classics and pre-med sophomore, said she's interested in what Kevorkian has to say, even though she doesn't support his beliefs.
Michalakopoulos volunteers at Haven Hospice, a community for the terminally ill. She said she has aided people with as few as two weeks to live, but she doesn't believe a bleak prognosis would justify aided suicide.
"Even people with terminal illnesses should be given the opportunity to finish their lives with dignity," Michalakopoulos said.
Despite strong student opposition, Sikes said UF does not plan to cancel the speech.
"Dr. Kevorkian is certainly a controversial speaker, but we've had controversial speakers on this campus before," Sikes said.
