Fifty years to the day after becoming the first black student to enroll at UF, George Starke Jr. returned to campus for a more welcoming reception than he was given the first time around.
Starke addressed a crowd of about 125 people on the steps of Tigert Hall on Monday about the year he spent as UF's first black student.
The event was part of the Black Student Union's BLACKLIGHT: Spotlight on an Untold History, a weeklong celebration of Starke's acceptance to UF and 50 years of integration history, said Naadira Renfroe, who is directing the week's events.
Those who participated marched in the sweltering heat from the Reitz Union to the steps of Tigert Hall to hear Starke and others speak.
With many people standing off to the side in a patch of shade, City Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa presented Starke with a proclamation from Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan that made Monday a Gainesville holiday commemorating 50 years of UF integration.
Starke said in his speech that after his first few months on campus, he was planning on heading home for Thanksgiving break when he was informed of a possible plot to kill him.
"There were some alleged hunters out there who were looking for deer, and they told me that, as a result of Klan being in Ocala, that they had planned to mistake me for a deer," Starke said.
He said he was instructed to take a different route home.
"I did what they suggested," he said.
In a news conference after his speech, Starke said his admission wasn't met with the same hostility that students in states such as Georgia or Mississippi experienced, but he said it was still difficult to cope with the burden of being the first black UF student.
He said he gained weight and developed allergies to "stupid things" such as chocolate and grass. At one point, Starke said his mind blanked while taking an exam in a criminal law class in which he knew "everything there was to know."
"It was disgusting, but, I mean, this was just an example of the kind of stress that (being the first black student) could put onto somebody," he said.
Starke decided to withdraw after only a year at UF's Levin College of Law. He regrets not getting his degree, but he said it was just too much for him to handle.
"If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't," he said. "I would come to the University of Florida, but I would not have been the first one to do so."
Many students, however, are glad he was.
"Without George Starke, what he did 50 years ago, I probably wouldn't be able to be here today," said Student Body Treasurer Paul Drayton, who attended the event.
"We must continue the momentum and continue to diversify the University of Florida campus," Drayton said.
Since Starke's acceptance, UF has graduated nearly 12,000 black students, according to an e-mail from Bernie Machen sent to UF students, faculty and staff Monday.
