People packed into the Pugh Hall lobby Sunday evening to learn how Florida would react in the event of a terrorist attack.
The lecture, "10 Years Later: Is Our Nation Prepared?" was sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
It was held on Sept. 11 this year, on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, to discuss the threat of a biological terrorist attack in Florida.
About 70 students from the Civic Scholars Program joined former U.S. Senator and Florida Gov. Bob Graham in the discussion.
The students spent last summer analyzing Florida counties' preparedness in case of an emergency. Those counties included Hillsborough, Lafayette and Monroe.
The students came from various fields of study, including psychology, business administration and chemical engineering.
At the session, each student located the county he or she studied on a projected map of Florida. In either pairs or alone, they presented their findings in three- to five-minute speeches.
UF student Ryan Garcia studied Lafayette County, which is the second-smallest county in the state with 8,700 residents. He said a terrorist attack in that county would be unlikely.
"It would have to be a really bad terrorist to attack Lafayette," Garcia said.
But in the most densely populated county, Pinellas, communication would be the biggest problem in the event of a terrorist attack, presenters said.
In addition to the discussion on Sunday, audience members received sheets of paper at the door requesting that they vote for the Bob Graham Center, which is a finalist for a National Day of Service and Remembrance Award. The award is given to organizations that create public service projects in honor of the victims of 9/11.
The winner of the award will be announced Sept. 23.
Former Florida Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham speaks in the Pugh Hall Ocora Sunday night about the possibility of a biological terrorism attack.
