The self-proclaimed “biggest pain in Ron DeSantis’ ass” paid her alma mater a visit with a wide smile and firm handshakes on Thursday night.
Rep. Angela “Angie” Nixon, D-Florida, visited the UF Reitz Union for her “Awake the State” Listening Tour, where she spoke on prompting change through community effort and action. She was hosted by the UF College Democrats and garnered about 25 attendees at the speaking event.
“I stand before you today as a testament,” Nixon said to her audience. “When you cling to the idea of hope, even in your darkest moments, you can accomplish anything.”
Nixon’s message
Nixon graduated from UF in 2007. The mother of five seeks to serve the middle class population. She endorses affordable housing, expanding healthcare and fair wages.
Growing up, her mother worked two jobs, and Nixon lived in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Jacksonville that lacked adequate resources. She was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2020 and was reelected last year under District 13. While in office, she promoted mental health awareness, mangrove restoration, insulin access and Muslim-American recognition.
Nixon visited Vecinos Neighborhood Restaurant and Bar in Gainesville this September to endorse her listening tour and emphasize the voices of local Floridians in government. She continued to spread her message Thursday night.
“The reason that I am traveling the state really is, frankly, because Floridians can’t keep waiting for things to get better someday,” she said.
During the event, she encouraged attendees to collaborate and speak with her to provide insight on their concerns and desired change. Students spoke about economic anxiety, immigration worries, issues with homelessness and lack of support for the LGBTQ+ community. As her attendees spoke, Nixon recorded their responses, which she said would be brought back to the capital to be addressed.
Nixon emphasized togetherness and hope as the primary factors in creating change. She used her heritage as an African American woman to illustrate points of progression.
“I want to say that things can change,” she said. “The biggest, most dangerous lie is that you don’t have the power to change anything.”
Nixon also used recent elections on Tuesday to show change is possible. Earlier this week, Democrats swept elections across the country. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected as the first Muslim mayor of New York, while Democrat Abigail Spanberger was voted Virginia’s first female governor. California passed Proposition 50, which will redistrict the state in favor of Democrats for the next three elections.
“What happened Tuesday is when folks come together,” Nixon said. “They push back against all the hate and all the nastiness and the rhetoric, and they work together.”
Nixon concluded the event by having the audience repeat a quote by political activist Assata Shakur: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Students share their thoughts
Olivia Belinc, a 22-year-old UF political science and media production, management and technology senior, came out to see Nixon not only speak, but to listen to the attendees.
Belinc first met Nixon at the Lawton Chiles Gala in September, where democratic activists, officials and leaders connected with the community.
The biggest change she wants to see is more acceptance, she said, namely in groups of people different from each other. Belinc said her family members have opposing political views than her, but they share a common vision of what they want to see in the country.
“I think it would do us a huge service if we just listen to people more and try to understand where people are coming from,” Belinc said. “I want us to have conversations about the things that we think about so that we can find a middle ground.”
Ana Perez, a 20-year-old UF political science and history junior, also saw Nixon speak at the gala earlier in the year and loved the way she presented herself as she spoke. Nixon was beyond her expectations, she said.
“I was like, she’s going to be an awesome speaker, and I knew it coming in,” Perez said.
Perez hopes to see improvements in LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights and overall affordability at the state level. Some of her family members have experienced difficulties with high costs of living despite holding stable jobs, she said, which makes affordability a personal and important topic of change.
“As much as I would love to see [change] come from state legislature, in this political reality, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon,” Perez said. “But the people can make the work and make it happen.”
Nixon is special because she listens to the opinions of the people, said Harper Miller, a 20-year-old UF psychology behavior analysis junior.
“She listens to the constituents and actually goes and tries to propose that legislation,” Miller said.
Miller thinks what Nixon is doing is important and hopes to see other Florida politicians interact with their voters more, she said.
“This was one of the times where I felt most listened to and most involved in a conversation that could actually impact my future,” Miller said.
Contact Leona Masangkay at lmasangkay@alligator.org. Follow them on X @leo_amasangkay.
Leona is a second-year journalism student and the Fall 2025 Santa Fe College reporter. They previously worked on the audience and growth team over the summer as a social media strategist. In their free time, Leona enjoys going to the gym, listening to music and watching Marvel movies.
