The UF student's arrest brought back memories of my years at Florida and students' protests for civil rights. It seems this student was more interested in his 15 minutes of fame than in his message.
The UF administration is in trouble.
For all of those vehemently against what happened at Kerry's speech Monday, I say this: There are two sides to every story.
The UF administration needs to Taser UPD after its recent display of excessive force, poor judgment and downright bullying of unarmed student Andrew Meyer. These "officers of the lawC should be ashamed of themselves.
A Taser is hardly "vicious weaponryC as Kyle Cox's Tuesday column stated. The whole point of a nonlethal, safe weapon is to avoid bringing out the actual "vicious weaponry.C
Andrew Meyer's arrest on Monday has no doubt sparked debate about how much force officers can use. Some believe Tasering him was out of line; others think the punishment fit the crime. But before we pass judgment on anyone, consider this snippet from Florida law:
The broadcast media's spin on this situation is akin to that of a reality television show. Every video I've seen, including on CNN and MSNBC, has shown only the most controversial parts of what happened.
UPD was most definitely justified in using a Taser on Meyer. If it hadn't, he might have overpowered those police officers. Who knows what could have happened then - he might have asked Kerry another question.
I just watched the video of Meyer being arrested on CNN, and I was horrified.
We'd be lying if we said we weren't overwhelmed with the response to Monday's event. We're overwhelmed with the work it's generated for our newsroom, but mostly we're overwhelmed by the community's response.
Reading all the comments people have made, whether online or in the paper, I think that people are somewhat misguided in their anger. What happened to Meyer was wrong, but what didn't happen was even worse.
When I first saw the Andrew Meyer video, I was stunned that a conservative activist could act so foolish and immature. When it was revealed that he is actually a Kerry supporter, the whole ordeal made much more sense.
"To Surge and Project electrified probes into your body," should be the new motto for our University Shock Troopers (formerly the UPD).
Kyle Cox seems to believe he, above respected political scientists, historians and sociologists has full and perfect knowledge of those things that are acceptable to protest and those that are not.
In Monday's opinion column, Vincent Massaro lamented the poor treatment the homeless receive from Alachua County. Without the ability to beg in the middle of traffic, and without Tent City, "Where are the homeless to go?" the column asked. The answer is quite simple, Mr. Massaro. The homeless should do like everyone else - they should get a job.
I regretfully read Colleen Shea's Friday column, and I feel she made a mountain out of a molehill. The column started out griping about UF's health promotion initiatives, but Shea spent most of her time exaggerating the gym's atmosphere. Is it bad for UF to promote healthful lifestyles? Is it a problem the GatorWell tents hand out free condoms? And for as many parties as I see on and around campus, can it hurt to educate students about drinking responsibly?
I hope nobody feels sorry for the young man who got Tased. I expect that on campus this week, angry protestors will blame the University Police Department for being too aggressive, or blame Accent for inviting Sen. John Kerry to speak or blame Tennessee for riling us all up.
As anyone who attended Saturday's Gators football game can attest, it was very hot and very humid. After fighting my way to my seat through my 90,000 closest friends, I was in need of water. So I went to get some free ice. I was refused. Why? "We don't have any cups," said the girl at the stand. Naturally, I assumed she meant, "We don't have the right cups," since behind her, concession workers were busy filling souvenir cups with ice for ,3.50 sodas.
It's not that I particularly enjoy rebutting the Alligator editorial board, but once again I find myself in the unfortunate position of having to defend a project I am involved in from its straw-man arguments and misinformed opinions.
Solutions by The State News
