Voting starts with a glitch

As the red and blue swamp the campus today, clogging the main campus arteries with outstretched arms of platforms, stickers and promises galore, voting begins in the most contested Fall election I have seen in my four years here. Paper ballots and felt-tipped markers have been replaced with gatorlink logins and checkboxes clicked by mouse. Write-in ballots need not be requested because the option is on every voter ballots leading me to believe that we may very well see an increase in the number write-ins.

Despite this increased attention and competition, there still were some glitches. By 8:25AM 12 students had shown up, 2 had left and 10 remained waiting to vote at the 3rd floor Reitz Union polling location. Chris Cupoli could be seen scrambling to get the computers to work, hoping that a wave of his blackberry would fix all problems. However, the problem was contained to the Reitz Union and the Law School, with all other locations seemingly working as planned.

Initial reactions:

• Pros: Saves money over paper ballots, ballots can't run out, voters can vote at any polling location eliminating confusion, write-ins are easier and you are sure of who you voted for and that your vote was processed.
• Cons: Can't access the website from home and others can see who I am voting for over my shoulder.

Summary: Research the positions and experience of the candidates running for your district and make an informed decision. Take the new voting system for a spin and discuss its merits in the comments section of this post.

Wednesday Update

• University of Florida specialty plate stays at #3 in 2004 rankings, Florida State University falls to number 6.
• Santa Rosa County, Florida, approve the sale of wine and hard liquor by a mail ballot, however, you still can't buy liquor in Gainesville on Sunday. Sounds like it is time for a mail out ballot.
• Gator football ranked #10 in both AP and USA Today polls.

Rush KYX

As you may or may not know, IFC Rush is this week. More information on that process can be found at www.greekgator.com . For those of you not looking for the traditional fraternity experience, check out KYX, a relatively new but growing Christian fraternity on campus. Information from their press release follows:

Kappa Upsilon Chi, a national fraternity for Christian men is announcing the dates and times for fall recruitment 2005. Recruitment week will begin on Tuesday September 6, 2005 and run through Monday September 12, 2005.
The process begins on Tuesday evening with an informal rush night at the Christian Study Center (formerly known as The Ox) located behind the Baptist Collegiate Ministries off of University Ave. from 8:00PM until 10:00PM. If you are unable to attend another informal rush night will be held on Wednesday September 7, 2005 at the Baptist Collegiate Ministries from 7:00PM-9:00PM. It is required to attend one of these events to continue with the recruitment process.
After informal recruitment is closed, invitations will be extended for those who rush to attend Formal Recruitment on Friday evening. From there, an interview will be scheduled for Sunday and bids will be extended on Sunday evening.
Kappa Upsilon Chi is seeking Christian men who are looking to grow in their relationship with their Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Kappa Upsilon Chi was founded in 1993 on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas to combine the best of Christianity with collegiate tradition. Since, the fraternity has grown to ten campuses, including the University of Florida and Florida State University.
The Theta chapter, located on the campus of the University of Florida was established in 2004 by six men with a vision for a Christian fraternity on campus.
“It seems as if the movie ‘Animal House’ has forever left its mark on college campuses nationwide by creating the mental image that perhaps everyone thinks of when they hear the work “fraternity”: drinking, girls, and wild antics,” Gary Bernau, chapter president, said. “This fraternity, however, is out to change that. After our first rush we have already started raising eyebrows and turning heads. We are different.”

Welcome back.

Today at Subway: I'll have a coke. Is Pepsi ok? That's right .... it is a new year complete with a whole new freshman class and a new soft drink provider. The Gainesville Sun campus edition silently premiered in fancy new boxes while the Alligator was on the offensive handing out papers containing a scathing page 23 comparison. The Sun's coverage of campus was dismal at best (section A breakdown: only 6 non-wire stories out of 16) and it is my hope future editions will have more campus content written by students. The Alligator was huge, containing many stories from the summer -- I only wish the paper was that large every day! Finally today was a day of seeing a million people you havent seen in a few months and remembering just how many people go to UF. It was hot, it was busy - but it was Gainesville. Welcome back.

The Way I See It # 22

From a Starbucks cup ...

Everywhere, unthinking mobs of "independent thinkers" wield tired cliches like cudgels, pummeling those who dare question "enlightened" dogma. If "violence never solved anything," cops wouldn't have guns and slaves may never have been freed. If it's better that 10 guilty men go free to spare one innocent, why not free 100 or 1,000,000? Cliches begin arguments, they don't settle them. -- Jonah Goldberg (Editor-at-large of National Review Online)

Wait a minute ... A STARBUCKS CUP SAID THAT? It's hard for me to tell if they are just trying to get their customers so riled up that they will come back to buy more shade-grown, fair-trade organic coffee or if they are actually serious. Anyway, exams are over and moving season begins. In a few short weeks a new group of UF students will decend on Gainesville, each of them shaping campus into the college experience they expect ... but until then it is time to relax. Have fun and see you all in the fall.

Florida, 3 states in 1.

Here are two courses I've had my eye out for ever since I started my career at UF several years ago:

Florida to 1845 (AMH 3421) - Exploration and settlement, colonial history of Spanish and British Florida, U.S. territorial days to statehood.

Florida Since 1845 (AMH 3423) - Statehood and secession, Civil War, Reconstruction, reform and reaction, Progressive Era, boom and bust, diversification and growth of Florida since World War II.

You would think that both would be offered on a frequent basis since this is, well, the University of Florida. However, much to my dismay, this Fall is the first time I have seen either of them offered (Florida to 1845 will be taught on Tuesdays and Thurdays this fall). Unfortunately I don't have room in my schedule for it plus, before you get your hopes up, the class if full. It would be a good one to monitor during drop/add though.

Florida as far as I am concerned is really three seperate states: South Alabama (SA), South Georgia (SG) and Southern New York / Northern Cuba (SNYNC). SA & SG are enough alike to be a cohesive state, however SNYNC is nothing like the rest of the state. SNYNC has the majority of the states population (with the exclusion of Jacksonville in SG) and SA/SG have the majority of the states ... trees. SNYNC has capital, SA/SG has the capitol. The list goes on and on. But what is the point of all this discussion? The state has a very diverse population, with much of it being very new to the state. It is extremely important that the state's K-12 and Higher Education systems be educating their students in local history so that they have a sense of understanding and a belonging to the state instead of just a particular region. So that means incorporating Florida curriculum at each level, and in our world, I propose required Florida History classes as part of the General Education Requirements at UF. Those are my thoughts, now feel free to comment away with yours.

Hopefully Florida Since 1845 will be taught in the Spring.

It's like...thefacebook.

So CNN finally carried the story, even if its about a year late. Check out this video about thefacebook.com. You can see Mark Zuckerberg, the like ... creater of thefacebook. Although what he made is cool, he seems to have a problem avoiding the use of "like" when he speaks. He may go to Harvard, but he doesn't speak like it. RR forgives him though due to his significant contribution to society.