The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to approve former University of Alabama President Dr. Stuart Bell as UF’s next president following hours of interviews at Emerson Alumni Hall. Students, community members, and state Senator Keith Perry spoke ahead of the vote, with many expressing strong support for Bell. The selection now moves to the Florida Board of Governors, which holds final confirmation authority.
Sources: The Independent Florida Alligator · The Gainesville Sun · WCJB TV20 · Mainstreet Daily News · WUFT News
An online petition launched within the past week is calling on the University of Florida to resume Krishna Lunch on campus, gathering close to a thousand signatures. UF suspended the decades-long vegetarian lunch program after a Krishna House delivery truck struck a 19-year-old student in a crosswalk in February, hospitalizing her. The petition asks the university to reopen negotiations with Krishna Lunch organizers, evaluate a revised safety plan, and establish a timeline for restoring the program.
Sources: WCJB TV20
A two-day civil trial in federal court over the University of Florida’s deactivation of its College Republicans chapter concluded Wednesday without an immediate ruling from Judge Mark Walker. Attorneys for the student group argued the university violated their First Amendment rights by disbanding them, and sought to show that administrators including Interim President Donald Landry acted to suppress future speech. The deactivation stemmed from a March incident in which the Florida Federation of College Republicans said it dissolved the chapter following a student’s alleged nazi salute.
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Sources: WCJB TV20
