10-19-2017, 01:44 PM
On Monday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for Alachua County, where the university is located, to enable law enforcement agencies to work together more efficiently. He also made a provision for the National Guard to be activated if necessary. "I find that the threat of a potential emergency is imminent," Scott said in the executive order declaring the state of emergency.
Extra security for the event will cost the school $500,000 and puts the university in the middle of an ongoing debate about what constitutes protected speech and the extent of its limits. Spencer is the president of the National Policy Institute and a leader of the white supremacist movement that advocates for a white "awakening" and a white state.
University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs denounced Spencer's white supremacist platform as abhorrent in a letter to students but said by law the school could not stop him from renting the Phillips Center for the event. Fuchs encouraged students to avoid the speech.
Refs:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/ed...11986.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/us/univers...index.html
Extra security for the event will cost the school $500,000 and puts the university in the middle of an ongoing debate about what constitutes protected speech and the extent of its limits. Spencer is the president of the National Policy Institute and a leader of the white supremacist movement that advocates for a white "awakening" and a white state.
University of Florida President W. Kent Fuchs denounced Spencer's white supremacist platform as abhorrent in a letter to students but said by law the school could not stop him from renting the Phillips Center for the event. Fuchs encouraged students to avoid the speech.
Refs:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/ed...11986.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/19/us/univers...index.html