Sign Up for Rally in Tally 2014

Rally in Tally is an annual event hosted and produced by the Florida Student Association.  Students from Florida's public universities come together to lobby on behalf of the 300,000 students that attend Florida's public universities.  Transportation to and from Tallahassee is covered by Student Government.  Students that choose to attend will be responsible for their own lunch.  Space is limited and is reserved on a first come, first served basis.  Sign up below to reserve your spot!

FLC Presents: Snow, Swamp, and Everything Chomp

Good afternoon Gators!

While everyone is studying for final exams as our semester draws to a close, I wanted to use today's post as an opportunity to spread awareness about an event being put on by the Florida Leadership Council that I am very excited about! Tonight at 6 p.m., join FLC for their Snow, Swamp, and Everything Chomp event that will definitely get you in the holiday spirit!

The event will take place at Weaver Beach, and the night will include hot chocolate, inflatables and even snow. The Florida Cicerones, another great organization at the University of Florida, will also be offering tasty treats by the grill and will be available to answer questions to any potential applicants. UF Hillel will also be providing latkes and wholesome view of the holidays! Tonight is a great opportunity to take a short break from studying to relax and enjoy the holiday festivities while also learning a little more about a few of the many prestigious on-campus organizations offered here. I hope to see everyone there.

Happy Holidays!

Rise and Shine Gators!

Happy Monday, Gators!

Today I would like to share with you the link to a video called "Rise and Shine, Gators." If you have the time, please spend two minutes watching this video that was created as a motivational tool for students across campus. It highlights what it is like to live in the heart of the Gator Nation.

Here at the University of Florida, we are constantly striving to be the best university we can be. Although we are the best state university in Florida, we are striving for more. Each year this school is more and more competitive across the board. Admissions is increasingly competitive each year, and the students coming in each year are smarter and smarter. The University of Florida is a challenging university filled with driven students who strive to make a difference in the world. The environment here is one in which all students challenge each other and strive to make everyone involved in the learning workplace better. Each year, we come closer and closer to our goal of being a top ten public university in the nation. It is up to us, the students, to accomplish that goal. This is why I encourage everyone to get involved on campus, study as hard as you can and make a difference. We are committed to our goals here at the SG headquarters, and ask the same of every student at this university. Rise and shine, Gators! The time is now for the #UFRising, as we have the opportunity to become one of the most prestigious universities not only in the southeast, but all of America. Seize your day, Gators!

Go Gators! Beat the Eagles!

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. watch as our Gators storm the Florida field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to rebound from a disappointing string of losses to try and earn a victory over the Eagles of Georgia Southern. As I've said before, injuries have been a problem for our team all year, and there is a chance that third-string quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg will be under center for the Gators again this weekend.

After the impressive outing we had against South Carolina in a hostile environment last weekend, which ended up as a close loss, there is no doubt that we should easily be victorious in this game. Georgia Southern, who is 6-4 on the year, is just lacking the kind of skill that an SEC team possesses. However, Georgia Southern is doing good things with their program. They are upgrading next year from the Southern Conference to the Sun Belt Conference. UF payed the program $550,000 to come play us in the swamp tomorrow.

The line favors Florida by 27.5 points in the matchup tomorrow, and I believe that our Gators can cover that spread. Our strong defense should have no trouble slowing down the Eagles' defense all day tomorrow. We need to get a victory on the board to gain some confidence for the powerful Florida State Seminoles that are visiting next weekend. This game should be a good game to prepare us for our biggest rivalry game of the season, which this year happens to be against the No. 2 team in the nation. Make sure to tune into ESPN3 or Sun Sports to watch. Have a safe weekend and go Gators!

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

State University System of Florida Receives New Chancellor

Congratulations to Marshall Criser III, who was selected by a search committee on Tuesday, November 12th to become the new chancellor of the State University System of Florida. Criser's dedication to students and strong leadership skills make him an excellent choice and will be an asset to the 300,000 students that attend public universities in Florida.

Criser, who is currently the AT&T Florida president and vice chairman of the University of Florida Board of Trustees, has said that he will step down from any job that will interfere with his new position. We here at UF are very sad to see Criser go, but are very grateful for the time he served here and the legacy he will be leaving behind on this campus. Criser also currently serves on the Florida Chamber of Commerce board, the Florida Council of 100 and the Enterprise Florida Board.

Criser has deep ties to the University of Florida. As an alumnus and son of former UF president Marshall Criser, we are excited for the great work and representation that Criser will bring to the State University System in his new role as chancellor.

His new job will involve him supervising the professional staff at the Board of Governors and will coordinate efforts among Florida's public universities to represent their best interests to the governor and state lawmakers. Although we are sad to see him go, we know Criser will do phenomenal things in his new role. From everyone here at the University of Florida and the Student Government offices, we wish him the best of luck!

Go Gators! Beat the Gamecocks

Saturday, the Gators head up to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia in front of an expected sellout crowd. For South Carolina, this game means everything: they have an SEC East title on the line. If the Cocks can beat the Gators, Auburns beats Georgia and Missouri loses one of their next two games, then they will have clinched their second SEC East title in their 21 years in the league. This will send them to Atlanta to most likely play Nick Saban and Alabama for the Southeastern Conference Championship.

For us Gators, we are playing for pride. Florida has suffered 10 season-ending injuries this year, including seven to starters. Injuries along both the offensive and defensive lines have caused the Gators to temporarily lose their physical dominance on both sides of the ball. The offense continues to struggle, and a loss at South Carolina Saturday night will not help Coach Muschamp's case if he wants to continue to be the head ball coach at the University of Florida. Brent Pease is most likely feeling a lot of pressure also, knowing that he is in charge of not only the worst offense in the SEC, but one of the worst offenses in college football. Fans and analysts around the country have been discussing Florida's offensive woes, and many believe that they need to change the entire offensive scheme to bring back the exciting spread offense of years past, when Tebow was the man running the huddle. Regardless of what is to come for the Gators in the near future, they are focused on playing the spoiler role on Saturday night at seven p.m.

With Tyler Murphy suffering an injury and playing sub-par football as of late, Muschamp announced Thursday night that redshirt freshman Skyler Mornhinweg will most likely take his first snaps of college football as the starting quarterback for the Gators Saturday night when he faces off against the 10th-ranked team in all the land. Make sure to tune in the to ESPN2 to watch our Gators try to use their powerful defense to slow down the Gamecocks and grind out a victory. Go Gators!

GO GATORS: Beat Vandy!!

This weekend our Gators take on the Vanderbilt Commodores for our homecoming game! It should prove to be an exciting game based solely on the fact that it is homecoming. The Gators return to the Swamp for the first time in over a month, and unfortunately, we have a few more losses than the last time we played here.

Last year, the Gators went to Vanderbilt and beat them 31 to 17, led by Jeff Driskel's record-breaking performance with 177 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns. This year, Driskel will be watching from the sidelines, along with many other starting players. The Gators lost another offensive lineman to a season-ending injury this week in practice. However, the Commodores come in with the same record as us. Both teams have four wins and four losses, but the Commodores have won only one SEC matchup this season. With a homecoming crowd behind our beloved Gators in the Swamp, we should hopefully be able to take care of our opponent this weekend. After all, the Vegas odds have us favored to win by ten points.

The Game will kickoff at noon eastern time and can be viewed on Sun Sports. Regardless of how this season has gone so far, Muschamp is excited to get in front of a home crowd and get a win to end our three-game skid. This game has a lot more at stake then people realize at first glance. At this point, we need a victory to stay bowl eligible. Muschamp also has his job on the line, and a loss tomorrow would almost ensure that a new head coach will be headed to Gainesville next season. Make sure to tune in and watch the Gators return to action in the Swamp. Regardless of our team's record so far this season, there aren't many things more exciting than Florida football . GO GATORS!

War for the Oar! Florida-Georgia Weekend

This weekend marks one of college football's greatest traditions: the Florida-Georgia football game held annually in Jacksonville. It has also recently become known as the "War for the Okefenokee Oar," a name created by the student governments of the universities in 2009 after they announced the trophy would be a 10-foot-long oar. 

The trophy was anonymously donated to the University of Florida, and has the logos of each school carved into it. The oar was carved from the remains of an old cypress tree that grew in the Okefenokee Swamp, which lies on the Florida-Georgia border. It is presented to the student body president of the winning team each year, but is not given out at the game itself. Being one of the greatest, most historic and traditional rivalries in college football, it is a shame that there has not been a trophy representing the game up until recently. Hopefully, the Gators will be bringing the oar back to its original home this year.

The game will prove to be an interesting one this year as both teams come in banged up and missing multiple starters that are out with season-ending injuries. This is the first time in a while that Florida-Georgia has been a game between two unranked teams. Each team comes in with three losses, but due to a Missouri loss last weekend at the hands of South Carolina, both teams are still alive in the hunt for the SEC East title. 

When traveling to Jacksonville this weekend for the game, make sure to be safe! In one of the biggest cities in the nation by land area, it can be hard to get from place to place in Jacksonville. However, that problem is solved this year with the implementation of a company called Uber in the city. Uber is a smartphone app that links riders to on-demand private rides, usually in classy black sedans or SUVs. I have personally traveled to several cities that feature Uber and can vouch for the ease of use, reliability and safety improvements over traditional transportation options. With this app, the cars go to the riders, which eliminates having to wander around desperately trying to find an available taxi. 

Download the Uber app and use the promo code GoGators to recieve your first ride of up to $20 for free. It will ensure your safety as you get from place to place in a big city on its busiest weekend of the year. I hope that everyone is safe and enjoys this weekend, as it always proves to be one of the most fun and memorable of every fall semester. Hopefully, I will be presented with the Okefenokee Oar this year as well. Have fun and go Gators!!

GO GATORS: Beat Mizzou!

Good afternoon Gators! This weekend our team will travel to Missouri to play the Tigers in a situation very different than what most of us here in Gator Nation hoped for. When the season started, most fans probably looked at this game as and instantly marked it up as a W in their heads. However, that is far from the truth. The Gators, ranked 22 in the country, will head to Missouri as the underdogs when they play the 14th ranked Tigers.

The Gators are coming off of a tough loss at the hands of LSU last weekend, while the Tigers are coming off arguably one of their program's biggest wins in the recent years when they beat the Georgia Bulldogs last weekend in Athens. It was a victory that shocked the football world. While the Gators held their own against one of the best teams in the nation, their offense implanted many doubts into our fans' heads. The Gators were unable to score even a single touchdown during the loss in Death Valley, although Tyler Murphy proved once again that he was relatively poised and calm for a player with as little game experience as he has.

The bright side is that Florida was able to move the ball up and down the field against one of the better SEC defenses, but problems arose when they got into the red zone all day. The last drive at the end of the game where our offense failed to score any points after getting inside the 20 yard line was hard to watch. Something else that will help us is that Mizzou will be playing without their star quarterback James Franklin, who is the leader and anchor of their offense. If the Gators can protect Tyler Murphy better than they did last week and can actually make some explosive plays on offense, then we could walk away from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Missouri as victors.

The Tigers are favored by 3.5 points going into the game, so it should be a close battle. The game is set to start at 12:21 eastern standard time, and will be aired on SEC TV. Hopefully our beloved Gators will prove to the nation that they are still contenders in the SEC East and are a force to be reckoned with. This would be a huge bounce-back win for our program. Make sure to tune in and watch Saturday. Go Gators!!

GO GATORS: Beat Arkansas!

Tomorrow, nighttime football returns to the Swamp for the first time since the Gators hosted Florida State back in November of 2011! We are all very excited here in the Gator Nation to watch our Florida Gators battle an SEC opponent under the bright lights of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field. I cannot decide if I am happier that kickoff is at seven p.m. because the crowd will be more energized than it has been in the recent past, or just solely because all of us who will be inside the stadium on Saturday night won't be sweltering in the vicious Florida sun.

The Gators are coming off of an impressive 24-7 win over the Kentucky Wildcats last Saturday, which was quarterback Tyler Murphy's first career start. He went 14-15 on completions, threw one touchdown pass and ran for another. Besides his one interception, it is safe to say that Murphy impressed people around the country last week. He seems more poised and mobile that Jeff Driscoll was, which seems to be just what our offense needed.

Although things seem bright in Gator Nation, Arkansas is a legitimate opponent. They played exceptionally well against Texas A&M last Saturday, putting up 33 points against one of the nation's best football teams. They will want nothing more than to come to the Swamp and up end a Florida team that is seemingly on the rise.

However, they will be entering one of the nation's toughest stadiums to play in as an opponent, and the Swamp will be electric on Saturday night, especially because the game starts at seven. We can all expect a rowdier Gator crowd than we have seen in a long time this weekend. The Gators are favored by eleven points, and with our defense, it will be hard for the Razorbacks to score a lot of points. If we can get our offense going early in the first half, then I believe that this game can be blown wide open.

Stay safe this weekend, and Go Gators!!

Veterans Tuition Bill

A bill has been filed in the state legislature that will grant honorably discharged veterans in-state tuition.  When soldiers go overseas to ensure the freedoms and liberties Americans enjoy everyday they are not representing the one state that they are from, they are fighting for all fifty states that make up the United States of America.

The bill essentially waives the current one-year requirement for veterans to establish residency in the state before they may qualify for in-state tuition rates. As of now, twenty-six states currently waive the required waiting time to establish residency for veterans in order to obtain in-state tuition rates at public higher education institutions.

Last week in the Florida Senate, the bill sponsored by Sen. Latvala unanimously passed the Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security. In this committee Senator Evers amended the bill to specify “honorably discharged” veterans. The bill will be heard next in the Committee on Education. An identical bill sponsored by Rep. Peters has been filed in the House of Representatives although it has not been referred to committee hearings yet. 

At the University of Florida, we have 37 non-resident active duty service members and 119 non-resident veterans. This totals 156 University of Florida students to which this bill would apply. I urge all students to stand with me to support House Bill 35 and Senate Bill 84, which allow all veterans to be eligible for in-state tuition in the state of Florida. 

GO GATORS: Beat Kentucky!

Good afternoon Gator fans! Tomorrow our beloved Gators travel to Kentucky to face the Wildcats at seven p.m. This will be the Gators' first night game of the season. Judging by the past, this is a game the Gators should definitely be able to win.

Saturday night the Gators will look to extend the longest winning streak in the SEC. The Gators have won the last 26 matchups against Kentucky. Even in years that the Gators weren't as dominant as they typically are, they have still found a way to cruise past Kentucky. Tomorrow night, they are favored by thirteen points.

However, there are a few question marks for a Gators team that has already been riddled with injuries early on in the season. With the loss of starting quarterback Jeff Driscoll for the remainder of the season, Tyler Murphy has been forced to step into the role as the leader of the offensive unit. He looked great in his first game under center, but going on the road will be a true test for the redshirt sophomore.

Florida also lost a leader on defense for the season this week in practice when Dominick Easley went down with a torn ACL. This unfortunately means we have probably witnessed Easley, a highly-rated NFL prospect, play his last game in orange and blue.

Make sure to tune in to ESPNU Saturday night to watch the Gators hopefully climb to 3-1 on the season. Have a great weekend and Go Gators!!

Florida vs. Tennessee: Go Gators!

Tomorrow at 3:30 our beloved Gators football team will attempt to defend the Swamp for the second time this season. Last season, the Gators went undefeated at home, an accomplishment that puts fear in the thoughts of opposing teams.

The Tennessee Volunteers (2-1) and the Florida Gators (1-1) meet every season for what used to be an important rivalry game in the  Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. The game used to typically decide the team that would represent the East in the SEC Championship game. However, in recent years the Gators have dominated the series. Tomorrow when the two teams meet, Florida will be looking for a ninth straight victory against them.

Both teams come into the game off of tough losses. The Gators are looking to rebound off a tough, surprising loss to Miami a couple of weeks ago. The Vols will attempt to bounce back after a crushing defeat at the mercy of the mighty Oregon Ducks last weekend. This game has major implications on the direction that either team will head for the rest of the season.

The weather is supposed to be 88 degrees and sunny at kickoff, so make sure to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen and bring a hat! The Gators' home field advantage of sweltering heat will be in full effect tomorrow afternoon.

Our 19th ranked Gators are favored by 17 points in their first SEC matchup of the season tomorrow, and will try to get a big win to help their status in both the AP and USA Today Coaches' top 25 polls. I hope everyone is as excited as me to get back inside the Swamp, where the girls are the fairest and the boys are squarest of any old state down our way. Go Gators!

Community Leaders Dinner at the Governor's

Last night I, along with other University of Florida student leaders, had the honor of attending Governor Rick Scott's Community Leaders Dinner that was held at the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee. I am incredibly proud to represent the Gator Nation and was truly honored to be able to attend such an exquisite event and be surrounded by other notables from all over the state. Seeing how dedicated and hardworking the leaders and members of our state government are keeps my staff and I motivated and striving to be the absolute best we can be while representing such an amazing university. Go Gators!

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight