A gentle breeze swept through Turlington Plaza as students enjoyed the mild Thursday morning. It was hard to believe that two and a half hours away, St. Petersburg was in turmoil, recovering from the sporadic gunfire and rock throwing that had erupted the night before. The race riots sparked again Wednesday night, hours after a policeman was cleared in the fatal shooting of a man at a traffic stop last month. And as the shock waves these riots created rippled through the state, Farrah Lormil, like many others, quietly wondered what could happen if those waves reach Gainesville. When people are angry, they react.
Some people react without thinking.
You wouldn't really think there would be riots there. Student Services Dean Thomas Hill said that while racial slurs are not a prevalent problem at UF, they do suggest that under the right circumstances, a similar protest could occur. You get the right mix, the right set of circumstances. He said the one that sticks out in his mind is a mid-1980s protest that lasted almost a month. Between 20 and 100 people camped out on the steps of Tigert Hall in a peaceful protest supporting the UF Foundation sending funds to companies doing business in South Africa.