I am not sure that the police selectively enforce the law in Gainesville relative to Miami. The scale of activity in Miami is so much greater than Gainesville. The 2009 population of Dade County is about 2.5 million. The population of Alachua County is about 400000. The number of football players is about 100 in each. Thus, football players are about 8 times more likely to be seen in Alachua County vs. Dade County. Complicating the analysis, Dade County has many more times the number of police departments vs. Alachua County.
I think one of the big differences in Gainesville today vs. when I lived there from 1971-1978 was that the legal drinking age was 18 when I arrived. I personally believe that raising the drinking age from 18 to 21 has increased the alcohol problem rather than reduced it. Drinking had no mystique when I was in college. I had been drinking for several years before college. Those "terrible" Duval County cops never seemed to bother me or my friends about drinking even when I was in high school. For us, drinking was usually a beer or two after work or with pizza. I rarely remember people drinking too much. If they did, the rest of us would intervene and would make sure that they did not drive. If the police ever caught us, we would promise to get those who had drank too much safely home. The only bad experience I ever remember about the police was the one I told about the St. Augustine police. Even in Gainesville, during my early college years, the Gainesville police were not the ones we had trouble with during the annual "riots". It was the Marion County police that people thought were goons. Generally the students got along pretty well with the local government. I even served as the vice chairperson of the Alachua County Housing Board while I was a student. I am not sure if there has been a paradigm change with local government and the police department over the years relative to their attitude toward students. I have read where some local governments in Florida (and elsewhere) have increased prosecutions (tickets) in order to generate revenue. That was true of Lawtey, and some suggested Waldo, but not true of any other areas I knew about back in my day. Jerry -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of John Vega Sent: Friday, April 29, 2011 3:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [gatortalk] Double Standard I simply can not believe for a moment that Miami's football players are 10 times less likely than UF's to commit a minor or petty infraction of the law. I just don't believe it. What is probable is that UF players are more likely to be arrested for the same activities. Look at Jenkins. In 20 years of practicing law, I have never heard of anyone being charged with "affray." Really. And why was he arrested this last time? Because an officer saw him smoking a cigar in a car. I've seen lots of people smoke cigars in cars; never seen anyone stopped for questioning. After being stopped for questioning, the officer stated he smelled marijuana and ultimately found a small amount of it. An amount so small that it is not even a crime in some states. I don't know if it is that things that get overlooked in a big city like Miami get noticed in a small town; local resentment of football players, or even possibly racism; but there is a systematic problem here and I don't think that it is the conduct of our football players. We recruit the same exact players as Miami and FSU and their arrest records look spotless compared to UF's. I don't think that Jenkins should have been punished, much less thrown off the team. I can't think of a single friend I had in college whose actions wouldn't make Jenkins look like a saint in comparison. They are now doctors, lawyers, engineers and judges. I also think that an anti-UF bias is why the total number of arrests is attracting attention and not the minor nature of the infractions. Who knows, but if I were a potential recruit right now, I'd pick a school where I could fly under the radar. -Zeb -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
