Florida Blue Key
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Florida Blue Key is a student honor society at the University of Florida. It is often written and referred to by the initialism "FBK."
Started at the university in 1923, it quickly spawned chapters across the United States, before the other chapters acrimoniously split with the original Florida chapter in the early 1930s.
Today, it remains the most powerful and politically active of all present and former Blue Key chapters, but has lost most of its power in the state of Florida. Prior to the 1980s, nearly all of Florida's famous politicians and business leaders became members of Florida Blue Key during their college years. The increased migration and two-party political system has somewhat weakened FBK members outside of Gainesville, although the organization still retains several spheres of influence in the state capitol. According to a 1997 lawsuit by Charles Grapski, Florida Blue Key maintains iron fist control over campus and local politics in Gainesville.
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[edit] History
University of Florida President A. A. Murphree believed the University should have a "Dad's Day," when students would invite their fathers to visit and learn about the university with their sons. Murphree appointed Dr. B.C. Riley, a dean of the university, to suggest the project to students.
Riley brought together some of the titular leaders of the Student Body who, under his guidance, planned a Dad's Day in the Fall with the key event being a football game. The event was successful and continued another year, with the name being changed to Homecoming. The organization quickly became so popular that Blue Key spread to colleges and universities across the country.
Initially, membership in the organization was ex-officio; a student automatically belonged to the organization if he held one of the major student organization positions on campus. This includes leadership roles in organizations such as student government and fraternities.
[edit] Separation with national chapters
FBK and Blue Key parted ways for good sometime between 1932 and 1935. FBK claims its members refused to join the national organization; National Blue Key has claimed FBK had grown too powerful and political, and was blackballed. Probably some of both stories are true, but both sides agree the split was bitter. Regardless, FBK owns the copyright and trademark to the name "Blue Key" and still licenses the national chapters' use of "Blue Key."
[edit] Current responsibilities
The organization continues to sponsor and organize the University of Florida's annual Homecoming celebration, which has grown to encompass dozens of events and community activities throughout the fall semester.
One of these events, Gator Growl, is billed as the largest student-run pep rally in the world; as many as an estimated 75,000 people have attended the event in past years. Gator Growl, nicknamed "Growl" by most students, usually features comedians such as Bill Cosby and Dane Cook in addition to the school rallies, but occasionally a top-tier musical act headlines the show.
The Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament, sponsored by FBK since the early 1980s, is one of the largest and most prestigious high school speech & debate tournaments in the country.
Other responsibilities include organizing UF's Legal Day, lobbying in Tallahassee for UF, and various community debates regarding issues of Florida and UF.
[edit] Famous alumni
Two concepts make it difficult to create a definitive list of prominent FBK alumni. First, the organization prides itself on its secrecy, and in fact does not publish lists of its alumni except to members. On the other hand, FBK liberally grants honorary membership to famous and influential Floridians, even if their connection with the university is tenuous or nonexistent.
A short list of alumni include:
- Reubin O'Donovan Askew, former Florida governor and state legislator (Honorary);
- Lawton Chiles (1930-1998), former Florida governor and U.S. Senator;
- Bob Graham, former Florida governor and U.S. Senator;
- Ben Hill Griffin (1910-1990), citrus magnate and 12-year state legislator;
- Connie Mack III, former U.S. Senator and Congressman from Florida (Honorary);
- Bill McCollum, former Florida Congressman and twice U.S. Senate hopeful;
- Steve Spurrier, former Florida football star and later championship-winning coach;
- Bill Nelson, current U.S. Senator
Founding alumni of FBK played significant roles in the "Pork Chop Gang," a coalition of about 20 conservative, rural lawmakers from North Florida who dominated state politics from the 1930s through the late 1960s.
One notable omission from the FBK membership rolls is current Florida governor Jeb Bush. It has been widely reported that Bush, a University of Texas grad, has not been offered admission to this uniquely Floridian organization.
Florida Blue Key also remains a popular and prestigious student organization for current students, both Greeks and non-Greeks, who have distinguished themselves in the service of the school or its students.
[edit] Controversies
Florida Blue Key's control of politics has been compared to The Machine at the University of Alabama and sometimes even the Skull and Bones secret fraternity of Yale University.
Although the university opened its doors to women in 1947 and to black students in 1958, FBK admitted strictly white males until the early 1970s. The growing threat of lawsuits and increased national and state pressure caused the organization to change its policies. Today, FBK is fully integrated and is building a strong history of including persons of different gender and race.
According to rumors, Florida Blue Key secretly works with white greeks and cultural organizations to control strategic positions in Student Government and membership in FBK.
FBK's power weakened significantly during the 1990s, because many more non-Greek students attended UF than in years past, and also after a lawsuit (see below) uncovered many secrets of the organization's legal and illegal involvement in campus politics. However, Greek chapters remain successful, though not invincible, in UF politics to this day, thanks mainly to their ability to mobilize votes within the FBK machine.
[edit] Grapski lawsuit
In 1995, Florida Blue Key was sued by graduate student Charles Grapski, who claimed that the some of the organization's members had run a slanderous campaign against his candidacy for student body president.
In his complaint, Grapski charged that several members of FBK conspired to alter Grapski's criminal record and post it around campus, containing a false charge of child molestation. One of the alleged conspirators, John McGovern, later became student body president himself.
Two years later, FBK was found guilty of defamation of character and conspiracy to defame, and held liable for damages of $250,000. Grapski and FBK eventually settled for $85,000, and FBK has since claimed no liability; McGovern was eventually ordered to pay about $80,000.
