University of Florida - Tower / Seminole Yearbook (Gainesville, FL)

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Below: William B. Davis, Cancer Man from the popular t.v. show The X-Files, served as an Accent speaker in April. His presentation allowed hundreds of X-Files fans to hear about behind-the-scenes as- pects of the show, as well as ask ques- tions about the show and its stars. C me One, Come Accent and SGP Bring Inexpensive Entertainment to the University of Florida and the Gainesville Community When asked who his favorite speaker was, Chairman of Accent, Andrew Rosin, replied, Magic Johnson. Accent, the University of Florida ' s Speakers Bureau, has been working with various national agencies to bring prominent ers to Florida since the 1960 ' s. The best part about the program? It ' s all free. No student or member of the community has ever had to pay to hear a presentation. This year ' s venue included Bob Dole, the 1996 Republican Presidential Hopeful, Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla, from the popular MTV program Love Lines, and John Singelton, producer of Higher Learning. Past speakers include Arthur Ashe, Oprah Winfrey, Kurt Vonnegut, and Pres. Jimmy Carter. In bringing these distinguished men and women to UF ' s campus, Accent hopes to enhance students ' education outside of the classroom. In addition to Accent, UF has another student-run entertain- ment organization on campus. Student Government Productions, or SGP, is a division of Student Government that works to bring inexpensive shows to the Univer- sity of Florida. This year it brought in the hit music group, The Wall- flowers, jazz-performer Branford Marsalis, and the Indigo Girls as well as many other popular enter- tainers. Although it must charge money for most of its venues, SGP concentrates on keeping the prices low and the energy level high. Student Life 9

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Below: Dr. Drew Pinsky and Adam Carolla, stars of the hit MTV show Love Lines, came to Campus in March through an Accent sponsored event. The O ' Connell Center was transformed into the show ' s set for the production that drew over 4000 people. Left: Thousands of screaming fans look on as Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers perform in the O ' Connell Center. Held in the fall, the Wallflowers Concert was one of the biggest and most popular SGP productions on campus this year. Above: In March, SGP brought Jazz performer, Branford Marsalis, to the Bandshell for a free concert. Marsalis spent the afternoon entertaining a huge crowd of Gainesville resi- dents who came to hear him play. What did you like best about the ACCENT and SGP shows? I liked that they brought great speak- ers like John Single- ton, The Love Line Guys and bands like the Wallflowers for cheap or free. -Lora Brooks 1JM

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On the Road Again Wherever the place, traveling was a great way for students to forget about school for a while. Each University of Florida student, at some point in the arduous academic year, felt the need to get out of Gainesville. Whether that meant going back home to visit old friends and family or embarking on a road trip with the likes of new company, traveling outside of the campus ' s five-mile radius enabled students to forget daily stress and remember that there was a world outside of Gainesville. Of course, the main vacation students planned for year round was Spring Break. There ' s good reason too. Tour packages for cruises and tropical locations filled up early, and students found that the later it got in the year, the higher the prices got. Sopho- more Nick Fiorella planned ahead and booked a trip to Jamaica with a group of his friends. I ' m glad we got our plans together be- cause I know a lot of people who didn ' t do anything for Spring Break because they didn ' t get their stuff together before it was too late, Fiorelli said. Some students chose to use their time off to better the community through volunteer efforts but not without having a great time along the way. Florida Alternative Break gave students the opportunity to travel and lodge at a discounted price in return for community service. Business sophomore Valerie Fitton and 15 other students traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to help build wheel-chair ramps for children with cerebral palsy. Helping others out really was a experience. It was better than sitting at home, Fitton said. In addition to lavish, week-long breaks, weekends also gave students the opportu- nity to get away for a little while and within a reasonable budget. Road trips to big cities like Atlanta or Miami were an easy five- hour drive . Whatever the reason or wherever the place, traveling was a great way for stu- dents to forget about life for awhile. Story by : Jenny Williams. 10 Student Life