2008 Woodie Awards
Pres. hopeful speaks to students
Steve Mullis
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: News
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Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party Mike Gravel visited UCF Friday to speak to students and the public about his views and his bid for the presidency.
Gravel, a two-term, former Alaskan senator, spoke candidly about the Iraq war, immigration, the environment and other issues in a fiery, one-hour question-and-answer session held in the Math and Physics Building.
Gravel opened by saying that he could end the war in Iraq immediately.
"If I become president, it can be done in 120 days," Gravel said. "I can promise you that."
While Gravel remains unknown to many, he is famous for aiding in the release of the Pentagon Papers while serving in the Senate. He is also credited with helping to end the military draft during the Vietnam War by holding a five-month filibuster in 1971.
Gravel said that representative government is broken and that the only way it can be repaired is if the voters repair it.
Although the College Democrats and the Students for a Democratic Society hosted the event, Gravel's visit to UCF came about from the actions of a single student.
Evan Wyss, a 20-year-old Spanish major, said he first heard about Gravel during the early debates. Wyss said he liked Gravel's honesty, so he joined the e-mail list on his campaign Web site.
"I got an e-mail a couple of days before he was going to be in Tampa, and me and some friends drove out to see him," Wyss said. "We ended up meeting him and his campaign director, and then we kept in contact."
Wyss said that Gravel's campaign officials contacted him to let him know they were coming through Florida and would be willing to come to UCF if he could put it together.
"Once we got the room and the Facebook group, it really got the ball rolling," Wyss said. "I think it got up to 130 people on Facebook, and word-of-mouth helped as well."
Ryan Bernis, a 22-year-old marketing major, attended the event after hearing about it through friends and Facebook.
Gravel, a two-term, former Alaskan senator, spoke candidly about the Iraq war, immigration, the environment and other issues in a fiery, one-hour question-and-answer session held in the Math and Physics Building.
Gravel opened by saying that he could end the war in Iraq immediately.
"If I become president, it can be done in 120 days," Gravel said. "I can promise you that."
While Gravel remains unknown to many, he is famous for aiding in the release of the Pentagon Papers while serving in the Senate. He is also credited with helping to end the military draft during the Vietnam War by holding a five-month filibuster in 1971.
Gravel said that representative government is broken and that the only way it can be repaired is if the voters repair it.
Although the College Democrats and the Students for a Democratic Society hosted the event, Gravel's visit to UCF came about from the actions of a single student.
Evan Wyss, a 20-year-old Spanish major, said he first heard about Gravel during the early debates. Wyss said he liked Gravel's honesty, so he joined the e-mail list on his campaign Web site.
"I got an e-mail a couple of days before he was going to be in Tampa, and me and some friends drove out to see him," Wyss said. "We ended up meeting him and his campaign director, and then we kept in contact."
Wyss said that Gravel's campaign officials contacted him to let him know they were coming through Florida and would be willing to come to UCF if he could put it together.
"Once we got the room and the Facebook group, it really got the ball rolling," Wyss said. "I think it got up to 130 people on Facebook, and word-of-mouth helped as well."
Ryan Bernis, a 22-year-old marketing major, attended the event after hearing about it through friends and Facebook.