Florida Blue Key

Florida Blue Key is a student organization at the University of Florida.

Previously Florida Blue Key was the most prestigious leadership honorary in Florida. This was because the University of Florida was the only major university in the state. The opening of other state universities and the rise of importance of other schools, like Florida State University, has diminished the importance of Florida Blue Key, as students at these schools formed other leadership honoraries.

Originally begun as the National Blue Key organization, started at the University of Florida in 1923, the National Blue Key split from FBK in 1935, when the UF student organization quickly grew in power. Initially, membership in the organization was ex-officio; a student automatically belonged to the organization if he (the organization did not admit women until the 1970s) held one of the major student organization positions on campus. This includes leadership roles in organizations such as student government and fraternities. This gave FBK a quasi-oligarchy over student politics, and allowed the organization to effectively hand-pick members of student government.

The organization was founded when President A. A. Murphree believed the University should have a day set aside when students would invite their fathers to come to the campus for a special celebration -- to see the University and to learn about it -- with them. He asked Dr. B.C. Riley, Dean, General Extension Division, to suggest the project to students. Dean 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.

Although FBK has seriously declined in political power and financial resources since the mid to late 1990s, the organization still claims to be Florida’s oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary, and for the most part, still maintains steadfast control over which students are elected to UF's Student Government.

To this day, the organization's primary responsibilities include sponsoring and organizing the University of Florida's annual Homecoming celebration, which includes several events and community activities throughout the fall semester and leads up to the Homecoming football game; sponsoring and producing Gator Growl, a special Homecoming pep rally show which is billed as the largest student run pep rally in the world, with nearly 60,000 in attendance; and the Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament, one of the largest and most prestigious high school speech & debate tournaments in the country (founded in the early 1980's). In addition, there are several other events sponsored by Florida Blue Key Divisions that benefit University of Florida students throughout the year.

In 1995, FBK was sued by graduate student Charles Grapski, who claimed that the organization had run a slanderous campaign against his candidacy for student body president (John McGovern, a student and member of FBK, used the printer in the FBK office, after office hours, to print a flyer reporting Grapski's well established arrest record, and adding to it an allegation that Grapski had been charged with child molestation). Two years later, FBK was found liable for defamation of character and conspiracy to defame, and held liable for damages of $250,000 (Following an appeal, the two parties settled for $80,000.)

As a result of the law suit, Student Government president John McGovern was found liable and ordered to pay millions of dollars in damages to Grapski, though as of 2005 he has not done so. Many credit this law suit to have led to the downfall of this once great organization.

More information on this organization can be found on its websites: http://www.fbk.org, http://ufhomecoming.org, http://www.gatorgrowl.org, and http://www.bluekeydebate.com.