USF Bans Selfies at Graduation
Selfies have been taken for nearly as long as cameras have been around. With cameras being more and more widespread thanks to their near universal inclusion on cell phones, the popularity of the selfie has soared to new heights. However, it seems like the administration of the University of South Florida are not as enamored with the selfie as almost everyone else is.
Graduation is coming up at USF and as a preemptive strike, the school's Division of Student Affairs, has been doing everything in it's power to discourage people from taking selfies as they are handed their diplomas. In their fight against the selfie, the administration has sent out emails and placed ads in the school newspaper. They have gone as far as threatening to withhold the diplomas of those who whip out their cameras while they are shaking hands with the president of the university.
"We want students to think about the dignity of the ceremony," said Michael A. Freeman, USF assistant vice president and dean for students. "It's supposed to be exciting, but it's a serious academic ceremony." The school has reasons to ban the selfie other than the lack of dignity on the part of the selfie taker.
From a practical standpoint, the planned ceremony is already lengthy, and adding time for selfies would make it even more so. Not to mention the poor audience. The parents and family members of those whose names are near the end of the alphabet will have to wait long enough as it is. The school is also paying a professional photographer to take a picture of every single graduating student as they receive their diploma. Who would want a poor self shot when a nice frameable one would be available?
‘Her crazy’: Florida woman goes on rampage after store owner won’t exchange dollar bills for her jar of coins
Coins, in any large quantity, can be quite heavy. Lugging around even a few dollars in quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies can get tiring fast. That's one of the reasons that paper currency is so popular. Can you imagine having to lug around a jar of change instead of carrying around a light 20 dollar bill just to get a tank of gas? One woman was dismayed, to say the least, after deciding to forgo all the other options such as a bank or machine like Coinstar, and demanded a clerk a store owner take the time to do it instead.
The unnamed owner tried explaining to the woman that he didn't have the time to count out all her change for her. This apparently drove the woman into a frenzy. Surveillance cameras captured the woman pointing aggressively at the owner, followed shortly thereafter by her knocking items off the counter and onto the floor.
The store owner then followed the woman outside, only to be greeted by racial slurs death threats from the woman. Looking for help, the owner asked Danya Bennett, who was sitting with her daughter, to call 911. Apparently, this sent the woman over the edge and she swung her fist at the store owner. Unfortunately, the woman hit Bennett's daughter, seven-year-old Kami.
Police are still investigating, and the woman has not yet been arrested. The outside surveillance cameras do show the woman swinging, but the tape is unclear as to where the blow landed.
