Free Republic

Catholics consider the consecrated wafer, the Eucharist, among the most sacred objects in the world and believe it becomes the 'Body of Christ' through transubstantiation. Student Government Senator Webster Cook filed the hazing charges with University of Central Florida administrators shortly after he admitted violating church rules by bringing the Eucharist home from Mass on June 29, then holding it hostage for one week in a plastic bag before returning it. Cook said his hazing complaint cited a UCF anti-hazing policy banning the forced consumption of any food in which the initiation or admission into or affiliation with a University...

UCF football player Ereck Plancher showed signs of distress during "mat drill" workouts last month before he collapsed and later died, four of Plancher's UCF teammates told the Orlando Sentinel. Plancher, a 19-year-old receiver from Naples, was taken to a hospital on March 18 and was pronounced dead about an hour after the drills. A preliminary autopsy was inconclusive. Further tests are under way to determine the cause of Plancher's death. The UCF players, who asked for anonymity because they fear retribution from football coaches, said Plancher's final practice was more intense than the basic conditioning workout described by UCF...

A University of Central Florida professor was arrested Monday on 138 counts of possession of material depicting sexual performance by a child. Michael Reichert, a political science professor, was arrested at about 3 p.m., according to UCF police. According to a police report, Reichert took his computer in for service about a month ago because there was a problem with it. That is when the images were discovered on the computer's hard drive, police said. The report did not state who made the discovery. It is unknown whether the photos were taken by Reichert, according to the report. Reichert was...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An 18-year-old was arrested on University of Central Florida property with an AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition that can penetrate bullet-proof vests. Police said Jonathan Taylor, 18, was recently spotted at the Pegasus Pointe apartments, which is considered UCF property, and arrested on suspicion of trespassing.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Another University of Central Florida fraternity is under investigation after a second alleged hazing incident at the school, Local 6 News has learned. UCF police said they recently caught a student with his pants down in a hallway of the Health and Public Affairs building. The student said it was related to a hazing incident involving the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity where pledges were being spanked inside a classroom, Local 6 News reported. There is no word this weekend whether the fraternity will face any disciplinary action. Last week, school officials investigating an apparent hazing ritual at...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- School officials investigating an apparent hazing ritual at a fraternity house on the University of Central Florida campus in which pledges were found in diapers, fairy wings and women's panties told Local 6 News that there is evidence that several of them may have been sexually assaulted. The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at UCF was suspended by its national office and has become the subject of a police investigation after three students were recently found so drunk that they had be rushed to a hospital. University police, acting on a tip, said they noticed loud, aggressive screaming...

It's time for this column to announce its Sheldon Award, given annually to the university president who does the most to look the other way when free speech is under assault on campus. As all Sheldon fans know, the prize is a statuette that looks something like the Oscar, except that the Oscar shows a man with no face looking straight ahead, whereas the Sheldon shows a man with no spine looking the other way. The award is named for Sheldon Hackney, former president of the University of Pennsylvania and a modern legend in looking the other way.College presidents who...

Photos Show Moments Before Officer Shot By OPD Apparent Badge Seen Around Jenkins' Neck ORLANDO, Fla. -- Photos snapped by a University of Central Florida grad student captured campus officer Mario Jenkins with his gun drawn and an apparent police badge hanging around his neck moments before he was mistakenly shot and killed by an Orlando police officer. Jenkins, an officer who had been working with state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco agents to curb underage drinking, died after being shot Saturday outside the Citrus Bowl by a retired Orlando police officer working on reserve status. Witnesses said Jenkins...

Iran has pumped out about seven tons of the gas it needs for uranium enrichment since it restarted the process last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Friday. A former UN inspector said that would be enough for an atomic weapon. In unusually strong language, an IAEA report also said despite its investigation, questions remain about key aspects of Iran's 18 years of clandestine nuclear activity and that it still was unable "to conclude that there are no undeclared nuclear materials or activities in Iran." "Iran's full transparency is indispensable and overdue," said the confidential document obtained by The...

Former congressman and current host of Scarborough Country on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough, is coming to Orlando on Wednesday. The show will be at the UCF arena. Doors open at 5:30, show is at 6:30. Admission is free, seating is first come, first served.

Michael Moore visited Orlando today, he came to the University of Central Florida(UCF) to try and spread his lies and propaganda to college students. It was outside, on a huge green lawn. The heat was unbearable, it should not be this hot in Florida in October! I went, I didn't see any other FReepers, but was in good company with many other protestors from UCF, ROCK (which I learned stands for Rebuilding on a Conservative Kornerstone), and a couple of others from the area. Being Michael Moore, and the fact the event was held on a liberal campus, we were...

I heard on the radio this morning that Michael Moore would be giving a speech at the University of Central Florida this Saturday. Anyone planning a Freep?

A crowd of 3,000 to 6,000 students and faculty at the University of Central Florida is expected to see Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ at an unprecedented showing in the campus arena tonight. The controversial religious epic, which some experts say could eventually sink James Cameron's Titanic as the most popular movie of all time, is the first film to be shown publicly outside a theater at the same time it's in full theatrical release, says Tony Arnold, national media representative for Campus Crusade for Christ.

Hitt Says Wig Was To Salute Player, Team.. ORLANDO, Fla. -- University of Central Florida President John Hitt apologized for wearing an Afro wig after a picture of him and a university trustee was published on the front page of the campus newspaper. Hitt said he and Board of Trustees Chairman Dick Nunis, who are both white, were acting like many UCF basketball fans have this season in support of Dexter Lyons, a black student who wears his hair in a combed-out Afro. "Just as many fans wear Afro wigs to the games, we wore them to salute the player...

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A possible hazing incident is under investigation at the University of Central Florida. Campus police say they found a fraternity member covered in plastic wrap, tied to a tree. The UCF fraternity says it is conducting its own investigation and doesn't believe there was any hazing going on. Fraternity members claim some people were just celebrating after giving a girl a gift. Members of Phi Beta Phi called police to their sorority house after someone found Phi Delta Theta fraternity member Sean Pierce wrapped in saran wrap from head to toe and tied to a tree....

Changes made after bad performances on and off the playing field.ORLANDO -- Central Florida football coach Mike Kruczek was fired Monday as the team struggled with a sub-par record on the field and problems with player behavior off it.He will be replaced by assistant coach Alan Gooch for the final two games.A combination of onfield and off-field events led to the decision to fire Krucek, said athletic director Steve Orsini.Kruczek had been with the program for 19 years. He wasn't available to talk to reporters, said assistant athletic director John Marini.Kruczek had signed a three-year extension in April to keep...

CNSNews.com) - Campus police at the University of Central Florida are investigating the theft of nine American flags that were recently installed in classrooms. The university is in the final stages of installing flags in 250 classrooms. But over the course of the last two weeks, some of the flags have disappeared. Campus police are treating the matter like any other vandalism case. After the student government voted against allocating $3,000 for the flags, the student group Rebuilding On a Conservative Kornerstone (ROCK) appealed to citizens in the Orlando community for help. SunTrust Bank and the Florida Elks Association have...

Less than a month after the controversial installment of American flags in UCF classrooms began, UCF Police are investigating the vandalism of several flags throughout campus. On Tuesday, at least nine flags in the Communications, Visual Arts, and Math and Physics buildings were torn down and stolen. Most of the damage occurred in the Math and Physics Building, where flags were missing from every floor. All but one flag had been replaced before students arrived for classes on Wednesday, maintenance supervisor Wanda Daberko said. The flag installation project, with a goal of putting one flag in every classroom on campus,...

<p>All right, University of Central Florida students and faculty: Start behaving yourselves or I'll turn this column right around.</p>

(CNSNews.com) - The first American flag in a Florida state university classroom was unfurled at the University of Central Florida in Orlando on Friday afternoon as a result of an effort led by conservative students. "This is a great day for UCF students," said Heather Smith, president of Rebuilding on a Conservative Kornerstone, or ROCK, a student-based group that has been working for months to have the flags placed in the school's classrooms. Smith said it is national emblem of freedom and liberty. However, critics of the plan said the American flags would be used to show political support for...