UM News Briefs: Orientation, HP and the GOP

Photo credit: Roberta Macedo

Note from the news editors: UM News Briefs are a new segment from The Miami Hurricane. News briefs provide a weekly snapshot of life at the University of Miami, in Miami and sometimes around the state, country or world. Stay up to date with UM News Briefs.

THIS WEEK AT THE U

Orientation Outreach 2023

The Butler Center for Service and Leadership will be kicking off the semester with a volunteer opportunity open to all students at the University of Miami. Student volunteers will come together on Sunday, August 27 at 8 a.m. to perform a community service project and give back to those in need within the local community.

The Butler Center will be providing a t-shirt and lunch to all volunteers. Those interested can register at this link. For more information, contact the Butler Center for Service and Leadership at 305-284-4483 or at leadandserve@miami.edu.

Hurricane Productions presents Colorful ‘Canes

Hurricane Productions invites all students to its first event of the semester, Colorful ‘Canes, hosted by ‘Canes Night Live, on August 25 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students can enjoy a variety of painting activities, crafts, food and giveaways.

“CNL provides an environment that is not only fun, free, safe and on-campus, but also offers an opportunity to meet other fellow ‘Canes who may become some of your closest friends,” Aris Montero, the vice chair of Hurricane Productions, said. “It is their first event — so it’s a perfect way to celebrate the start of the fall semester.”

At the event students will have the chance to showcase their own artwork. Those interested in presenting their work can fill out the CNL Student Artist Interest Form on HP’s Engage.

U KNOW MIAMI

Police shot at while serving warrant in Miami neighborhood

A Miami police detective came under fire after a SWAT team was serving a search warrant Thursday morning.

Detectives from the Miami-Dade Police Tactical Robbery Unit and Tactical Investigations Unit set a perimeter around a home where Joven Algudin, a 40 year old man, was suspected of hiding near 70th Street. A SWAT team was called to execute a search warrant and an arrest warrant.

Algudin, a 16-time convicted felon who has been arrested 64 times on felony charges and 32 times on misdemeanor charges, is wanted on 12 felony cases that occurred between December of last year and July of this year.

He is currently wanted for eight burglaries, two grand-theft auto cases and an armed robbery.

The homeowner of an adjacent property exited their property and discharged several rounds from a firearm at one of the detectives. The detective fired back.

Neither were injured, but the homeowner suffered a medical episode as a result of the commotion.

Algudin refused to exit the home for 30 minutes. He eventually surrendered and was arrested without incident.

IN CASE U MISSED IT

Takeaways from the first GOP primary debate

On Wednesday night, eight Republican primary candidates took the stage in Milwaukee for the 2024 cycle’s first primary debate.

While former president Donald Trump skipped the debate for an interview with Tucker Carlson, each of his rivals took unique approaches vying for second-place status.

Despite his legal entanglements, Trump remains ahead in the polls, and nothing that happened during the debate is likely to affect his predicted trajectory.

Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38-year-old entrepreneur and political newcomer who has positioned himself as a defender of the former president, split center with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, stealing the spotlight for most of the night.

Standing in the spotlight, Ramaswamy was the target of the debate. The first jab at the Ohio entrepreneur came from former vice president Mike Pence.

“Vivek, you recently said a president can’t do everything. Well, I’ve got news for you, Vivek.” Pence said. “I’ve been in the hallway. I’ve been in the West Wing. The president of the United States has to confront every crisis facing America.”

Later in the debate, former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, compared Ramaswamy’s answers to something generated by ChatGPT.

Despite his lack of political experience and the hits he received at the debate, recent polling has shown Ramaswamy rising above other candidates.

After speaking very little and dodging controversial topics like abortion, DeSantis did not stand out amongst the candidates. His rehearsed lines and responses could be easily matched to his other speaking engagements in recent months.

Christie’s debate success can be traced back to his interaction with Marco Rubio eight years ago, where he pointed out Rubio’s habit of repeating lines. Although the comment didn’t increase his chances of beating the current Senator out, Rubio struggled to shed the reputation of sounding robotic.

While Christie’s ChatGPT comment was reminiscent of his past performance, he failed to disrupt the Ohio businessman. Instead, Ramaswamy attacked him over his criticism of Trump.

Christie’s following attempt to attack the former president’s top defender was met with boos from the crowd.

In regards to issue topics like abortion, some candidates supported a 15-week federal ban. Some stated they were against efforts to pass a nationwide ban. No one clearly stated they would sign a six-week federal ban.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, delivered a message geared more for a moderate electorate.

She said contraception should be available to all women and was the only candidate to acknowledge that climate change is real. She praised Pence’s actions on January 6 and criticized Ramaswamy during an exchange over Russia, as she defended the United States’ support for Ukraine.

Tim Scott’s nice-guy routine excluded him from much of the discourse. His comments and arguments often faded into the background as candidates with stronger voices took over conversations.

When asked to weigh in on the southern border, Scott gave a long answer on how important and easy it would be to finish Trump’s wall.

Strategists see Scott’s plan as an attempt to show his authenticity in nature, but are unsure how this strategy would play out long-term.