Abstract
On April 24, 1963, University of South Florida president John Allen stood before the State Legislature determined to defend his school from the Johns Committee. The previous week, Mark Hawes, an attorney for the committee, had made disparaging comments toward USF. In his rebuttal, Allen described Hawes's statement as "a skillful blend of truths, half-truths, and omissions." In a written transcript of Allen's words, sandwiched between two pages defending the school from charges of being "soft" on Communism and two pages refuting the assertion that USF's faculty was "anti-religious," are three paragraphs describing "the area of homosexual behavior" and related allegations levied against the university and its faculty.1
Recommended Citation
Bertwell, Dan
(2004)
""A Veritable Refuge for Practicing Homosexuals": The Johns Committee and the University of South Florida,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 83:
No.
4, Article 4.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol83/iss4/4
