Florida declared a state of emergency before a white nationalist's speech - and protesters showed up with confetti, high-fiving state troopers

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Confetti littered the street and police were giving high fives.

• White nationalist Richard Spencer spoke at UF and protesters attended the speech.
• Uplifting messages were written on confetti and spread around the street.
• Many people chose to come together and denounce hatred.

Florida governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in advance of a speech at the University of Florida by noted white nationalist Richard Spencer.

It was Spencer's first speech on a college campus since he and other white supremacists participated in the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned deadly.

Aiming to get ahead of any potential violence at UF, the school ramped up police presence on campus and is spending about $500,000 on security for the event.

While the atmosphere was tense at times, it was also peaceful. Many protesters who decry Spencer's message and presence on campus chose to voice uplifting messages.

For example, confetti with heartfelt messages littered the street, and banners were flown touting messages of love.

A police trooper gave high fives to protesters.

 And a student whose mom was worried about him wrote a message specifically for her.

A supportive community came together to lift each other up.