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VOLUME 114 ISSUE 47
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2020 Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Diversity weak in debate THE LAST DEBATE BEFORE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES WAS THE FIRST WITH NO PEOPLE OF COLOR By Samantha Chery Alligator Staff Writer
Following the first Democratic presidential debate of 2020, UF political party leaders shared their thoughts on the lack of diversity on the debate stage. The debate was held Tuesday night at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It was the last presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses begin Feb. 3. Although there are 12 Democratic candidates running for president, only six conquered polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for the debate: Joe Biden, Pete
Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren. This was the first Democratic debate of the election cycle that didn’t have a candidate who was a person of color. Christina Pugliese, the outreach director for UF College Democrats, said the lack of minorities on stage was like “going backward in history.” Pugliese said she hoped to hear a broader range of topics compared to previous debates, as she was interested in hearing the stances candidates had on transgender rights and intersectional feminism. She enjoyed listening to Julián Castro discuss these topics but now that he’s out of the race, her other choices
SEE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE, PAGE 4
IRAN MEMORIAL
Grethel Aguila // Alligator Staff
A student passerby stops to honor the victims of a Ukrainian plane crash in Iran at a vigil put on by the Iranian Student Association in Turlington Plaza Tuesday afternoon. Read the story on page 3.
UF responds to faculty tied to foreign research meddling FOUR FACULTY MEMBERS LEFT THE UNIVERSITY By Chasity Maynard Alligator Staff Writer
A letter from the National Institutes of Health named four UF faculty members and contained information about “questionable foreign meddling in grant research and funding,” according to UF spokesperson Steve Orlando and the Tampa Bay Times. UF is one of at least 60 universities that
received letters from the medical research center, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Orlando said. UF was the top National Institutes of Health-awarded school in Florida, receiving more than $190 million in grants last year, according to The Times. Since receiving the letter, four faculty members have left the university. The university’s investigation revealed activity by two researchers, and the medical resarch center’s probe connected the other two to the inquiry, according to the Times.
The center issued another letter in August 2018 expressing “serious concerns regarding efforts by foreign entities to exert inappropriate influence on research in the U.S.,” Orlando wrote. The letter did not specify any one university. Following this letter, the Department of Defense, National Science Foundation and congressional members issued similar communications, he wrote. The university responded to these concerns by creating a website and issuing statements and informational sessions outlining the university’s disclosure policy for
foreign involvement with federally funded research projects. In the Fall, an International Risk Assessment process was implemented to screen foreign institutions, designate conflicts of interest and issue approvals for activities. The process rarely approves foreign talent programs. In a December letter to Sen. Rick Scott, President Fuchs wrote that these new programs identified faculty members participating or seeking to participate in foreign talent programs.
SEE FOREIGN, PAGE 4
After live-saving surgery, a horse treated at UF is winning awards DOCTORS WEREN’T SURE THE HORSE WOULD SURVIVE By Alyssa Feliciano Alligator Staff Writer
In 2016, Casino Royale, an American Warmblood horse, was down on his luck. Shortly after he and his owner, Danielle Ammeson, learned they had qualified for the U.S. Dressage Foundation 2016 Regional
Championships, Casino Royale contracted a bacterial infection in his right hind leg. Ammeson still isn’t exactly sure Casino Royale what happened to the horse, who they commonly refer to as Royal, whose competition name is Casino Royale. All she knows is that he somehow punctured the bone, leading to
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT White earns 100th career win at UF
Gatorsdescription Story forward Keyontae finish withJohnson comma, pg# scored 15 points in Florida’s 71-55 win over Ole Miss, pg. 11
an infection. Ammeson said Royal was running around with another horse, and when she went to check on him, she noticed something was wrong. “When I went to go get him, he was just kind of standing there motionless on three feet,” she said. At first Ammeson said she wasn’t too concerned about it, and it looked like it had only punctured the skin. But asfter a
Newk’s Eatery finally opens
Soups, salads and sandwiches are on the menu, pg. 8
week of watching the wound and having their local vet visit Royal daily, they started to realize the wound was getting worse and that he needed more intensive care. Ammeson then decided to have Royal treated at the UF Large Animal Hospital in August 2016. After completing an initial exam of Royal at the hospital, emergency surgery was scheduled the following day. Dr. Alison Morton, clinical
associate professor and Chief of Large Animal Surgery, performed a surgery on Royal that removed areas of the affected bone. Morton wrote in an email that while she has seen cases similar to Royal’s, she’s never seen one progress as quickly as his. The infection caused damage to the tendon and bone quicker than a typical case. In the intensive care unit, Roy-
SEE HORSES, PAGE 4
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UF expands newspaper digitization
The project will be funded by a $309,000 award, pg. 6
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