August 1, 2019

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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 106

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

Not officially associated with the University of Florida

UF graduate petitions for restaurant workers union

By Kasamba Kokayi Contributing Writer

Courtesy of Herman Younger-Vallares

Herman Younger, 23, began a petition for a restaurant workers union after being frustrated as a server at Bahama Breeze and T.G.I. Fridays. He graduated from UF with a political science degree in Spring 2019.

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. The Florida minimum wage is $8.46.

Herman Younger was getting paid $5.25.

Younger, a former restaurant server and UF political science graduate, is petitioning on Change.org to create a union to improve the working conditions of restaurant employees. Younger’s idea, the American Restaurant Workers Union, would be the first union in Florida for tipped workers in the service and hospi-

tality industries.

“There is continuous mistreatment and underpayment in this industry,” Younger said.

The now 23-year-old worked as a server at Bahama Breeze for five months and at T.G.I. Fridays for four months before he left the restaurant industry frustrated.

He said his goals for the union include: providing legal representation in harassment cases, ending “at will” laws that allow employers to fire employees at their own will and fighting for both automatic gratuity (where tips are automatically added to the bill)

SEE UNION, PAGE 3

UF applicants can now use School board budget: $423 million the Common Application DECISION DAY WILL ALSO CHANGE TO THE LAST FRIDAY OF FEBRUARY

By Kelly Hayes Staff Writer

A common solution for a modern problem: UF applicants can now use the Common Application.

The Common Application, a college admission application platform that allows students to apply to multiple colleges at one time, will now be accepted at UF, said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando.

More than 750 colleges accept the Common App, and now UF will join them.

“It’s another avenue to increase access to UF,” Orlando said.

The decision day for the class of 2024 will also be changing. Instead of opening application results on the second Friday of February, which had been done in previous years, decisions will be released

EVALUATING UF’S O-LINE

on the last Friday of February, Orlando said.

“That just puts us in line with our peer institutions,” he said.

UF applications will be available Aug. 12 this year, Orlando said.

Schamael Joseph, a 22-year-old UF statistics senior, said the unique UF application made the process more personal, but he did find the Common Application easy to use when submitting to multiple colleges.

“The Common App is easy, but it’s not personal,” Joseph said. “I think that when you’re applying to somewhere as great as UF, you need to give them a personal application explaining why you want to attend that specific school, not just college in general.”

Tori Whidden and Meleah Lyden contributed to this report.

The Gators’ offensive line is one of the their most inexperienced units, pg 10

@kellyrhayes khayes@alligator.org

IT’S A $51 MILLION BUDGET INCREASE FROM LAST YEAR

By Rosmery Izaguirre Staff Writer

The Alachua County School Board unanimously voted Tuesday to increase the annual budget and property taxes.

The $423 million budget is a $51 million increase from the previous year’s budget.

The budget includes a property tax rate of 3.896. The previous year included a rate of 4.016. The estimated tax revenue from the tax rate increased slightly over $2 million from the previous year, accounting for rising property values and resulting in a property tax increase.

Alachua County Public Schools spokesperson Jackie Johnson said unlike counties, who set their own property tax

rates, the state of Florida sets the tax rate for each school district in the state.

“Even though the school board is required to vote on [the property tax rate], the school board doesn’t have any choice,” Johnson said. “If you don’t levy the property tax rate the state tells you to, you don’t get your state funding. And for us, that’s half of our funding.”

Johnson said the school system receives two primary sources of funding: local property taxes and state funding through the Florida Education Finance Program.

Gunnar Paulson, Alachua County Public School Board member, said a priority for the school board is increasing safety and security in schools.

“We need to harden schools, make the schools more secure,” Paulson said.

The budget also prioritizes

Gainesville reacts to ‘Strange Fruit’ controversy

The Top apologized after taking the Billie Holiday song-inspired drink of its menu because of the song’s anti-lynching lyrics, pg 3

improving the grades of D and F schools in the district. Johnson said the district had six D and F schools for the 2017-18 school year only three D and F schools for the 2018-19 school year.

“The goal is to ultimately eliminate all D and F schools from the district,” Johnson said.

“There would be more focusing of resources into those schools that are struggling the most.”

The budget also outlines priorities such as keeping teacher salaries within the upper two-thirds of state rankings, increasing minimum wage for noninstructional full-time staff to $15 an hour (with health insurance included) and eliminating the achievement gap with continued implementation of the district’s equity plan.

Johnson said the board will vote for the final budget in September. @rgizaguirre rgizaguirre@alligator.org

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Student Senate approves 3-percent budget bump The over $22-million budget was approved upon its second reading by the Senate, pg 4

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2 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019

Today’s Weather

VOLUME 113 ISSUE 106

ISSN 0889-2423

Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications Inc., of Gainesville, Florida

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HIGH 91° LOW 72°

Local Events / News in Brief

UF School of Theatre and Dance presents: 'Second Chances' "Second Chances" is a romantic musical about two up-andcoming musicians with budding issues in their personal lives.

Performances will be at the Black Box Theatre of the McGuire Pavilion Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $14 for UF students, $16 for UF faculty and staff, $16 for seniors and $20 for the general public. Tickets can be bought at Gate 1 of the University Box Office at the O'Connell Center or online at Ticketmaster.

Florida Tax-Free Days The sales tax holiday begins Friday and runs through Aug. 6. During this period, qualifying items will be exempt from tax, including certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item;

clothing, footwear and accessories selling for $60 or less per item; and computers and certain accessories selling for $1,000 or less per item when purchased for noncommercial or personal use.

Books not borders The Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St., is holding a book sale to support Casa Carmelita, a new community space run by local organizers in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

There will be live music, poetry, short film projections and a photographic exhibit of Zapatista musicians by Avispa Midia, an independent journalist collective from Mexico. Prints will be up for sale, and proceeds will support the media collective and help volunteers and donations make it to El Paso.

Have an event planned?

Add it to the alligator’s online calendar:

alligator.org/calendar Free Spay-Neuter Clinic for Community Cats On Sunday the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, at 2015 SW 16th Ave., will hold its free spay and neuter clinic. Between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., the clinic will spay about 200 cats.

All cats will also receive a full set of vaccinations, including rabies and FVRCP and Revolution, a parasite treatment. Prior reservations and preapproved humane live traps are required.

To make a reservation you can leave a voicemail at 352-3800940 or email the clinic. at reservations@ocgainesville.org.

The Mount retreat The Mount is a nonprofit retreat from Aug. 9 to 11 for new Christian UF and Santa Fe students to connect to theircommunity before Fall classes begin.

During the retreat, attendees will be placed in a small group of cabins with two older student counselors who will mentor them throughout the weekend and help them get involved with other community groups, local churches and campus ministries. Registration is open unitl Aug. 8 and scholarships are available for students on a need basis. Students can register at themountretreat.com/register.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 ALLIGATOR 3

Locals react to the Top’s ‘Strange Fruit’ cocktail controversy THE DRINK HAS SINCE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE MENU

By Ashley Lazarski Staff Writer

The Gainesville community is responding to recent controversy about a cocktail from the Top that referenced lynching.

On Monday, the Top, located at 30 N. Main St., posted an apology on its Facebook page after naming a drink for Billie Holiday’s emotional anti-lynching ballad “Strange Fruit.”

The $11 drink, which was made with bourbon, raspberry and lime cordials, club soda and garnished with lemon and lime, was described on the menu as: “This is for all you Billie Holliday fans out there. You will be met with a balance of tangi-

ness, fruitiness, and (unbearable) lightness (of being).”

The menu misspelled Holiday’s last name by using two L’s.

Heather Halak, owner of Third House Books, located at 113 N. Main St., said taking the drink off the menu and posting an apology on Facebook is a start, but this is one facet of a larger issue.

“My issue lies with white business owners who notoriously, almost exclusively, hire white staff members with maybe five exceptions,” Halak said.

The Top declined to comment.

“It could have said that this is a drink to raise awareness about the gruesome events that black people and people of color have undergone in this country and the effects of colonialism in general,” Halak said.

She said she would feel better about the situation if the Top had

a larger staff of people of color and was a more accessible place for marginalized people in general, but she notes the vast majority of its patrons are white college students and their visiting parents.

“I keep thinking about possible future interactions where like, you’re sitting at a bar and you hear white sorority girls ordering ‘Strange Fruit’ and laughing about it,” Halak said.

“I would hate that.”

This isn’t the first time a business has gotten into trouble for using this name for a product. A diner near Boston was slammed for having a drink with the name, and a restaurant PR firm that was named “Strange Fruit PR” both caught heat and changed their names.

Wallace Mazon, 24, commented on the Top’s apology Facebook post to express his displeasure with the drink. He said he did not think the

Sam Thomas / Alligator Staff

Customers of the Top, located in downtown Gainesville at 30 N. Main St., stand outside of the bar and wait to be seated Wednesday night. bar’s apology addressed the real issue: a lack of diversity within downtown establishments themselves.

“The Gainesville [downtown] scene isn’t really as woke as it might

appear,” Mazon said. “You have to search really hard to find a black employee.” @AshleyLazarski alazarski@alligator.org

Younger’s petition has 109 signatures with an overall goal of 1,000 UNION, from pg. 1 and a living wage.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers can pay tipped workers as low as $2.13 an hour as long as tips add up to the minimum wage.

After months of working as a server, Younger said he left the industry because he wasn’t making enough money to support himself during slow seasons. With an hourly salary of $5.25, he and other servers depended on tips. Some people didn’t tip well, he said. Some people didn’t tip at all.

In the Fall and Spring, Younger said he could go home with $300 to $400 a week, but during the summer, he was lucky to get $70 a week. If the restaurant wasn’t busy, he or other servers could be sent home early. The restaurant saved money, but his pay was effectively cut, Younger said.

“Systemically, it’s an issue that the industry exploits the working class,” he said.

“Whether you are a server making $5.25 an hour or a retail employee making $8.25 an hour, these aren’t livable wages.”

Younger said servers deserve a wage based on the cost of living in a specific area, which neither the federal nor state minimum wage meet. He may have had money to spend in the busy season, but during slow months, he had trouble paying rent and buying groceries. Luckily, his parents were able to help support him in his rough patch.

After leaving the restaurant industry, he began working for a cannabis dispensary, where he said he’s being paid a “fair, livable wage.” Younger declined to disclose the amount of his current wage.

At the time of writing, the petition has 109 signatures. Once it gets 1,000 signatures, Younger said he will speak with

established unions, such as the Alachua County Labor Coalition, and head to Washington D.C. to lobby for laws to protect restaurant workers.

Ashley Nguyen, a coordinator with the Alachua County Labor Coalition, said unions are beneficial to workers. The coalition organizes workers across the county and advocates for similar goals, including a living wage and the end of “at will” laws.

Unions foster a community where the workers are empowered and help change laws by sending lobbyists to Congress, Nguyen said. She added unionized workers usually make 30 to 40 percent more than those who are not unionized. “[Workers] are more powerful together as a force against unfair labor practices,” Nguyen said.

Younger said his union also hopes to be a force against the mistreatment and harassment of workers. As many as 90 percent of

women and 70 percent of men in the restaurant industry report experiencing sexual harassment.

Laksmi Arroyo, a 19-year-old Gainesville native, said she’s been sexually harassed — by both customers and supervisors — several times in the year-and-a-half she’s worked as a server. At her first job as a hostess at Napolatanos, Arroyo said a head server kissed her.

Arroyo now works at Paramount Grill, where she splits tips with other servers and bussers. While fair during busy months, she said sharing makes tips look like scraps during the slow season.

Arroyo said a living wage or automatic gratuity would make the work she puts in worth it.

“I think a union would definitely make things safer,” she said. “It could also make it so I’m not battling my co-workers for shifts and tips.”

4 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019

Senate approves 2020-21 budget on second reading, no increase in student fees EIGHT BILLS WERE PASSED

By Charlie Daffron Staff Writer

Despite a raise in the budget, students will not have to pay more in activity and service fees this year.

The $22,087,482 student activity service fee budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year passed its second reading at the end of Tuesday night’s Student Senate meeting.

The budget, which passed its first reading last week, will be a threepercent increase from the 2019-20 budget. However, it will not cost students any extra dollars because it came from an increase of credit hours taken by students. ,

The budget was met with more resistance from Inspire senators.

The senators pointed out the budget reserved $12,800 for music royalties and included large increases in the Rec Sports and SG projects budget, but the budget didn’t include any allocations for new emergency blue lights on campus or additional funding for the Counseling and Wellness Center.

Cooper Brown, chair of the SG Budget and Appropriations Committee, said there are other areas of the budget that can fund blue lights and other projects. Brown also said the CWC is financed by the health fee and state legislature.

“Blue lights and live-streaming equipment can be addressed through

the SG projects line and the Senate line, which both received increases in this budget,” Brown said.

Deputy Minority Party Leader Nikolas Bindi, who had been cautiously supportive of the proposed budget at the last meeting, said he reconsidered his stance after talking to his constituents and other members of his caucus.

Bindi said hearing Senator Wynton White (Impact, Health and Human Performance) suggest increasing funding for Rec Sports would also help improve mental health on campus was what made him take an even stronger oppositional stance.

The Alligator reached out to White, but he could not be reached for comment on this story.

“It’s not very considerate to students who suffer from mental health issues, just brushing them aside and saying, ‘You’d be better if you just exercise more,’” Bindi said.

The budget passed with a vote of 48-7. Brown said he is happy to meet with anyone with questions on the budget.

Eight of the nine bills approved by the Judiciary Committee on Monday received a first reading at the meeting.

Majority Party Leader Branden Pearson, who authored five of the bills that were passed, said he’s happy to see all of the bills pass their first reading.

“I am excited to help provide additional support services for students

transitioning to the University of Florida by establishing the First Generation Cabinet and Graduate Student Affairs Cabinet,” Pearson said.

The Commitment to our Constituency Act, which would prevent senators who lost their Senate seats due to absences or expulsion from running for re-election for two election cycles, was removed from the agenda and referred back to the Judiciary Committee.

Bindi said this was due to a formatting error.

All eight of the other bills passed their first reading and will receive a second reading at the next Senate meeting. @charlie_daffron cdaffron@alligator.org

· CRIME ROUNDUP ·

Man charged with rape now Tampa man charged with possession charged for beating cellmate of fraudulent credit cards, drugs HE WAS ARRESTED JULY 16

By Rachael Schirmer Staff Writer

A Gainesville man, who was charged for a double home invasion and rape earlier this month, has been additionally charged with beating his cellmate in Alachua County Jail on Tuesday.

Kashawn Jefferson, 22, hit his cellmate in the head multiple times with a plastic bin as he was laying on his mattress, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office police report. Jefferson then reporedly punched the man with a closed fist and stomped on his head and face multiple times.

The cellmate reportedly did not at-

tempt to defend himself during the incident. Jail staff had to stop the beating shortly after 1 a.m., according to the report.

Jefferson’s cellmate was arrested in Palatka, Florida, and charged with sexual battery on a victim under the age of 12, a felony, in January. He has remained in jail in lieu of his $1 million bond. The extent of his injuries are listed as “major” according to the report.

Jefferson was charged with aggravated battery by person detained in a jail facility, another first-degree felony.

He remains in jail in lieu of his original bond and a $50,000 bond for his newly acquired charge. @rschirmerr rschirmer@alligator.org

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GAS PUMP KEYS WERE ALSO FOUND IN HIS VEHICLE

By Rachael Schirmer Staff Writer

A Tampa man was stopped by a Gainesville police officer and K-9 unit Monday and charged with much more than a routine traffic ticket.

Humberto Pinares, 46, was following too closely behind another vehicle while traveling on State Road 93 Monday afternoon. Pinares denied consent to the ticketing officer to search his vehicle, according to the arrest report.

While conducting the traffic stop, the K-9 handler was alerted by the K-9 of a narcotic odor in the vehicle. Inside, officers found three, possibly four, fraudulent credit cards in the vehicle between the glove box and the dashboard. A

Catholic

card reader — used to determine the information stored in the magnetic strips — did not match the numbers on the cards, according to the report.

Officers also found what appeared to be six gas pump keys, tools typically used to open gas pumps which allow access to credit card information of people who paid for fuel at the pump, according to the report. Several laptops and 25 Xanax pills were found in the vehicle as well.

Pinares was charged with possession of counterfeit credit cards and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, both felonies.

Pinares was released Tuesday on $35,000 bail.

The Alligator reached out to Pinares for commentm, but he could not be reached.

Methodist

@rschirmerr rschirmer@alligator.org

Episcopal

St. Augustine Church & Catholic Student Center Mass: Sat. 5:30 pm Sun. 9:00 am, 11:30 am 1:30 pm (español) 5:30, 7:30 M-F: 12:00 pm & 5:30 pm

Trinity United Methodist Church Wed: Contemporary service @6:35 pm in Trinity Chapel Sunday services: 9:30 & 11:00 am

The EpiscoGators Welcome You! Sunday Worship: 5:30 pm followed by a free home cooked meal for students.

GET INVOLVED! www.catholicgators.org

352-376-6615 TrinityGNV.org

1522 W. University Ave. Across from Library West

Jewish

Non-Denominational

Chabad Lubavitch Jewish Student Center Your home away from home Friday Night Live!

Services & Shabbat Dinner: 7:30 pm (Spring/Fall) 8:30 pm (Summer) 352-336-5877 2021 NW 5th Ave (5 blocks north of the stadium) www.JewishGator.com

University City Church of Christ

Gators for Christ campus ministry college group meets at University City Church on Sundays at 9 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.

Practical application from God’s word, plus service projects, large group events, free meals and much more... (directions and events calendar at www.gatorsforchrist.org) For rides, please call: 352-514-8261

Chapel of the incarnation

Quaker Gainesville Quaker Meeting Are you searching for a spiritual community?

We are a community dedicated to peace, integrity, equality, social justice, and care of the earth. Join with friends in the mystic tradition of waiting upon the Divine.

11:00 am Sundays Followed by food and fellowship 702 NW 38th St. Gainesville, FL www.gainesvillequakers.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 ALLIGATOR 5

UF launches new initiative to tackle Florida coastline threats THE PROGRAM RECEIVED A $750,000 GRANT

By Lily Huerkamp Contributing Writer

Drones stretched out across the coast collecting water samples. Sensors attached to bridges, piers and buoys monitor sea activity. Computers collect data and make environmental predictions.

This is iCoast.

Todd Osborne, a UF biogeochemistry assistant professor, said iCoast is all about transferring information. Sensors attached to various platforms along the coast collect data to detect if environmental problems are on the horizon.

“Knowing certain conditions are arising that would promote, say, a red tide, maybe there is something we can do about it at that point prior to that becoming a real big problem,” Osborne said.

Red tide and other harmful algae blooms produce toxins that may lead to illnesses in humans and fish, but Osborne said the iCoast program may catch signs early enough to be proactive and control any issues. Warnings can then be passed along to fishers, beach tourists and other people possibly affected.

For six months, a team of 20 UF faculty members and students have worked to develop methods of predicting environmental changes, Osborne said. The program received $750,000 from the Office of the Provost as part of a 2018 initiative that granted $17 million to research aimed at solving society’s most pressing issues.

“We start with this thought process that we have such amazing tools out there — we can put people on the moon — but, for some reason, we are unable to predict the environmental disasters that keep plaguing the state of Florida,” Osborne said.

The technology is a mixture of different instruments and multiple sensors, such as computer models, drones or tags attached to an organism. Sensors could measure routine water qualities like temperature, pH and salinity, Osborne said. Some sensors measure nutrients and certain bacteria like E. coli, while others scan-tagged fish swimming past — all with the purpose of tracking bacteria or emerging contaminants.

While the team is monitoring the environment closely for problems, it is also noting standard conditions in order to make computer models that simulate conditions such as water flow and bacteria growth in certain temperatures of water. Future information can be put

into the models to make predictions, Osborne said.

UF’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience in St. Augustine is conducting a pilot study with the prototypes. The goal is to expand iCoast along all the coasts of Florida, Osborne said. Once sensors are in place, the team hopes to be able to detect issues days in advance.

“We are hoping by the end of [2019] that we’ve got a steady data stream coming in, and the computer model will be cranking away, utilizing that data stream to make predictions about the environmental changes we are going to see,” Osborne said.

The team has also been working with the Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to utilize some of their existing waterway structures, he said.

David Kaplan, a UF environmental engineering associate professor, said he was attracted to iCoast and the idea of using technology to prevent environmental disasters and maintain the health of Florida’s ecosystems.

“The idea includes both using technology we already have but doing it in a much more widespread way and also developing new technologies that don’t exist today in order to do a better job of monitoring the health of the coastline,” Kaplan said.

One of the prototypes in development is an aerial drone with a scooping mechanism to get water samples. Kaplan is planning to have the drone ready to go out and take samples by fall.

“It’s really compelling to think of this science-fiction future where this swarm of UF iCoast drones goes out,” Kaplan said.

Coutesy of David Kaplan

The iCoast team uses video-based monitoring of the Intracoastal Waterway to detect marine mammals, boat traffic and wake.

Seven of UF Health Shands medical specialties rank among the nation’s best THIS IS THE FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW SHANDS RANKED MORE SPECIALITIES THAN ALL OTHER FLORIDA HOSPITALS

By Tori Whidden Staff Writer

UF Health Shands Hospital had seven medical specialties ranked in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2019-20 “Best Hospitals.”

For the fifth year in a row, UF Health Shands is ranked in more adult and pediatric specialties combined than any other hospital in the state, said Ed Jimenez, UF Health Shands CEO, in an email.

Both nephrology and urology are ranked 24th in the nation. UF Health Shands’ other ranked specialties include geriatrics in 37th place, diabetes and endocrinology in 40th place, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery in 40th,

cancer in 42nd and pulmonology and lung surgery in 44th, he said.

UF Health Shands had six ranked adult specialties in the 2018-19 rankings, Jimenez said.

UF Health Shands’ urology practice achieved a national ranking, improving its position as a “high performing” program last year. It has achieved a U.S. News national ranking 11 times since 2005, Jimenez said.

“There are many other UF

Health adult specialties with long histories of being among U.S. News & World Report’s ranked programs,” Jimenez said. “It highlights our dedication to our patients.”

Li-Ming Su, a professor of urologic oncology and chair of the UF College of Medicine’s urology department, said the improved ranking is due to the expanded urology services.

This includes the development

of online and printed materials helping patients navigate their care at Shands and multidisciplinary care teams for urologic cancers and kidney stone patients, Su said.

“Our goal is to always provide the best service and outcomes to our patients and their families,” Jimenez said. @tori_whidden twhidden@alligator.org

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 www.alligator.org/opinions

Editorial

Column

I

t’s graduation time, baby. But you’re not just any regular baby. You’re about to be a grown-up baby with a degree.

Everyone usually decorates the top of their grad cap, and you decide to take part as well. What is one more sign of conformity this far down the road? But time is money, and you don’t have either. So you coerced some student artist to do it for dirt cheap. You beat the system: scammed someone out of getting the money they deserved for their art and saved yourself time and frustration. Your newly designed cap comes in the mail. You’re shocked by what the artist has done. It’s horrible. It’s nothing you asked for. It’s…

Darts and Laurels

Another day, another data breach. This time it is Capital One. A hacker accessed more than 100 million Capital One customers’ accounts and credit card applications on March 22 and 23 according to CNN. “What’s in your wallet?” Apparently not much, because someone has access to all of it. The hacker accessed a server holding 140,000 Social Security numbers, 80,000 bank account numbers and an unknown amount of user names, addresses, credit scores and other information from as far back as 2005. A dart goes out to Paige Thompson, the accused hacker, mostly because she posted the information on GitHub using her full name. And she bragged about it on social media. If you are going to hack a major credit card company, at least act like it was hard or be less conspicuous. But there is some sick beauty about not hiding your own identity when boasting about having access to millions of financial identities.

At least 65 people died from an attack during a funeral procession in northeast Nigeria on Saturday. The culprits are suspected to be Boko Haram militants. The insurgents attacked mourners at the graveyard in the Nganzai district. Boko Haram has not formally claimed responsibility, but the attack matches the jihadist’s activity in the area, according to NPR. A dart goes to this attack, as it is one of the deadliest civilian attacks in the region this year.

On Sunday, Egan Bernal became the first Colombian to win the Tour de France and the youngest champion in 110 years.

He’s 22. A laurel goes to him and his history-making win as the first Latin American champion. Climbing up the highest stretch of road in the Alps, the Col de l’Iseran, Bernal went after Julian Alaphilippe of France, who was ahead by a minute and a half. On Bernal’s descent of the Iseran, race officials decided to omit the final 23 miles of the 19th stage after a landslide blocked a part of the road. At 45 seconds ahead of Alaphilippe, Bernal had the win.

Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) introduced a bill Tuesday that would overhaul the oversight of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and give Congress the power to fire the people in charge of it. The bill comes after the USOPC and other national Olympic governing bodies “turned a blind eye” to sexual assault problems within the organization, acccording to USA Today. We are giving a laurel to this bipartisan bill as it attempts to protect athletes and rewrite the culture in the governing board that neglected so many athletes and their safety.

Former Dolphins and Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti died on Wednesday, according to The New York Times. He was 78. In November 2017, Buoniconti pledged to donate his brain to research of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE. A laurel goes to him and his memory.

On Tuesday, Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill to ban Snapstreaks. A dart goes to this bill. Keep your government hands off our Snapchat streaks. The bill is part of Hawley’s Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology (SMART) Act. The proposed act’s purpose is to stop social media companies’ “addictive and deceptive techniques,” according to Reuters. Whatever happened to the separation of state and Snapchat? Keep your government claws off our favorite (yet fleeting) way to keep in touch with friends.

Mark Stine EDITOR

Lindsey Breneman MANAGING EDITOR

Hannah Beatty MANAGING EDITOR

Jackie De Freitas OPINIONS EDITOR

So what’s up with Student Government and Israel?

I

sermons, but I never really grew up with some have been a senator now for quite a while, sort of fixation on Israel or any sort of drive to and once you’re around long enough like go see the ”holy land” or anything. It was kinda me, you start to notice things. For example, I just a cool place in the Bible. noticed that, for at least the third summer in To me, Christianity was all, “Love thy neigha row, a Senate meeting was canceled while bor,” (even if they are gay, and I’m looking at there was an event related to Israel taking place. you, United Methodist Church) and, “When In this case, the June 4 Senate meeting was a foreigner resides among you in your land, canceled while Majority Party Leader Branden Zachariah do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing Pearson and Student Body Vice President Sarah Chou among you must be treated as your nativeAbraham were in Israel. Last year, a May 29 opinions@alligator.org born” (I’m looking at you, Republicans). meeting was canceled while former Allocations So who cares a lot about Israel? Republicans.

Chair Katie Hernandez happened to be in Israel.

In explaining the GOP’s pivot toward Israel, Rebecca The year before that, a May 23 meeting was canceled while a whole hodgepodge of SG characters just so hap- Shimoni Stoil, on Nate Silver’s website, FiveThirtyEight, pened to be in Israel: former Student Body President Smith wrote, “Since the 1990s, evangelical Christians have come Meyers (the guy who got arrested), current Student Body to represent one of the strongest and most hawkish pro-IsPresident Michael Murphy and future student body presi- rael demographics within the Republican party,” and went dent candidate (and current Senate Pro Tempore) Emily on to say, “Many pro-Israel evangelicals believe that Israel is essential to the second coming of Jesus.”

Dunson.

Sounds kinda “means to an end”-ish, but alright.

I mean sure, the whole canceled Senate meetings may This is called Christian Zionism: the belief Christians all be coincidences. But there’s plenty of other stuff too, like SG officials interning for AIPAC (American Israel Public ought to support a Jewish homecoming of some sorts to Affairs Committee), or going to their recent “Saban Leader- fulfill biblical prophecy. I can’t say I know too much since ship Seminar.” As reported by The Alligator, Murphy also I just read the Wikipedia page, but it does look like there’s went to an AIPAC conference earlier this year for Student been some drama with the Presbyterian Church and antiZionism.

Body Presidents.

I found one journal article that said, “The Protestant But sure, people are free to associate. However, they may, right? I just find it bizarrely scintillating that almost church with the longest running and most well-funded antieveryone I’ve named happened to be both Republican and Zionist constituency is the Presbyterian church in the US.” Big oof.

Christian. (Naturally, I can’t make any judgements about It’s clear this is an extremely complicated issue, but I religion since I’m not God, but I feel like I can somewhat accurately guess based off Facebook posts laden with Bible guess this does bring some clarity to how our state government ended up having a cabinet meeting in Israel and why verses and many “God bless and Go Gators” uttered.)

I was raised as a Presbyterian and like to think I knew our own SG is so gung ho for all things Israel. my way around the Bible. I was even such a nerd in grade Zachariah Chou is a UF political science junior. His school I took the apologetics classes my church offered for a while. Of course we talked about Israel a bunch of times in column appears on Thursdays.

Column

Beware, some unpaid internships may be illegal

U

npaid internships. Many of us have ences for students because of the inability to done one. If you haven’t, you’re one pay their interns. This ultimately creates a less of the lucky ones. Unpaid internships experienced pool of students graduating from have been considered a rite of pascollege and entering the workforce. sage for college students looking to Currently, the legality of an unpaid interngain experience in their field. However, the ship is determined by the federally mandated morality of unpaid internships has recently Primary Beneficiary Test. This means unpaid come into question. internships are legal as long as the intern, not Cassidy There are valid reasons for some internthe employer, is the primary beneficiary of the ships to be unpaid. For example, small comHopson work arrangement. This standard is subjecopinions@alligator.org panies providing internship opportunities may tive, as interns and employers can have comnot have the resources to pay interns. Interns pletely different beliefs on who benefits the also often lack the knowledge or expertise compared to most from the arrangement. paid workers. They have yet to finish school and are only Because the standard is so subjective, it’s hard to enqualified to do so much for a company. It is reasonable force. Therefore, many college students are being taken that companies may not want to pay interns who are advantage of for their willingness to perform free labor. only capable of doing a limited number of tasks comBut wait, didn’t I just say unpaid internships were fair? pared to actual employees.

While I believe unpaid internships are fair in principle, Many unpaid internships do not constitute a full 40- most aren’t actually lawful. Most unpaid internships are hour work week. These interns often work only a few unlawful per federal law, as they are only lawful when days a week, allowing them to hold a part-time job if the for-profit company does not derive an “immediate needed. advantage” from an intern’s work. And in the private So, the question is: are unpaid internships fair? Well, sector, work that doesn’t benefit the company is rare. usually.

The law needs to take into consideration more than The pros of an unpaid internship often outweigh the just who benefits most in the employer-intern relationcons for most college students. Ideally, all interns would ship. A holistic look at internships that considers mulbe paid, but this just isn’t practical. tiple factors, such as hours worked and company profits, If the law changed to require all internships to be will lend itself to a fairer law that is actually enforceable. paid, there would be a significant decrease in the number of internship opportunities available. Smaller companies Cassidy Hopson is a UF journalism junior. Her column would have to stop providing valuable learning experi- appears on Thursdays.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Alligator.

The Alligator encourages comments from readers. Letters to the editor should not exceed 600 words (about one letter-sized page). They must be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, classification and phone number. Names will be withheld if the writer shows just cause. We reserve the right to edit for length, grammar, style and libel. Send letters to opinions@alligator.org, bring them to 2700 SW 13th St., or send them to P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32604-2257.

Columns of about 450 words about original topics and editorial cartoons are also welcome. Questions? Call 352-376-4458.

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MUSIC

Student festival junkies talk preparation and savings WHY THE EXPERIENCE IS WORTH THE EXPENSE

By Lily Girton Avenue Staff Writer

The summer before his first year of college, Sean Backs spent countless hours working for a moving company to earn some cash. He envisioned himself spending his money on food and going out with friends throughout his first year at UF. However, his bank account took a turn for the worse when Backs’ friends from high school convinced him to spend his savings on attending his first music festival: Electric Daisy Carnival in Orlando.

His first festival experience sparked an obsession. Two years later, Backs, a 20-year-old UF sports management junior, has attended Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and EDC Orlando two years in a row.

Backs took on a paid internship and a job at Southwest Recreation & Fitness Center this summer so he could save up to attend Suwannee Hulaween festival, EDC, Bonnaroo and Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival this school year.

Backs’ festival craze is not uncommon.

He, among others, spends thousands of dollars each year to take part in what they say is the great atmosphere and happiness created by live music.

“You get this feeling when you listen to music at a festival that you can’t get anywhere else,” said Philip Mylet, a 19-yearold UF computer science sophomore.

“Seeing an artist perform live makes you connect with them more.”

Ironically, costly festivals attract college students, one of the most financially irresponsible demographics. Unlike Woodstock’s $18 three-day festival tickets in 1969, paying to attend a music festival today can be quite a financial burden, sometimes costing upward of $1,000 a ticket.

While most student festival goers save up for long periods of time or make gradual payments to afford the tickets for such festivals, 19-year-old UF psychology sophomore Jazz Edwards, obtains her ticket for Tortuga in an unconventional way.

“I’ve been working for Tortuga for two years now,” Edwards said. “The first time I attended the festival, one of the photographers took a photo of me and wanted to use it for their website. They sent me a photo release form and offered me a promoter job. I did it, and then this past year they let me work as a production/stage assistant, and I attended for free.”

A lot of festivals also offer payment

plans for attendees. For example, EDC Orlando is held in November but offers a payment plan in which attendees can deposit $25 in the summer and make three monthly payments of $70 up until the festival.

Nicole Farr, a 19-year old UF interior design sophomore, has been saving up since last fall for her ticket to Lollapalooza, a festival in Chicago with over hundreds of thousands of attendees.

“Lollapalooza is going to be the first big festival I attend,” Farr said. “The flight is pretty expensive, but I’m staying at one of my friend’s houses in Chicago, which is going to save me a lot of money I would’ve spent on a hotel.”

Farr worked at a dog daycare throughout her freshman fall semester to save up for her ticket. Due to her busy work schedule, Farr said she missed almost every football game and she hopes the festival will be worth the cost.

“It was really difficult missing out on most of the football season my freshman year,” Farr said, “but I’m super excited to attend Lollapalooza, which is something most people don’t get a chance to do. I can’t wait to see some of my favorite performers like Ariana Grande and Tame Impala.”

This summer, Daryl Sutherland, a 19-year-old UF business sophomore, drove over seven hours to attend Bonnaroo. Sutherland said he camped on the festival grounds rather than staying in a hotel. He recommended camping to other potential festival attendees because he said there’s always something going on at the festival someone may otherwise miss out on. It’s also cheaper than a hotel and alleviates transportation costs. However, it isn’t the most glamorous option, he added.

“I camped at Bonnaroo this year and didn’t shower for three days, but the camping was still one of the best parts because I got to listen to good music and hang out with my friends in a different environment,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland explained students looking to save up for their first festival should attend smaller festivals first to get an idea of the atmosphere then select a bigger festival they feel they’ll enjoy the most based on the artists performing, location, cost and crowd.

“I felt super unprepared at my first festival,” Backs said. “Each festival I go to gets better and better because I know how to prepare myself.”

Keep up with the Avenue on Twitter.

Tweet us @TheFloridaAve.

@lilygirton lgirton@alligator.org

Photo by Sean Backs to The Alligator

Sean Backs enjoys his first EDC music festival in 2017.

MOVIES

Rate and Review: ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ DOES QUENTIN TARANTINO’S NINTH MOVIE STAND AGAINST THE REST?

By Nick Hudson Avenue Staff Writer

Quentin Tarantino’s reported penultimate movie received its theatrical release last weekend to glowing reviews, two months after it was first screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, a western TV actor who has become increasingly irrelevant over the years, and Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, Dalton’s stunt double and driver, set to the backdrop of the Manson Family murders in 1969.

The acting, writing and cinematography are excellent and immerse you into the world of Hollywood in the late ’60s.

However, the movie has pacing problems. For a film with a nearly three-hour runtime, there is not much of a plot.

NFL players deserve every cent River Wells explains Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas $100 million extension. Pg 11

While watching the film there is a continuous desire for more action. Everything about the production is fantastic, yet it still feels like scenes are taking too long, with too much build-up and not enough progression.

The movie features countless tangents that halt the action of the scene to show viewers short flashbacks and clips of Rick’s extensive videography.

Eventually, all of these asides grow tiresome because you want the central plot to move forward. The problem is there isn’t much of a central plot, either.

Instead, you follow different characters with their own unique, interconnected storylines. It is fun to watch this, but there isn’t any big payoff through the plot.

This flaw could be mitigated if there was strong character development, but the story lacks this as well. Almost every character the movie follows stays the same. Rick Dalton begins and ends as a washed-

up actor.

However, the chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt is amazing. Even simple scenes like Rick and Cliff watching Rick’s performance in a new episode of “The FBI” are a joy to watch.

They were able to capture the dynamics of being friends as well as having an employee/employer relationship without it feeling cheesy or fake.

Margot Robbie performed fantastically as Sharon Tate, an aspiring actress before becoming a victim of the Manson Family murders. Robbie was able to capture Tate’s magnetic personality through scenes showcasing Sharon’s everyday life in the Hollywood Hills.

While this film may be Tarantino’s great love letter to a special era in Hollywood’s history, a love letter doesn’t always make the most impressive movie.

Final Rating: 7/10 @Nick_R_Hudson nhudson@alligator.org

2020: Tim Walton’s greatest challenge Pg 12

8 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019

LIFESTYLE

How UF grad Ming Yang created tech repair Orchard IN A FAST-PACED DIGITAL CULTURE, ORCHARD KINDLY TEACHES TECH TO SENIORS

By Priya Dames Avenue Staff Writer

“It’s like I’ve got a grandchild that I can rent to fix my computer,” B.J. Summerlin said, laughing.

Summerlin, 76, is a retired nurse from Alachua General Hospital living in Gainesville. She attended Santa Fe College’s first two-year nursing degree program and later worked for Alachua General Hospital where she conducted research in gastroenterology.

Summerlin found Orchard in the summer of 2018 when her computer began to malfunction. She said she tried other technology repair companies in Gainesville but found the service mediocre. Orchard was refreshing, she said, because Techies were not condescending or aloof.

“So many older people feel intimidated by tech employees,” Summerlin said. “It’s never been that way with Ming.”

UF graduate Ming Yang, 24, is the CEO and founder of Orchard, a technology repair company with an emphasis on hospitality and teaching.

Orchard strives to repair devices while teaching its target clients — seniors — about technology.

According to Yang, Orchard employees, or “Techies,” build symbiotic relationships with their customers. Techies gain as much knowledge from their wiser clients about life, relationships and career choices as their clients gain from them about the latest devices.

“Sometimes even saying [the word] customers is weird,” Yang said. “It feels more personal than that.”

During her time at UF, Yang set herself apart from her cohorts continuously. Using a connection she made at an internship with Microsoft in the summer of her sophomore year, Yang founded the WECE Maker Garage, a workspace housing $13,000 worth of computer hardware and electronics Microsoft donated to enhance computer and electrical engineering learning at UF. Although Yang’s success at UF came from hard work, she said her idea for Orchard came from more humbling experiences.

Yang supports her mother and grand-

mother, who speak limited English, by handling bills, government documents and taxes. Yang’s mother was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and previously relied on Medicaid for her healthcare in Yang’s youth.

During Yang’s undergraduate career, her family lost Medicaid. To acquire support for her mother, Yang drove from Gainesville to her hometown of Fort Lauderdale nearly every weekend to help her mother apply for Social Security Disability Insurance.

Due to her constant commute and demanding course load, Yang’s grades suffered, and she said she thought the situation could have been avoided if her mother had more technological literacy.

“I later reflected and thought that maybe if she had known how to use email or video chat, I could’ve helped her do the in-person interview with video chat or help her sign papers and send it to her via email,” Yang said.

Chris Day / Alligator Staff To prepare for the next time her mother would need technology as- Ming Yang, the 24-year-old CEO and founder of Orchard, shows B.J. Summerlin, a 76-year-old retired nurse, how Yang fixed her computer. sistance, she looked for services located near her mother and found But she couldn’t get the idea of Orchard Vice President of Notes and Tasks at Micompanies like Geek Squad, an electronic out of her head. It was during her stint at crosoft, Laura Butler. repair service. However, Geek Squad, like Yang hopes Orchard will draw attention Apple that Yang finally received the advice many technology repair services, emphato the needs of seniors through a diverse she needed from a mentor. size problem-solving rather than empathy.

“He told me, ‘Whenever we make big team of employees.

“They’re for repairing computers, not The company has a core team of four decisions in life, things that are ambiguhelping people. They wouldn’t have the ous where both choices can be the right students studying a range of engineering patience to explain to her what is going choice, we either make it out of insecurity disciplines at UF. These students work to on. They’re not built for an older generaor courage and love. Whichever decision develop operation processes, web application,” Yang said. “So when I realized that I we make, that emotion will just continue tions and recruiting new employees. thought, ‘I’ll just do it myself.’”

Summerlin has had five sessions with to grow,’” Yang said. “When I heard that I Yang said she spent her sophomore year realized that the reason why I wanted to go various Techies and continues to build building Orchard with a group of three to graduate school was deep down inside, confidence in her technology knowledge. friends. After that year was finished, howThe Techies are contract workers who I felt maybe I wasn’t good enough. Maybe ever, Yang decided to disband the group I needed a PhD to prove that I was smart have backgrounds in management informadue to differences in the creative vision. tion systems, computer science and even enough.”

“Telling three other people that everyYang decided to start the company de- psychology. Yang encourages students of thing we’ve worked for as a team will be spite what others said about her age. She all backgrounds to apply. scrapped is hard,” Yang said. “It was probShe offers a piece of advice to students met with Director of the Engineering Inably the toughest conversation I have ever novation Institute Erik Sander, who would looking to find their niche in the world. had to have with a group of people.”

“What I found to be most useful is sepaprovide the funding needed to kickstart OrSo, Yang shelved the idea away. chard and run a pilot of the company in the rating what we do from the effects of what With her graduation quickly approachwe do,” Ming said. summer of 2018. ing, Yang grappled with which career path Yang launched Orchard officially in Aushe would pursue. She decided to set her @priya_dames gust 2018 and has been operating as CEO sights on graduate school, conducting repdames@ufl.edu ever since. search in Human-Computer Interaction at In April 2019, Orchard received its inUF and working as a Siri Design Intern at vestment from Yang’s former mentor and Apple in the summer of her junior year.

THEATER

Florida Theater to receive $1 million renovation BRYSON HOPES TO MAKE THE FLORIDA THEATER THE CULTURAL HUB IT ONCE WAS

By Priya Dames Avenue Staff Writer

Where some saw a dirty, dilapidated building, Bill Bryson, former owner of The Covered Dish, saw an opportunity to infuse Gainesville with the creative energy that has produced artists like Tom Petty.

Bryson said he bought the Florida Theater at 233 W University Ave because of the loss of cre-

ative spirit he saw in downtown Gainesville. He said that new construction in historical neighborhoods has caused the culture that made downtown Gainesville unique disappear.

“I wanted to buy [the theater] mainly because I saw this new development happening in town and there was a likelihood of a building like that getting demolished in order for someone to build a high-rise residential,” Bryson said.

Bryson is collaborating with architect James Blythe to renovate the Florida Theater and add modern design elements while

preserving historical elements.

The $1 million renovation began in May 2018 when Bryson posted a message on Facebook inviting Gainesville residents to help clean up the venue.

Blythe said he hopes to preserve historical elements of the theater such as the marquee that was present when the building was founded in 1928.

According to Bryson, the Florida Theater was built in 1928. It was the first theater in Gainesville to have air conditioning and show color films. However, when the Oaks Mall was built in 1978 along with multi-screen movie theaters,

business slowed and the Florida Theater gradually became a warehouse.

That all changed in 1984 when Ken McGurn, a real estate agent who renovated much of downtown Gainesville, bought the theater. McGurn renovated the theater in 1985 and turned it into a jazz club called The High Note.

The building was reinvigorated and The High Note was the place to be with marble countertops, blonde wood and a newly renovated theater. The Gainesville Orchestra performing “Hair” was the first performance.

Later, in the ’90s, the Florida

Theater was turned into a concert venue. When the concert scene in Gainesville died down after the recession in the early 2000s, the building was left neglected once again.

That is, until Bryson bought it in 2017. With the renovations, Bryson hopes the theater will become the center of music and culture it once was.

“I’m excited to help boost the local scene with a venue like this,” Bryson said.

@priya_dames pdames@ufl.edu

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Please call 352-240-5062 if interested.

St. Francis House is a homeless shelter located in downtown Gainesville.

Our mission is to empower families with children to transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency by providing case management, housing, food, training and educational resources in a secure environment.

If interested in volunteering please contact the volunteer coordinator at 352-378- 9079 ext 317 or sfhcoor@stfrancis.cfcoxmail.com St Francis House depends on monetary support from individual donors and community businesses in order to provide meals to the homeless and the hungry.

To make a donation by mail, please send checks payable to St. Francis House P.O. Box 12491 Gainesville Fl 32604 or our website at

Stfrancishousegnv.org

HIRING home/office/apartment cleaners(mf and every other sat). Day and night shifts available. Must own a car. weekly pay $10.00/hr. if interested please call 352-2140868 8-13-19-24-14 Cafe Risque 24/7 Nude Entertainment Exit 374, I-75, Micanopy, FL 352-466-3803 Managers / Cooks Dancer / Waitress Auditions Sunday 10AM 8-30-26-14 Hiring Telephone Interviewers for UF! Seeking telephone interviewers to collect information on a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, academic and business research, health care, and transportation. Pay ranges from $10.00- $10.50 per hour + performance incentive + Paid Training. Search ‘Telephone Interviewer’ on Gator Jobs! http:// jobs.ufl.edu” 8-13-19-13-14 Administering and scoring two day batteries of psychological and neuropsychological tests. May be perfect for someone recently graduated who wants experience before applying to grad school. Min. BA in Psychology, may train right person in exchange for 1 yr commitment to paid F/T position. e-mail letter of interest and vita to info@cpancf.com.

8-6-19-7-14

10 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019

14

Help Wanted

Sun Country Sports Center Now hiring coaches for Rec and Team Gymnastics, Ninja Zone and more. Awesome kids. Fun, friendly atmosphere. Apply now suncountrysports.com/jobs 9-4-19-14-14 ★★★★★Five Star Pizza on Tower Road is now hiring delivery drivers, pizza makers and phone personnel. Day shift and nightshift available, full time and part time positions.

Please apply in person at 600 NW 75th St 8-8-19-5-14 Oak Hall School (Gainesville) is excited to announce counselor openings for employment in our extended care programs.

Interested applicants need to have availability most weekdays from 2:30-6:00. Oak Hall believes in generational hiring seeking those with a love of children who can enrich our program with creativity and enthusiasm. Visit www.oakhall.org to complete an application.

8-8-19-3-14 BARTENDERS, WAIT STAFF, SECURITY Monday-Thursday from 1pm-4pm The Silver Q 225 W. University Ave. or email jobs@SilverQbilliards.com 8-6-2-14

15

Services

Do you have a business that provides a service? Place your ad in the Services Section of the Alligator Classifieds for as little as $3.00 per day. Call us at 373-FIND. Want to be a CNA? Don’t want to wait?

Express Training Services now offers a CNA class which can be completed in one weekend.

Perfect for busy college students. www.expresstrainingservices.com/ww 8-1319-24-15

16 Health Services

19

Want to make a connection?

Place your ad here to look for someone to share a common interest with or for your true love

Are you looking for LESBIAN companionship or a place to earn extra cash? Call Sapphic Companions.

904-562-9588.

8-8-19-14-19

20 Events/Notices IS YOUR BUSINESS, CLUB OR ORGANIZATION HAVING AN EVENT? DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT? PLACE YOUR AD HERE AND GET IT NOTICED!

21

Alachua County Health Dept. Call 334-7960 for app’t (optional $20 fee)

WALDO FARMERS & FLEA MARKET Vintage & Unique - Like EBay in 3D

Sat & Sun 12-5-109-21

22

CALL NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS 1-866- 352-5323 352-376-8008 www.uncoastna.org pr@uncoastna.org

Seeking adult volunteers

FOR CLINICAL TRIALS:

ADHD, Autism, Migraine. www.SarkisClinicalTrials.com (352) 333-0094 8-28-19-10-16 Lung Cancer? Asbestos exposure may be the cause. $30 billion set aside for asbestos victims. Call 1-619-485-4372 or email cancerFL@breakinginjurynews.com 8-1-1-16

18

Personals

HIV ANTIBODY TESTING Alachua County Health Dept. Call 334-7960 for app’t (optional $20 fee)

Tickets

Visit: alligator.org/classifieds

23

Rides

Trying to get to and from somewhere? Want to cut back on that gas bill? Place an ad in the classifieds to find trip arrangements or show off your bus and shuttle service. 373FIND

Pets

Furry, feathery, scaly...no, not your roommate...pets. Find or advertise your pets or pet products here in the Pets section of the Alligator.

Because Cats Don't Understand Abstinence

(352) 727-4733 www.GatorCPR.com CNA Prep Classes from GatorCNA.com 7-5-19-111-16

WE CAN HELP! 24 HOURS 7 DAYS

www.WaldoFlea.com

BUYING OR SELLING TICKETS? Place your ad here and get results!

Need CPR Training?

DRUG PROBLEM?

Entertainment

Get the party started! Place your Entertainment classified today to get people up and about. Call 373-FIND.

24 HIV ANTIBODY TESTING

Connections

OPERATION CATNIP

Spaying/Neutering Free-Roaming Cats Borrow a Trap / Make a Clinic Reservation Make a Donation / Volunteer New Expanded Hours

Lots of NEW info at http://ocgainesville.org/

25

Lost & Found

Finders Keepers? If you find something, you can place a FREE FOUND AD in our lost & found section. Be kind to someone who’s lost what you’ve found. Call 373-FIND.

PUT IT IN THE ALLIGATOR! ● LOCAL ● TARGETED ● EFFECTIVE ● ECONOMICAL Reach over 50,000 readers each publication day.

Release Date: Thursday, August 1, 2019 Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Digital Gulf of unit California 4 Play the part of peninsula 9 attire, 5 Paintball SLR setting short words?

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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Jack Murtagh Zachary David Levy ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

08/01/19 07/30/19 07/31/19

08/01/19 07/31/19

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019 www.alligator.org/sports

FOOTBALL

Position-by-Position: Evaluating UF’s offensive line

By Bryan Matamoros Sports Writer

Chris King / Alligator Staff

Center Nick Buchanan (66) is the sole returning starter on UF's offensive line, which gave up just 18 sacks in 13 games last year.

Extra Point

NFL players deserve every cent

Y

only 26 years old – makes him ou may have heard the worth locking up for the next news by now. six years, and that goes for any New Orleans Saints weapon that’s gotten a substanwide receiver Michael tial contract in recent times.

Thomas reached an Aaron Donald. Khalil Mack. agreement on a five-year extenRussell Wilson. sion worth $100 million ($61 River Wells The National Football million guaranteed). It makes twitter: riverhwells League generated about $15 him the highest paid wideout rwells@alligator.org billion last year. The 2019 NFL in NFL history, and with megaDraft had around nine milblockbuster deals such as this one (typically for quarterbacks or edge- lion more viewers than a first-round NBA rushers), the public always brings up the playoff game. I don’t see the NFL losing its crown as America’s most popular sport anysame debates.

Do football players really deserve all that time soon, and so long as its status as a revmoney? Why should NFL players hold out enue giant continues, all 32 teams will do to add on to the millions of dollars they al- their best to make sure they’re holding the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. ready make?

People also seem to forget how fleeting Of course they deserve the money. And in a sport where violent contact is the norm, an NFL career is. The average career lasts NFL players should be fighting for every 3.33 years (six, if you manage to make the 53-man roster Week 1) according to the penny.

Let’s look at Thomas again. Thomas NFLPA, and a rookie contract for one year plays for the Saints, a team that made a is $480,000. Assuming a player makes it to deep run to the NFC Championship game around three years and then retires, they’ll last year before being eliminated by the Los earn a career total of around $705,000: cerAngeles Rams. According to Forbes maga- tainly not pocket change, but nowhere close zine, the Saints are worth $2.08 billion. to the money that Thomas is promised in That’s a lot of money, and should the Saints his contract.

So when a player like Thomas – who continue to be perennial playoff contenders, puts his health on the line to be a driving that number is likely to increase.

Michael Thomas can make that happen. force of revenue for one of America’s most The former Ohio State wideout netted his bountiful industries – asks for a few more first All-Pro selection last season and fin- million dollars, don’t call them whiners or ished the year with 125 receptions, 1,405 ungrateful.

They’re only doing their job, and they receiving yards and nine touchdowns. All that – combined with the fact that he’s deserve every cent they can get.

Former UF volleyball player Shainah Joseph will play for Team Canada at the 2019 Intercontinental Olympic Volleyball Qualification tournament.

One of the oldest maxims in football has to do with perhaps the most underappreciated players on the field: the offensive linemen.

By keeping the quarterback on his feet and creating holes for the running back, the offensive line can dictate the game – a sentiment echoed in the cliché “games are won and lost in the trenches.”

Unfortunately for Florida, only one out of the five starters from last season’s offensive line will be returning for the 2019 campaign.

Tackles Martez Ivey and Jawaan Taylor, along with guards Tyler Jordan and Fred Johnson, have moved on to the NFL, putting redshirt senior center Nick Buchanan at the forefront of a young, inexperienced offensive line. Last year’s unit allowed just 18 sacks in 13 games, which ranked 20th in the nation and third among teams in the SEC.

Eight of the 15 offensive linemen on UF's roster are freshmen. The young players have looked to Buchanan as a leader.

“He’s the smartest one when it comes to the playbook,” redshirt freshman Christopher Bleich said Thursday in an interview with WRUF. “If we have a question, he just helps us out right there.”

Bleich was Dan Mullen’s first commit as head coach of the Gators and is projected to be a starter this season. He was a redshirt last year after appearing in just four games off the bench.

Redshirt juniors Brett Heggie, Stone Forsythe and Jean Delance are also projected to start on Florida’s offensive line in 2019.

Heggie is capable of playing both right and left guard, but has struggled to stay healthy throughout his time at UF. He has never played a full season for the Gators.

Forsythe has been more reliable than Heggie, play-

ing in all 13 games in 2018 at both guard and tackle.

Delance transferred to UF from Texas in 2017, but sat out that year due to transfer rules. He made his Gators debut in last year’s season opener against Charleston Southern and appeared in three more games afterward.

Mullen says that he likes to rotate his offensive linemen to get them an equal amount of reps, which keeps every player ready in case one goes down with an injury. The mixing and matching also allows for the offensive front to become more familiar and cohesive.

An offense is nothing without a good offensive line, so it’s up to Buchanan and his teammates to provide quarterback Feleipe Franks with a clean pocket and give running backs Lamical Perine and Malik Davis a chance to reach their full potential. @bryan_2712 bmatamoros@alligator.org

The Associated Press

Michael Thomas' 2018 campaign, which included 125 receptions, 1,405 yards and nine touchdowns, earned him a $100 million contract extension with the Saints.

Florida basketball to face Utah State UF will play the reigning Mountain West champions on Dec. 21 at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, as part of the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic event.

Follow us for updates

For updates on UF athletics, follow us on Twitter at @alligatorSports or online at www.alligator.org/sports

12 ALLIGATOR THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2019

Jack in the Box

2020: Tim Walton’s greatest challenge

F

on offense from the start, batlorida softball coach Tim ting .400 for the Gators in her Walton has had it made freshman year while starting evsince the moment he arery game. In the circle, Barnhill rived in Gainesville. went 15-1 with a 1.37 ERA. After leading a relaFor Walton, it was a dream tively unknown Wichita State come true, his recruiting inprogram to a school-record 46Jack Braverman tuition becoming reality. His win season and an NCAA Tourtwitter: jack_braverman teams racked up three SEC nament appearance in 2005, jbraverman@alligator.org championships and advanced to the skipper took his talents to three WCWS with his star pair, Florida.

In 2008 – just his third season as head including a memorable runner-up finish in coach – Walton led the Gators to a record 2017 to Oklahoma.

In the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch Draft season of their own, tallying 70 wins and advancing to the semifinals in the pro- this past April, it was Barnhill who was gram’s first-ever Women’s College World drafted first, followed by Lorenz second.

The pair were the highest drafted players in Series appearance.

Since then, only two teams during program history.

In their Florida careers, the duo accuWalton’s tenure have failed to reach the WCWS. Back-to-back national champion- mulated dozens of national accolades and ships in 2014-15 cemented his legacy as recognitions, and ascended to true superthe most successful softball coach in school stardom in their sport. In their absence, history and turned Florida into a recruiting Florida now has numerous questions left unanswered. leviathan.

Lorenz was an offensive juggernaut, but It was during the latter championship season when Walton scored the two most her teammates did little to help, and the Gators had an SEC-worst batting average touted recruits of his career.

Amanda Lorenz signed first, followed by last season.

Barnhill was nothing short of brilliant Kelly Barnhill’s decision a few weeks later.

Both were treasured prospects; Lorenz, of for most of last year’s postseason – where Moorpark, California, verbally commit- she started nearly every game – yet the ted to the program as an eighth grader be- younger pitchers on the roster – Elizabeth fore maturing into the nation’s top overall Hightower, Natalie Lugo and Katie Chroprospect in the 2015 class, while Barnhill, nister – never truly faced adversity rivaling a native of Georgia and the top pitching playoff intensity.

Walton is a veteran, equally enthusiastic prospect in her class, debated Stanford and Florida before making the decision to don and stern, the type of coach to lure recruits with his natural charisma, let alone his reorange and blue.

Three months after winning a second- cord to show. It’s why his teams have been consecutive national championship, Florida so historically stacked.

But without the two most prolific playwas once again in the conversation as one of college softball’s best teams, and Lorenz ers to ever come through The Swamp – the and Barnhill were instantly cast as the fu- pride and joy of his recruiting career – he faces his biggest challenge yet come spring. ture of the program.

Lorenz became the undisputed leader

Chris King / Alligator Staff

Amanda Lorenz, who was All-SEC four times in college, was drafted second overall in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch Draft – one spot behind UF teammate Kelly Barnhill.

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