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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 79
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2019 Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
UF College of Engineering construction delayed BUILDING TO OPEN BY SPRING 2020 By Rachelle Westervelt Alligator Contributing Writer
An increased budget and delayed finish date was not the original plan for the construction of the Herbert Wertheim Laboratory For Engineering Excellence. The construction was originally planned to be completed by Aug. 20, UF spokesperson
Steve Orlando said. The building is scheduled to be completed next Spring and the projected cost is running $20 million more than the original budget. The building is located between the Reitz Union and Weimer Hall. This project is funded by a $50 million donation from alumnus Herbert Wertheim. The budget is now expected to reach about $72.2 million, Orlando said. The funding to pay off this new budget comes from various sources such as UF, Public Education Capital Outlay, the College of Engineering, Facilities Services
for Infrastructure Upgrades and a donor. The engineering dean and the project manager declined to comment and referred The Alligator to Orlando to answer questions on the project. “It took longer to design than we anticipated — which means that construction costs were going up as the design progressed,” Orlando wrote in an email. One reason for the increase was because it was hard to estimate where costs would be by the time materials were purchased, Orlando
said. Other planned features include study rooms and labs. The main labs will be a state-of-theart biotechnology lab to study cancer, prototyping labs to progress new ideas and the telepresence lab to improve networking skills, Orlando said. In the engineering program, students’ classrooms are dispersed across campus, said Sean O’Reilly, a 19-year-old UF computer science sophomore.
SEE ENGINEERING, PAGE 4
Former UF employee found guilty of assaulting 14-year-old girl By Katherine Wallace-Fernandez Alligator Staff Writer
Daniel Joseph Sanetz’s serious face never changed as the guilty verdict for touching a young girl was called out. The former UF employee hugged his children and sobbing wife before being escorted out of Courtroom 3B on Tuesday. Judge William E. Davis at the Sanetz Eighth District Circuit Courthouse sentenced Santez, 47, of Gainesville, to 18 months in prison for inappropriately touching a 14-yearold girl in December 2017. Sanetz was the associate director of human resources for UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine for 21 years. He was arrested on April 6, 2018. He was fired on April 18,
2018, said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando. The judge found him guilty of aggravated child abuse and aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony. Both families of the man and of the girl sobbed quietly as he was being sentenced. He will also have to serve two years of house arrest and 10 years of probation with counseling for sexual deviance, alcohol and drugs. “Everyone who has been through this deserves justice, and this is mine,” said the girl, who was touched, at the hearing. He pleaded no contest, which means he accepted the sentencing but did not admit guilt. On Feb. 1, 2018, the girl, who is now 15, told a child protection team that she and Sanetz and were laying in a tent in 2017 when he rubbed her hip and rested his hand on her knee. He then left the tent and returned about 15
SEE GUILTY, PAGE 4
EDM artist, DJ duo to perform at UF THEY WILL BE LAST SHOW OF SEMESTER By Lakshmi Gomez Alligator Staff Writer
UF students may be seen shuffling at Flavet Field on the last day of classes. Student Government Productions’ last concert of the semester will feature EDM artist RL Grime along with Lost Kings on April 24, according to the group’s Facebook post. RL Grime is a producer of trap, grime and bass music. Lost Kings is a DJ duo and will perform as the opening act, the post said.
The show is free and open to both UF students and the public. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7:30, the post said. RL Grime Andrew Kelly, SGP chair, did not comment in time for publication. The Alligator did not receive RL Grime and Lost Kings’ contract with UF in time for publication. Veronica Rogers, a 20-year-old UF psychology sophomore, became interested in EDM through
UF baseball defeats FSU, claims season series
Freshman pitcher Ben Specht got his first career win against Mike Martin’s Seminoles, pg. 14
her friends and by listening to DJs on SoundCloud, she said. Although Rogers has never heard of Lost Kings, she has been a fan of RL Grime since 2014. “I love EDM and this DJ,” Rogers said. “I hope he performs my favorite song, ‘Core.’” Past artists that have performed at UF include Young the Giant, Passion Pit, Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino. 21 Savage is scheduled to perform on April 15 at the O’Connell Center. @lakshmigomez_ lgomez@alligator.org
Improving the unit
The town of Newberry is getting a new ambulance, pg. 5
Samuel Thomas / Alligator Staff
Sick Tricks Paul Austin, a 21-year-old UF veterinary medicine student, performs a trick on his skateboard Tuesday evening at Possum Creek Park, 4009 NW 53rd Ave. Austin works full time as the head assembly technician specialist at Fabco-Air, Inc. and takes classes online, but he said he tries to practice skating at least two or three times per week. “It’s my way to get out and be free,” Austin said. “It’s like flying to me.”
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It’s alligator season
Alligators around the city are looking for mates, pg. 5
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