www.alligator.org
We Inform. You Decide.
MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2021
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 27
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Lennon Fisher looks at his family farm in Alachua County as Lennon Fisher Jr. stands beside him with carrots in hand. Their family has owned Fisher Farms for five generations, but the property has shrunk over time. They made it through the hardships of the pandemic with some help from a GoFundMe page and business across North Florida. Chasity Maynard // Alligator Staff
SEE FARM, PAGE 7
Gov. DeSantis expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility THOSE 18 AND OLDER CAN PRE-REGISTER BEFORE APRIL 5
By Alexander Lugo & Manny Rea Alligator Staff Writers
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded the eligibility of COVID-19 vaccines to people 40 years or older starting March 29 and those 18 and older starting April 5. Students and faculty can pre-register for a vaccine through the Florida Department of Health in Alachua, said Dr. Mi-
chael Lauzardo, the director of UF Health’s Screen, Test and Protect program. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will also be available for people 16 and older starting April 5. All vaccines are open to those 18 and older. UF plans to collaborate with the FDOH to offer vaccines to students, faculty and staff in accordance with state guidelines, Lauzardo said. Plans for testing sites, as well as dates and capacities for immunizing the new groups, aren’t finalized yet. More details will be released this week,
he said. UF might use Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and the Cultural Plaza parking garage on Hull Road as future vaccination sites, Lauzardo said. Both areas have been used as vaccination sites previously. He said the sites’ hours will cater to students with availability later in the day. The University of Central Florida started offering vaccines to all faculty March 11, but UF followed the state’s lead on vaccine distribution. Other universities, like Florida State University, the Univer-
sity of South Florida and the University of Miami, are all following state guidelines. Vaccine recipients will be able to opt out of the biweekly on-campus testing two weeks after receiving their final doses, Lauzardo said. They can also be excluded from isolation protocols if an individual is contact traced from an infected person. “This is exciting,” he said. “We want to just get going and do this as safely, efficiently and as quickly as we can because
SEE UF VACCINE, PAGE 5
Amended Bright Futures bill passes in subcommittee, worrying high school seniors and families A PROPOSED CHANGE TO PROGRAM FUNDING CAUSED FAMILIES TO REEVALUATE COLLEGE PLANS
By Carolina Ilvento & Alan Halaly Alligator Staff Writers
Kendall Lindsay made her decision about where to go to college with one key thought in mind
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT Exit Door
–– how her family would afford degrees for its graduating triplets. Lindsay, 18, turned down her early admission to Duke University to attend UF next Fall because she knew the Bright Futures scholarship program would fully fund her in-state tuition. But, when she heard about the Florida Senate bill that proposed to change funding for the program thousands of students across the
Theredescription Story was an exodus finish with of talent comma, following pg# the men’s basketball team’s second-round loss to Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament. Catch up with the departures on pg. 12
state rely on to attend college, she started to worry. “I definitely would reconsider choosing the University of Florida over Duke because, without that full ride, I could have gotten to go to Duke for about the same price,” she said. Lindsay’s not alone in her worries about college funding. Students and parents across the state protested the bill for weeks, lead-
Women’s History Month
Meet the trailblazing women of UF and Santa Fe, pg. 8
Fisher Farms
Meet the family behind the fifth-generation farm, pg. 7
ing senators to remove the bill’s most controversial aspects, which included making certain majors ineligible for full funding through the scholarship. Still, the legislation continues to gather attention as it moves toward the Senate floor with language that no longer specifies how much students will receive through Bright Futures. The bill will be heard again by the Appropriations Committee
Wednesday. Currently, Florida Academic Scholars receive funds for 100% of tuition and fees, while Florida Medallion Scholars receive 75%. The bill proposes Bright Futures awards will be “equal to the amount specified in the General Appropriations Act,” which determines the state’s budget each
SEE BRIGHT FUTURES, PAGE 5
FOLLOW US ONLINE FOR UPDATES @FloridaAlligator @TheAlligator_ @TheAlligator @TheAlligator @alligator_newspaper