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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 95
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019 Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
‘It’s not a resource that runs on its own’: Hunger pangs felt throughout campus UF STUDY SHOWS 31.5 PERCENT OF STUDENTS EXPERIENCE FOOD INSECURITY
By Meleah Lyden Staff Writer
Dalice Betterson-Smith grew up in a single-parent household and said her mom did everything to give her children the best life possible. Credit and debit cards were regularly declined at stores and restaurants, and PB&J sandwiches constituted a typical meal in her house. Despite this, Betterson-Smith worked hard in school and got into UF. But that’s when the real struggle began. “I had no financial aid my first year of college, so I
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had to pay for everything out of pocket,” said BettersonSmith, a 20-year-old family, youth and community sciences junior. Betterson-Smith also commuted to and from school from her home in Starke, Florida, and was always on the go. She didn’t have the time nor the money to eat properly, she said. Some days she wouldn’t eat. Others, she would buy a bag of chips and other cheap snacks at grocery stores and call it a meal. Betterson-Smith was experiencing food insecurity, an issue faced by college students across the country. A study by Aseel El Zein, a 26-year-old UF human nutrition doctoral student, showed at least 31.5 percent of
SEE FOOD INSECURITY , PAGE 4
UF to allocate $200,000 to The Alligator THIS IS THE FIRST FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1973 By Tori Whidden Staff Writer
The UF College of Journalism and Communications is providing $100,000 annually for the next two years to The Independent Florida Alligator. The Alligator will receive the money on or before July 1 each year, according to a press release from the CJC. The money is coming from the Office of the Provost, which provides the college with money to support student professional experiences, said Diane McFarlin, dean of the CJC, in an email. This agreement makes it very clear the newspaper’s independence is not affected in any way, McFarlin said. The Alligator will remain independent from the university, as it has since 1973. “CJC and The Alligator have always been closely aligned,” McFarlin said. “I think this will deepen that mutual respect — The Alligator is a big part of our heritage and has played an outsized role in the career paths of so many of our most outstanding students.” The Alligator is experiencing the same financial challenges as other community newspapers, McFarlin said. However, the major difference is most local newspapers can fall back on revenue from subscriptions.
EVALUATING UF’S QUARTERBACKS
Feleipe Franks has brought stability to the football’s most important position, pg 11
“The Alligator is free, it doesn’t have that option,” McFarlin said. “As a key stakeholder, we might have stepped in sooner, but there was a reluctance to do anything that might appear to compromise The Alligator’s independence.” Rick Hirsch, Alligator board member and managing editor of the Miami Herald, said an experience like The Alligator is difficult for a school to replicate. “There is no environment that the universities can provide that gives students the opportunity to bear complete decision-making responsibility for how they do news,” said Hirsch. Alligator board member Aaron Sharockman, the executive director of PolitiFact, said he is excited UF and McFarlin recognize the value of The Alligator. Sharockman said student-run newspapers such as The Alligator are great “learning labs” for students who are not only looking to get into journalism, but for students interested in photography, social media and video production. “The Alligator is a great resource that the school, quite frankly, benefits from, and I am just so thrilled that the university is recognizing that and is willing to support The Alligator so that it can continue to be an important part of the university fabric,” Sharockman said. @tori_whidden twhidden@alligator.org
Courtesy of the Institute of Agricultural Sciences
A food-insecure student takes food from the Field and Fork Pantry. Students who utilize the pantry remain anonymous.
Student Senate approves executive nominations FORTY NEW APPOINTMENTS WERE MADE AND TWO RESOLUTIONS WERE PASSED
By Charlie Daffron Staff Writer
UF’s Student Senate approved the final group of the executive nominations during Tuesday night’s Senate meeting. The appointments, which were the subject of controversy at the Senate’s last meeting on May 28, included the approval of cabinet directors and executive secretaries. Cabinet director appointments included Sarah Bartolomei for Finance & Affordability, Chloe Parrish for Women’s Affairs, Mason Brooke for Veterans Affairs and Brandon Birsic for LGBTQ Affairs. Executive secretary appointments included Zion Brown for Diversity Affairs, Juan Baralt for Campus Safety and Anjelica Jones
UPD K-9 retires after over 8 years
Rocky, a 10-year-old German shepherd, retired on May 14 from his duty as explosive detection dog, pg 3
UF librarian arrested for DUI
Jana Smith Ronan was arrested by deputies on Monday, pg 5
for Press. At the start of the meeting, an Inspire Party caucus member, Senator Zachary Amrose, expressed to the 56 senators present that the party would be objecting to Student Body President Michael Murphy’s nominees for several cabinet director and executive secretary positions. Amrose said the nominees lacked proper qualifications based on the application material they provided. Amrose said one of the most prominent examples of a nominee who lacked qualifications was Brooke, who was chosen to be the Cabinet Director of Veterans Affairs over Gregory Caudill, who is a veteran and previously ran for Alachua County Commissioner in 2018. The nominees were voted on in a block, meaning all 34 nominees would be voted on at once instead of being considered individually, a special rule established prior.
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SEE SG, PAGE 4