November 23, 2020

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 13

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Thousands of UF students travel home for Thanksgiving, doctors warn of the consequences U.S. REPORTS OVER 1.1 MILLION COVID-19 CASES THIS WEEK, FLORIDA REPORTS OVER 55,000

By Thomas Weber Alligator Staff Writer

The risks of traveling home for Thanksgiving are far deadlier this year than spats with relatives over mashed potatoes and roasted turkey.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the worst it’s ever been in the U.S., with over 1.1 million cases reported in the past week. The CDC has warned against traveling this year, pleading with Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving virtually.

Despite this, at least thousands of UF students are traveling home for the holiday and hundreds partied in groups over the weekend. A group of UF Health doctors staged a demonstration to pass out masks and raise awareness of the dangers of COVID-19 to bargoers.

The university asked students living in residence halls to complete a survey about their travel plans before and after break.

UF estimates 87% of students who live in residence halls will leave

campus for Thanksgiving Break, which begins Wednesday, said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando.

This means about 5,000 of the 5,707 students currently living in on-campus residence halls plan to travel this week. Of those traveling, about 40% plan to return to campus afterward — despite classes moving online after break — and 24% were undecided, Orlando said.

Travel plans for the tens of thousands of students who live off campus are unclear, because the survey targeted students on campus.

UF’s COVID-19 cases have risen consistently throughout November. From Nov. 14 through Nov. 20, the seven-day average was about 35 positive cases a day, and there are 799 students and staff quarantined as of Sunday, according to the university’s COVID-19 dashboard.

If people choose to travel, the safest way is by quarantining for 14 days beforehand, and only spending time with people within the household, said Dr. Kartik Cherabuddi, epidemiologist and

SEE THANKSGIVING, PAGE 4

Shannon Ahern // Alligator Staff

UF mandates COVID-19 testing in Spring for School bus drivers feel endangered in-person classes, Greek life and on-campus residents working during the pandemic STUDENTS WILL BE TESTED EVERY OTHER WEEK

By Corbin Bolies Alligator Staff Writer

UF announced Tuesday it will implement mandatory COVID-19 testing in Spring for students taking in-person classes along with those who live on campus.

Students will be tested every other week for free as they return to campus in January for the start of the Spring semester. All testing must be done through UF Health’s testing sites, UF Provost Joseph Glover said at a Faculty Senate meeting last week.

Testing will also be mandatory for students in sororities and fraternities who have a meal plan through their Greek house and students in UF’s Reserve Officer Training Corps.

“UF Health Screen, Test and Protect has

How are the Gators using Emory Jones?

Sports writer Brendan Farrell breaks down how UF has used quarterback Emory Jones this year after he threw a touchdown pass against Vanderbilt, pg. 11

not been able to detect any transmission of the virus in an academic setting,” Glover said. “To their knowledge, there has been no transmission of COVID in classrooms.”

Students who do not get tested within 48 hours of their appointment will not be cleared for campus, Glover said.

Students refusing to be tested could lose UF privileges or face potential suspension or expulsion, UF spokesman Steve Orlando wrote in an email.

Students who do not meet the conditions for mandatory testing can still obtain a COVID-19 test voluntarily, as can UF faculty and staff. Students who have tested positive within a 90-day period are also exempt from testing though will be re-enrolled in it once that period ends. @CorbinBolies cbolies@alligator.org

RICKEY DAVIS IS THE SECOND ACPS BUS DRIVER TO DIE FROM COVID-19 SINCE AUGUST

By Sophie Feinberg Alligator Staff Writer

Editor’s note: Some bus drivers were granted anonymity because they feared repercussions, such as losing their jobs.

Bus drivers are in crisis across Alachua County Public Schools.

Many of the 126 drivers have likened their signature yellow vehicles to germ-filled tin cans in a time when close contact is a safety concern.

ACPS bus drivers feel overlooked and stressed after two coworkers’ died as a result of the

Students stay in Gainesville for Thanksgiving for work, safety

UF and Santa Fe students worry for their at-risk family members and opt to stay put, pg. 4

UF plans to provide free vaccines for students, faculty

When the COVID-19 vaccine is available for distribution, UF Health plans to distribute it free of charge, pg. 6

COVID-19 pandemic. Some question if their jobs are worth risking their lives. Now, drivers want more protections and hazard pay, an additional payment for performing dangerous work.

The district doesn’t have anything to hide, ACPS transportation director Reginald Thomas said.

In August, a 57-year-old ACPS bus driver, Troyanna Hamm, died from COVID-19. Hamm was beloved by family, friends, coworkers and students for her loving legacy as “the mother of school bus drivers.” Hamm’s son said, at the time, she wasn’t warned she was exposed to the virus. Rickey Davis, a 60-year-old ACPS driver of six years, died on Oct. 23, also from COVID-19.

This isn’t a problem isolated to Alachua County. School bus drivers from Clay and Miami-Dade

SEE BUS DRIVERS, PAGE 5

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2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Graduate Today’s school prep made Weather more difficult by pandemic

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 13

THE MCAT, LSAT, GMAT AND MORE ARE LOOMING OVER THE HEADS OF PROSPECTIVE GRAD STUDENTS

NEWSROOM:

Editor-In-Chief Engagement Managing Editor Digital Managing Editor News Managing Editor

By Rachel Slay Alligator Staff Writer

The world looks different during COVID-19, but the daunting task of studying for post-graduate entrance exams is still weighing on students’ minds.

Medical and law school testing formats made accommodations for the limiting circumstances presented

by COVID-19. Students are working hard to prepare for the exams while balancing mental health, online class loads and living at home.

The most common grad school entrance exams are the Law School Admission Test, Medical College Admission Test and Graduate Record Examination General Test.

The Medical College Admission Test is the standardized test for prospective medical students in the U.S., and it covers key concepts and prerequisites for studying medicine.

Students will still take the MCAT in person on the date they register for in socially distanced testing rooms, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges website. If an examinee tests positive or is exposed to COVID-19 within 14 days of taking the test, there is no fee to cancel or reschedule the exam.

Students can apply for accommodations like extra time and additional breaks if they have a disability or medical condition that would require these. Supporting documentation must be provided.

The emotional and mental exhaustion of test prep will have been worth it for Adebayo Olaoye, a 20-year-old UF biology and psychology junior, if he gets a good score.

He is spending more time at home due to online classes and COVID-19 but wishes he could interact with others also preparing for the MCAT. Olaoye prefers to study in groups so he can bounce ideas off other people and figure out which topics he hasn’t paid attention to, he said. He hasn’t been able to do that recently.

“It’s important to get other points of view,” Olaoye said. “Maybe you’re missing something or maybe you’re butting heads on a certain topic.”

Olaoye hopes to attend the University of Texas for medical school. He plans on studying neuroscience and becoming a neurosurgeon in the future, he said.

Michael Contu, a 21-year-old UF biology senior, said he has a love-hate relationship with studying for the MCAT. Contu planned to take the MCAT in September and started studying for it in May. When COVID-19 caused mass quarantine, he moved his test date to January 2021 so he could focus on his mental health and wellbeing.

“I feel like I’m constantly climbing this mountain,” Contu said. “That is the most challenging part, reminding

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myself that it’s one step a day.”

Kimberly Hall, a 21-year-old UF marketing junior, had the option to take the GRE or the Graduate Management Admission Test for her graduate business school application. Because the GMAT is only used to apply to business school, she thought it better to focus her attention on that test, she said.

Hall took the GMAT in August, after studying for about two months. She began studying in June to prevent having to cram before the test, she said.

“I was able to go through the entire thing without having to stress about not having enough time to finish it all,” Hall said.

Hall spent hours researching whether she should take the exam in person or online and ultimately decided to take it at home, she said.

“I was able to study in that environment, which allowed me to remember easier,” Hall said. “It's a lot easier when I'm studying in the same place that I'm taking an exam.”

On her first try, Hall earned a score within the range required to get into UF’s combined degree program for international business. This program allows a student to take graduate school courses while finishing their undergraduate degree. She applied for the program in August and will find out if she is admitted in December, she said.

The Law School Admission Test assesses the skills necessary for success in the first year of law school, according to the Law School Admission Council’s website. In response to COVID-19, all tests taken from November to April 2021 will be an online, proctored version of the test, called LSAT-Flex.

Rhodes Evans, a 21-year-old UF psychology and political science senior, took the test in August and will take it again in the Spring. She thinks of it as a game — you get better with practice. She studied at home during the summer, where she was quarantined with her three loud siblings, she said.

“Living, eating, studying and existing all within the same space can be really hard,” Evans said.

As Evans approaches her second test date, she spends about 20 hours a week studying material. She tries to take weekends off to let her mind breathe, she said.

“It just sometimes makes your personal experiences feel so small when the state of the world is chaotic,” Evans said. @racheljslay rslay@alligator.org

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ALLIGATOR 3

A taste of school spirit.

Try the Orange & Blue sub, made with chicken tenders and topped with buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing. Save time before class.

Order ahead for in-store pickup at publix.com/orangeandblue. #orangeandbluesub

4 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020

UF sees largest applicant pool after fears of admission numbers falling MORE THAN 20% OF APPLICATIONS WERE SUBMITTED ON DAY OF THE DEADLINE

By Rachel Slay & Jack Prator Alligator Staff Writers

The number of UF applicants didn’t go down this year, students just procrastinated.

UF received 48,066 applications, the most ever, in the midst of a pandemic. More than 11,000 were received on the day of the deadline, and UF doesn’t have an answer for why.

“None of us has been through an application cycle during a pandemic,” said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando. “So, we’re really not sure what factors were at work here.”

Applicant numbers appeared

grim early in the cycle, and the deadline was extended from Nov. 1 to Nov. 16. President Fuchs said applications were down 23% at an Oct. 15 Faculty Senate meeting.

It is normal for application numbers to fluctuate daily, UF director of communications Brittany Wise wrote in an email.

She said 21,500 applications were received in the three days before the deadline during last year’s Fall 2020 application cycle.

Days after Fuch’s calculation, more applications rolled in. Wise calculated a 14% decrease by Oct. 19.

Orlando said UF doesn’t know why application numbers went through a lull before surpassing last year’s record by nearly 2,000 applicants.

He said that the university’s

admission standards did not undergo any changes this year.

This means UF was looking for the same GPA and test scores of applicants as it had initially planned. The UF 2020 freshman profile lists the middle 50% of accepted students scoring between 30 and 33 on the ACT and between 1320 and 1460 on the SAT. COVID-19 inflamed the already stressful process of college applications, as multiple delays in the nation’s standardized testing schedule made testing difficult for students.

Emma-Gail McMillan, a 17-year-old Buchholz High School senior, was not one of the more than 20% of applicants who got her application into UF before the last day, and she feels good about it.

40% of students plan to return to campus THANKSGIVING, from pg. 1 associate professor of infectious diseases at the UF College of Medicine.

“Keep grandma and other at-risk family safer by choosing celebrations that keep friends six feet apart, masked and outdoors,” he said.

Getting tested prior to traveling is not the only precaution people should take, he said. People should continue taking precautions once they’re home, even if they’ve tested negative and quarantined.

“It is not to be applied as a pass to safety since any exposure in the past 14 days can still turn into an illness in the subsequent days with no further exposure,” he said.

While some UF students continue to party, others are taking precautions leading up to break.

Jenna Williams, an 18-year-old psychology freshman, said she got tested for COVID-19 Wednesday and plans to get a rapid test once she arrives home in South Florida Sunday.

“I’m very serious about it,” Williams said. “I’m not one of those kids that goes out and parties right now.”

In the period between receiving her test results and actually leaving for home, Williams said she plans on isolating and wearing a mask, which she has been doing all semester.

“I would feel so bad if I ever brought anything home,” she said. “So I will definitely do what needs to be done in

Being a senior in high school during a global pandemic has kept cheering fans from attending her swim meets and has cancelled cherished events like prom, McMillan said. Getting into UF would definitely brighten up the cloudy haze of her senior year, she said.

“Being around the Gator community is such an exciting thing,” McMillan said.

To Rebecca Stewart, an 18-year-old PK Yonge Developmental Research School senior, the pandemic became a major roadblock for standardized testing.

Stewart planned to take the SAT in the summer before this school year started, but COVID-19 changed her plans. She had to submit her application without SAT scores because she hasn’t

order for that to not happen.”

Still, tens of thousands of UF students live off campus and in the surrounding Gainesville area, where bars and restaurants are typically packed full of mostly maskless students.

On Friday, a group of UF Health doctors and interns staged a demonstration outside Downtown and Midtown hotspots — Downtown Fats, White Buffalo, Fat Daddy’s — to voice their grievances about large-scale gatherings.

Dr. Ellery Altshuler, an internal medicine resident at UF Health Shands, organized the demonstration. He and three other health care workers donned masks and scrubs, handing out masks to bar and restaurant goers.

They stood on street corners holding large, white signs that read “Protect your family this Thanksgiving, mask up,” “2,000 died today from COVID” and

been able to take the test yet.

Stewart will take the college entrance exam on Dec. 5, just 10 days before the due date to send scores to the university. She will have to send her score blindly and hope for the best.

“It is definitely scary because if I don’t get the score that I want, then I won’t know until those scores are ready and then UF will already have my application by then,” Stewart said.

Stewart has spent over 20 hours on college applications so far, she said. UF is one of 11 schools to which Stewart has applied.

@racheljslay @jack_prator rslay@alligator.org jprator@alligator.org

“don’t give the rona to your grandma.”

Altshuler said they staged the demonstration Friday night to remind people what’s at stake before they travel home for Thanksgiving.

“All of the residents are seeing a ton of COVID patients,” he said. “People don’t realize the impact of some of these massspreader events just because they don’t see it.”

Altshuler said it’s hard to watch people pack into bars and restaurants knowing the effect it has on hospitals.

“The hardest part is probably calling family members,” he said. “They’re sitting by the phone, hoping for good news — you call them every day, and patients just get worse and worse.”

@thomasjohnweber tweber@alligator.org

Working students stay in Gainesville to not expose their families at home during Thanksgiving STUDENT WORKERS FEAR RETURNING HOME COULD PUT THEIR IMMUNOCOMPROMISED FAMILY MEMBERS AT FURTHER RISK

By Kalia Richardson Alligator Staff Writer

While families and friends reunite for the Thanksgiving Break, some student workers have stayed in Gainesville to protect their immunocompromised loved ones from COVID-19.

UF administration encouraged faculty to offer courses and final exams remotely after Thanksgiving Break, so students could remain home if they chose to do so.

As of Thursday, there are 12,176 COVID-19 cases in Alachua County.

Neftali Guzman, a 21-yearold UF English senior, bartends at Downtown Fats at least four days a week since it reopened in September.

Guzman said she has watched some

students party safely while others have left their drinks at the bar, and strangers pick them up.

“That’s pretty much what’s paying my bills right now,” she said. “A lot of these students are just exposing themselves, so they know the risk they’re taking.”

While she originally planned to go home for Thanksgiving Break, she said she doesn’t want to expose her immunocompromised family in Miami. Guzman’s mother suffers from diabetes, asthma and is overweight, which are all risk factors for COVID-19, and her 74-year-old grandfather, who currently suffers from cancer, has been isolating since the onset of the pandemic in March.

Guzman works 30 to 40 hours a week and occasionally 16 hour shifts on game days to pay for her tuition and housing costs. Guzman comes from a family of Cuban immigrants and said she has to help pay for her grandfather’s hospital bills as well.

“I can’t afford the luxury of being at home,” she said.

While she has not visited Miami since Winter Break in 2019, she plans

to quarantine in Gainesville for 10 days so she can visit her family for Christmas.

“I have been trying to do my best to keep my family safe,” Guzman said.

As a bartender at White Buffalo, a downtown bar, Rebecca Breyer spent the semester watching partiers share drinks and make out with strangers despite the pandemic.

Breyer, a 21-year-old pre-nursing Santa Fe junior, has worked at White Buffalo since 2017. She plans to work through the Thanksgiving Break because her family is at higher risk for complications from COVID-19.

Santa Fe College will be closed during Thanksgiving Break from Nov. 26-28.

Her mother is immunocompromised due to asthma and gets bronchitis two to three times a month.

“I don’t want to be a carrier unknowingly and give it to them,” she said.

White Buffalo is closed on Thanksgiving Day, but Breyer said she plans to work Friday and through

the weekend. She said the virus is going to spread, and people need to remember to sanitize and wear a mask.

“I hate to say it, but this is my job,” Breyer said. “That’s how I make money.”

Breyer is required to wear a face mask at all times as a bartender.

While guests are instructed to wear a face mask while in line, Breyer said it’s hard to tell every person to put a face mask on once inside.

White Buffalo is restricting its capacity to 180 with four to five bartenders at a time, due to COVID-19, Breyer said. Guests are required to wear masks at all times unless they’re drinking, she said.

“We do get customers that’ll come in and keep their masks on the entire time they’re here,” Breyer said. “But then there are the people who lose their mask as soon as they walk in the door.”

Millie Vanto, a 21-year-old UF elementary education master’s student, said she is staying in Gainesville for Thanksgiving Break because of the potential to spread

COVID-19 to her family back home in Orlando.

She has worked as a desk assistant at Infinity Hall since 2018 where she logs packages, provides lock-out keys and ensures residents are following COVID-19 guidelines.

“I think that’s just a regular fear,” she said. “You could be a carrier, and you would never know.”

With both her parents older than 60, they’re at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Vanto said she gets monthly COVID-19 screenings and tested negative two weeks ago.

She prefers to go home for Winter Break rather than just a week for Thanksgiving.

For students returning home, she hopes they’ll keep their Thanksgiving gatherings small and follow social distancing guidelines.

“The sooner you do follow these guidelines, the sooner we can go back to a normal lifestyle,” she said. @kaliarichardson krichardson@alligator.org

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ALLIGATOR 5

Buses are at 50% capacity BUS DRIVERS, from pg. 1 counties have died from the virus.

Polk County school bus drivers have also recounted feeling unsafe.

Others in Connecticut and North Carolina have shared similar stories.

The transportation department is fighting a losing battle against COVID-19, said Shanita Baker, a 31-year-old ACPS bus driver of 10 years. When Baker was in school, Hamm, or Ms. Ann, was her bus driver and later inspired her to become a driver herself.

Baker also knew Davis, or Mr. Rickey, as she used to call him. His laugh and willingness to help stay ingrained in her mind.

These days, Baker said, it’s a lot harder to form special bonds with students. There’s less laughing and joking.

“You want to talk but don’t,” she said. “You don’t know who has it or who doesn’t.”

While bus drivers and students are expected to wear masks and respect social distancing, Baker said students are sometimes defiant or wear their mask incorrectly.

“It’s useless,” she said. “You might as well not have it on.”

Drivers often feel forced to come back to work, Baker said. She believes the school district should close brick-and-mortar schools to give the transportation department time to disinfect and regroup before reopening again.

Drivers, she said, should have a protective barrier like plexiglass in addition to the personal protective equipment they already have, such as gowns, gloves, masks and face shields.

“We’re the frontliners,” she said. “The county just doesn’t care.”

Transportation director Thomas acknowledged the department has been greatly affected by Hamm and Davis’ deaths.

“There is not a day that I get up in the morning that I don’t think about that,” he said. “Think about their death and how that has affected not only me but our entire department.”

He said he shares whatever information he can. However, privacy laws about sharing health information make it difficult to share more, he said. If a driver has been exposed by transporting a positive student, the information wouldn’t be shared if they’re in self-quarantine and didn’t test positive.

Multiple drivers said they haven’t been alerted about the COVID-19 cases that come from the students they transport. While schools send out letters to teachers and families about positive cases, bus drivers said they don’t get them.

Because of safety issues and restrictions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bus drivers aren’t allowed to use plexiglass shields on school buses, Thomas said. He inquired with the safety administration about installing them.

Though Regional Transit System buses have them, school buses have stricter regulations because they are transporting minors.

Agreements for hazard pay are the responsibility of the union and the school board, he said. The decision to shut down the department or implement mandatory testing would also be up to the school board.

Employees issues are addressed with district administrators, such as the superintendent and assistant superintendents, during monthly “concern meetings.”

“My number one goal is to take care of the employees, and I hear their concerns,” Thomas said. “I hear their fears.”

Bus drivers are scared to work but need their jobs, an anonymous driver said. The possibility of death is everywhere, and people aren’t being informed of potential contact with COVID-19 patients, she added. Information about who has COVID-19, she said, usually spreads among drivers.

“The bus is only so big and so long,” she said. “Whatever these kids have, we are exposed.”

Their job, the same driver said, used to be fun and challenging and gave her the opportunity to change a student’s direction.

“Now, it’s survival,” she said.

“All of our lives are at stake and in danger.”

Morale among bus drivers is the lowest it’s ever been, another anonymous ACPS bus driver said.

Ten bus drivers have retired or resigned since May, according to ACPS personnel records.

The district uses the fact that people need jobs to their advantage, even as many drivers make below the poverty line, the driver said. The transportation department has safer, “cushy” jobs while bus drivers are on the frontlines dying, she added.

The last day of classes in the 2019-20 school year was May 29, while schools were still fully virtual. This school year started Aug. 31, but some drivers worked over the summer, driving buses rigged with hotspots for internet usage and taking students to summer courses.

Though buses are cleaned between morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up, the driver said there isn’t enough time to clean between elementary and secondary school runs.

Elementary school students are dropped off around 7:15 a.m. whereas those in secondary arrive around 9 a.m., Thomas said.

Aubrey Bocalan // Alligator Staff

Pick-up for elementary school is at around 1:50 p.m. and 3 p.m. for secondary school.

The average ACPS bus driver makes $20,782.27, according to employee salary records.

Aside from the pandemic, the main issue drivers face is a shortage of bus drivers, said Carmen Ward, president of the Alachua County Education Association, a union that represents education workers, including bus drivers.

The district and union agreed to limit capacity to 50% on buses, she said. With fewer drivers, more buses near 100% capacity.

But there isn’t a shortage of drivers, transportation director Thomas said. Instead, some drivers are on leave because they are quarantining, which reduces the number of drivers available for routes.

The district is fairly transparent with updating its COVID-19 dashboard and contacting parents at each school when there is a positive case on the campus or in the classroom, Ward said. However, she said she has been told bus drivers haven’t been informed when they were in contact with a posi-

tive case.

A union committee meets weekly to listen to bus drivers’ concerns, she said. The organization then works to address them with a bargaining team that includes representatives from the transportation department.

At the Nov. 3 school board meeting, two bus drivers spoke during public comment.

Mary Vinson said bus drivers don’t have thermometers, and buses are often overcrowded. She also pointed out the board recently discussed funding a $1.3 million track and athletic facilities updates for Buchholz High School but not helping out bus drivers.

“We feel like we’re going through a crisis,” she said.

Tarphanesha Phillips begged the board for mandatory COVID-19 testing every two weeks. She said people were coming into work when they needed to self-quarantine.

“Help us!” she said. “Help us, please!” @feinberg_sophie sfeinberg@alligator.org

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6 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020

UF plans to provide students and staff with free COVID-19 vaccines when available SEVERAL VACCINE DEVELOPERS ARE REPORTING OVER 90% EFFICACY IN PHASE THREE CLINICAL TRIALS, AND ROLLOUT COULD START IN DECEMBER

By Thomas Weber Alligator Staff Writer

As the world anxiously waits for a COVID-19 vaccine, UF Health said it’s developing plans to provide it free of charge for students and staff.

When a vaccine is approved for public use, experts say frontline workers and vulnerable populations will likely receive it first, as it will be in limited supply. But once it’s more widely available, UF plans to provide the vaccine to students and staff on an appointment-only basis, UF Health spokesperson Ken Garcia wrote in an email.

The university couldn’t necessarily force people to get the vaccine.

“UF does not have independent jurisdiction to mandate vaccines,” said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando. “That has to come from the state.”

This month, several pharmaceutical companies announced progress with their COVID-19 vaccines — a sign of hope during a pandemic that has killed more than 250,000 Americans.

“When there is enough available for the general population, our goal is to provide the vaccine at no cost to UF students, fac-

ulty and staff,” Garcia wrote.

The vaccine would be available on an appointment-only basis, similar to how the university administers flu vaccines, he wrote. Currently, flu shot appointments can be scheduled virtually through the Student Health Care Center.

Garcia said it’s too early to say how much it will cost the university to acquire the COVID-19 vaccines, because none have been approved for public use yet. Friday, Pfizer, an American pharmaceutical company, submitted its emergency use authorization to the FDA to approve distribution of its vaccine. The request could be approved in December.

Florida’s cases have also been rising since the beginning of October; there were over 10,000 cases recorded Nov. 15, the highest since July. UF’s cases have remained steady in November, with the most recent seven-day average being about 32 cases a day, according to the university’s dashboard.

The Florida Department of Health’s draft vaccination plan divides distribution into three phases: First, health care workers and long-term care residents and staff will receive it, then hospitals and state-mandated vaccination clinics, and finally, health providers like commercial pharmacies, thus making it accessible to the general public.

Historically, vaccine development takes several years — usually about four, wrote

Dr. Kartik Cherabuddi, epidemiologist and associate professor of infectious diseases at the UF College of Medicine, in an email.

Pfizer and biotechnology company Moderna are developing the two COVID-19 vaccine frontrunners. Both vaccines are unique because they use mRNA, a molecule in the body that helps with protein synthesis.

Traditionally, vaccines inject either proteins or inactivated bacteria or viruses. Cherabuddi said these vaccines take longer to make. For example, the flu vaccine takes five to six months to produce, he said.

The COVID-19 vaccine administers mRNA, which creates the proteins associated with coronavirus; the body then develops antibodies that recognize these proteins, making it able to fight off the actual coronavirus if the vaccinated person is exposed.

But the new vaccine presents its own challenges; mRNA is unstable, meaning the vaccine must be contained at very cold temperatures during storage and distribution, Cherabuddi said. Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at -70 degrees Celsius, and Moderna’s at -20 degrees Celsius.

“This COVID-19 vaccine development is a testament to what humankind can do when using single-minded focus among all stakeholders,” Cherabuddi wrote.

Both companies are reporting their vaccines are over 90% effective, far surpassing the FDA’s threshold for approval, which

is at least 50% effectiveness. The FDA also strongly recommended vaccine trials include a diverse population of participants before approval.

In both Moderna and Pfizer’s studies, half of their participants were inoculated with the vaccine, while the other half received a placebo.

Wednesday, Pfizer announced its COVID-19 vaccination is 95% effective after participants received two doses over a 28day period. Monday, Moderna announced its COVID-19 vaccine is 94.5% effective.

Neither company reports any side effects associated with its vaccines.

The companies’ studies were only detailed in press releases, not peer-reviewed, scientific journals. But Cherabuddi said the results are reliable because independent boards reviewed the companies’ data.

Pfizer submitted its emergency use authorization to the FDA to approve distribution of its vaccine on Friday.

At-risk populations will likely start receiving the vaccine by the end of December, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, during a press conference Thursday.

“We need to actually double down on public health measures as we’re waiting for that help to come,” Fauci said. @thomasjohnweber tweber@alligator.org

Caribbean and Asian restaurants, students describe food supply in uncertain times HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED THE AVAILABILITY OF CULTURAL CUISINE IN GAINESVILLE

By Samantha Chery Alligator Staff Writer

Culture-specific cuisine in Gainesville has faced accessibility hurdles resulting from price hikes on hard-to-find ingredients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic has made ripples in the city’s food landscape, as store owners experience increased ingredient prices and customers remain wary of dining in. Student shoppers could see fewer options on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus as a result.

Prum’s Kitchen, a Cambodian restaurant that first opened in January, only had two months of normalcy before sales plummeted due to the pandemic, said Bo Prum, 54.

Prum, who co-owns the 6 S. Main St. restaurant with his wife, Leanna, said they’ve had to spend between $2,000 and $5,000 from their savings each month to keep the business running.

Ingredients such as lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves, which are both used to marinate beef skewers, chicken skewers and stir fry at Prum’s Kitchen, doubled, and sometimes tripled, in price. Prum said he buys the greens at Chun Ching Market on 418 NW Eighth Ave., but he said the Asian grocery store has struggled with supply.

Prum had to increase his weekly trips to Sam’s Club, where he gets chicken, beef, pork and lettuce for

the restaurant, to daily trips due to dwindling stock.

The couple decided not to raise prices despite struggling financially, because higher prices might deter the few customers they have. A typical meal at Prum’s costs about $12.

They’ve frozen enough ingredients to last in spite of shortages, and they have few enough customers that their supply won’t run out, but they have no guesses for what the future holds for Prum’s Kitchen, Prum said.

Khetpapol Limphoka, owner of If It Is Kitchen and Café at 104 S. Main St., said procuring all the specific ingredients required to make its intricate Thai dishes has been a challenge.

One such dish, If It Is Kitchen’s house-made curry, needs almost 25 ingredients. If even one is missing, the restaurant can’t make it.

Limphoka usually imports some items, like spicy Thai peppers and fruit purees used in drinks, from Thailand, but because products were stopped at customs due to the pandemic, he has had to periodically remove dishes from the menu.

Ethnic grocery stores have also suffered financially due to price hikes and item shortages from vendors, said Fawzy Ebrahim, the 48-year-old owner of Zeezenia International Market.

Zeezenia, located at 2325 SW 13th St., sells Turkish, Persian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Bulgarian, Indian and Hispanic foods. Ebrahim stocks the store with imports from about 15 vendors.

The prices that Ebrahim must pay for most items, like pastrami, increased at least 30%, he said.

Others, like the spice cardamom,

increased dramatically by about 125%. Still others have been completely out of stock. Ebrahim has asked for the Bulgarian butter and cheese that has been out of stock for six to seven months, but his vendor has no answers yet.

With increased prices at the market, sales have dropped about 7580% during the pandemic, Ebrahim said. Sales typically go down in the summer months when most college students head out of Gainesville, but the sales haven’t gone back to normal because many students decided to stay at home.

Food supply shortages initially added a hurdle for Caribbean places in the city as well, said Darron Alvarenga, co-owner of the fast casual eatery Caribbean Spice.

“It’s stabilizing now, but for the first three months, it was staggering,” he said. “It’s really having a tremendous impact across the restaurant industry, especially for smaller mom and pop restaurants.”

Alvarenga said Caribbean Spice, located at 1310 NW 23rd Ave. in Gainesville, takes pride in its family recipes, where most of the dishes are made from scratch. The restaurant searches locally for fresh meat and produce and buys from suppliers specializing in Caribbean ingredients. The Jamaican eatery also imports goods, like the Scotch bonnet peppers used in homemade spicy pepper sauce, directly from the Caribbean.

However, the prices for oxtail, used in the oxtail lunch and dinner plates, and beef, used to stuff Jamaican patties, tripled in April, he said. Other ingredients experienced a price hike of about 32-35%. While the prices have gone down slightly

since then, they haven’t deflated back to pre-COVID-19 costs yet. Caribbean Spice hasn’t taken anything off the menu to compensate, and it doesn’t plan on increasing meal prices either.

“We’ve been trying to see if we can absorb some of that expense,” Alvarenga said. “I’m conscious of the fact that a lot of people are hurting, and some of those people are our customers.”

Some Caribbean students at UF said the pandemic hasn’t affected how much Caribbean food they can find in Gainesville, although it is limited compared to where they’re from.

In Gainesville, Kimberly Thompson, a Jamaican 19-year-old UF health science sophomore, can buy seasonings from Walmart to make curry and jerk chicken.

But she goes back home to Fort Myers for goat meat, pig’s feet or oxtails, and she buys from Jamaican or Haitian mom and pop shops.

She’s able to drive back more often with the flexibility of online learning.

To avoid increased meat prices at grocery stores during a period of meat shortages, Thompson said her family stocked up on larger portions of meat than usual from butchers and bought meat directly from farms.

As people took up baking as an at-home hobby, they also took up the flour and yeast supplies in grocery stores. This made it harder for 21-year-old UF public health and biology senior Carrisa Sookoo to get ingredients for roti, an Indian flatbread.

“Other than that, I don’t think any other ingredients were affected

too badly,” Sookoo said. “I usually buy it in bulk because I know I make it a lot.”

Sookoo hasn’t found readymade Trinidadian food anywhere in Gainesville, so she either brings her mom’s cooked meals or prepares dishes herself. She usually makes rice with chicken, peas and other vegetables.

“I don’t get the same authentic food that I like to eat or from my mom’s house or that I would get in South Florida, but I do get to get something if I really do want it,” she said.

Like Thompson, Sookoo also shops at Walmart for browning sauce to make chicken and beef stews and for spices like cumin and turmeric. She stops by India Bazaar, located at 3550 SW 34th St., to get curry.

Sookoo buys larger quantities and tries to limit her time in restaurants and grocery stores in an effort to limit her exposure to COVID-19.

Asha Clarke, a 19-year-old UF anthropology sophomore, loves eating ackee and saltfish and buying Jamaican food from Caribbean Queen, located at 507 NW Fifth Ave. But during the pandemic, she’s eating less Jamaican food — not because of unavailability — but because she’s cut back on eating out as a precaution.

“I’m just trying to be extra safe because people are partying, and I live near Midtown” she said. “I feel like going to the Jamaican restaurant in Gainesville with my COVID protocol is out of the way or increasing exposure in a way.” @SammyChery4276 schery@alligator.org

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 www.alligator.org/the_avenue

CULTURE

Family feud: navigating Thanksgiving amid political tension STUDENTS LOOK TO AVOID HOLIDAY ARGUMENTS AFTER PERIODS OF POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UNREST

By Heather Bushman Avenue Staff Writer

Thanksgiving: a time for turkey, togetherness and, for some, turmoil.

In the wake of one of the most divisive periods in recent history, college students are bracing themselves for what may be a tense family reunion for Thanksgiving. The ongoing fight for racial justice, the economic and public safety crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and a controversial election season have all driven a wedge between the American public.

Shannon Ahern // Alligator Staff

Some students know family holiday dinners mean heated argument. Some respond with avoidance, others anticipate rising tensions.

Policy issues have turned personal, and for that reason, civil discussions across the dinner table have the potential to heat up very quickly.

Gabriel Castro, a 20-year-old UF political science and international studies sophomore, said he anticipates politics as a topic of conversation when visiting his extended family in Miami, especially given an election President-elect Joe Biden declared as a “battle for the soul of the nation” at a campaign speech in Georgia.

“I am excited to see everyone, but I know politics will be brought up,” he said.

It’s a conversation that — in light of his politics differing from those of his family — Castro isn’t excited to have. But he’s not alone: More Americans have said it’s “stressful and frustrating” to talk about politics since the 2016 election, according to a study from Pew Research Center.

The apprehension can be particularly pronounced for college students.

The college experience brings people of all backgrounds and perspectives together, and research shows this can facilitate an exchange of ideas not found in the homogeneity of a high school or a hometown.

“I feel like meeting a lot of different people during college has really made me more open-minded to a variety of different perspectives,” Castro said.

For some students, these broadened horizons can result in the emergence of a different political outlook than those they were raised with.

Alexandra Cote, a 21-year-old UF biomedical engineering senior, is also used to the conflict. She cited differences in location and educational background as the source of the stark contrast between her and her family’s political stances.

“As our views diametrically oppose, we definitely argue,” she said.

The ideological split many face makes going home for the holidays such a testy endeavor, but luckily, there are ways to subdue the stress these gatherings may supply.

Easing the tension often comes in the form of avoidance, a tactic the Thomas-Kilmann Model notes as one of the five most effective strategies of conflict resolution. Diverting the conversation away from the topic of controversy, or ignoring it entirely, is often used to stop an argument in its tracks.

Nick Manhart, a 25-year-old UF finance sophomore, knows this method well.

His rural Indiana family often discusses politics, and when the topic comes up, he said the best way to get out of the potentially uncomfortable situation is to walk away.

“Luckily we have a big enough family to be able to escape it and go do something else,” Manhart said.

Psychologists have said it’s acceptable, even necessary, to step away from conversations when they begin to feel damaging. While it’s tempting to tackle hot topics, especially with those who harbor separate perspectives, winning an argument often isn’t worth the anger or anxiety that comes with it.

Instead, placating the conversation can be more productive.

Playing peacekeeper may seem like a losing strategy, but yielding to the opposition could prove opportune in retaining relations – especially when your ideological adversary is the one passing you the potatoes from across the table.

Castro said, despite his dissent, he generally finds himself keeping quiet in the face of family political discussions. He said it’s important to him to maintain civility, even at the expense of getting his point across.

“The last thing I want is to have to worry about my family resenting me over policy preferences,” he said.

When approached by particularly passionate relatives, Manhart employs a similar tactic.

“Give them a couple minutes, say ‘Yep’ a couple times, then smile and walk away,” he said. “Usually works out pretty well.”

@hgrizzl hbushman@alligator.org

FOOD & DRINK

SPOTIFY

Vegan students plan for Turkey Day without the turkey VEGAN STUDENTS ENDURE TEASING AND HUNGER DURING NON-VEGAN FAMILY HOLIDAY MEALS

By Michelle Holder Avenue Staff Writer

After a semester of ramen noodle packages and Chipotle runs, a homecooked meal is sometimes all college students look forward to.

But for vegans and vegetarians, Thanksgiving looks a little different: Turkeys are traded for tofu, mac and cheese is replaced with vegan alternatives and mashed potatoes are made with plant-based milk.

Vegans and vegetarians often encounter dinner-time challenges when home for the holidays, as their families whip up the traditional Thanksgiving dishes full of butter, meat and cheese. The plant-based lifestyle may often leave vegans feeling teased, awkward and hungry.

For Christina Speros, a 19-yearold UF nutritional sciences

sophomore, being vegan means dealing with teasing from her family and navigating family meals. As a nutrition major, she feels passionate about veganism, fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.

She has been vegan for over a year and a half, but with an Italian mom and a Greek dad, her family’s Mediterranean background means their diets heavily consist of meat and cheese.

Speros’ cousin is also vegan, so they plan their meals for Thanksgiving together, she said.

This year, she is hoping to make vegan candied yams and a pumpkin cheesecake, along with other dishes.

As much as she faces a hard time from her family for being vegan, Speros’ family always ends up fighting over her vegan chocolate chips cookies.

“It’s always in the desserts that get them,” she said.

Marlee Anctil, a 19-year-old political science sophomore, is planning for her first Thanksgiving as a vegan, which she said will

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consist of a lot of the food she eats on a regular day.

“It’s going to probably be like a normal dinner and not really Thanksgiving just because it’s kind of hard.”

Anctil has been vegetarian for five years but made the transition to veganism in March. When she first transitioned into becoming a vegetarian, her family, especially her grandparents, who are from Mexico, didn’t react well to the news.

“They were upset,” she said.

“They didn’t want to have to accommodate special meals for me.”

This Thanksgiving, she said her family has accommodated some of their recipes so she can share some of the same dishes with everyone else.

“I am afraid that it’s not going to be as good as Thanksgivings prior, especially because my parents make some really amazing non-vegan meals,” Anctil said.

Rain Meekins, a 19-year-old UF construction management sophomore, said his transition to

becoming a vegan was gradual.

He said he became a vegan due to his environmental and animal agriculture concerns.

Meekins said his family is supportive of his diet but has faced criticism from his brother.

“My brother always nags,” Meekins said. “They were just concerned if I am getting my nutritional needs.”

For Thanksgiving, he makes a lentil-based meatloaf and sticks to eating a lot of vegetables. He also says his family substitutes nonvegan items for vegan alternatives for him.

“For mashed potatoes, a lot of the time they’ll use dairy-based butter,” he said. “I’ll be like, ‘Hey, I can have some too as long as you use this vegan butter that tastes the same.’”

He said sticking to small changes and making dairy-and-meat-free swaps in the kitchen can help.

“You can still enjoy Thanksgiving just as much,” he said. “You can still be vegan and enjoy the same types of foods in the same way.

Whether you love to cook or just love to eat, enjoy your kitchen time with these dinner time tunes from the Avenue staff.

Thanksgiving is still Thanksgiving.” @michellecholder mholder@alligator.com

Caeleb Dressel breaks three more World Records

The former Gators swimmer broke three World Records in one weekend at the ISL semifinal meet in Budapest, Hungary, this past weekend. This came one week after he set one World Record and two American records, pg. 12

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 www.alligator.org/opinions

Column

How to talk to someone considering suicide

F

Editor’s note: This column contains non-graphic references to suicide.

riends, family, teachers and peers — not mental health professionals — are often the first to notice someone who is struggling. As the first person to notice, your opportunity to connect and refer someone for additional support can make a life-changing impact.

We are all capable of falling into crisis and considering suicide, especially when hopelessness and helplessness start to close in. Thoughts of suicide are a human experience, not a sign of personal failure or flaw. Struggles with suicide need not be the end of the story and can be a signal that we need more support than we currently have.

Although it has been decades since I last struggled with suicide, as an undergrad at UF I did contemplate ending my life.

Thankfully, counseling helped. These days, I work for UF’s Counseling and Wellness Center where I support students who may themselves be thinking about suicide.

Research suggests that more than 13% of college students were seriously considering suicide within the past 12 months. At UF, that means over 5,000 student Gators have considered suicide this past year. Between the pandemic, final exams, the holidays, the election, racial violence and the profound distress of our shaken world, we need to be prepared to support each other should suicidal thoughts arise.

People who are suicidal may talk about it explicitly but more often drop hints or clues.

“If anything happens to me, look after my cat.”

“I just don’t want to be here anymore.”

Sometimes people don’t say anything but give away valued possessions, explore ways to die on the internet or visit a gun shop. And yet others post on social media, making jokes about suicide or alluding to death. We encourage you to know the warning signs to better identify people who may be at risk, and then take the courageous step to reach out rather than imagining somebody else will.

In the Counseling and Wellness Center’s suicide prevention program, we teach participants to directly ask the question, “Are you thinking of suicide?”

Column

T

Sara Nash is a clinical associate professor at the CWC. This column is part of a series from the CWC covering mental health.

Column

The broken promise of Spring reopening he UF administration promised students there will be face-toface teaching this Spring. You will soon discover this is not quite the case.

In order to please our state’s leadership and assure continued funding, UF President Kent Fuchs and Provost Joseph Glover have mandated that there will be as many face-to-face classes this Spring as last Spring. However, because of social distancing guidelines, about 15% of the seats in these classes will be live while the rest will be online.

It gets worse. Because these seats are not being equitably distributed to students, those who register last and are most in need of the face-to-face experience — first years — will likely have the fewest number of seats available to them. As students now register for classes, they are seeing that the promise of face-to-face teaching is hollow.

Even for those who get a class with face-to-face teaching, the university has not protected students or professors from the greater risk of getting COVID-19. Without hiring more staff to clean and sanitize, upgrading ventilation systems, or supervising mask wearing or social distancing, the university is assuring students and faculty in live classes that they are at little risk of getting the virus.

Many faculty who are at greater risk of getting the virus because of their age and/or pre-existing conditions have

Contrary to popular belief, asking a suicidal person about suicide will not push them closer to the edge. Instead, asking shows you care and that you’re willing to connect with them even if suicide is on their minds. And, asking won’t plant the idea in their heads if they weren’t considering suicide. Instead, your willingness to ask makes you more trustworthy if they ever do need support.

If someone says they are thinking about suicide, listen openly and respond without judgment.

Avoid minimizing or invalidating responses such as, “Don’t be silly, your mom would miss you” or “That seems a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

Assuming someone is not in the middle of a suicide attempt (in which case, call for urgent assistance), the best thing you can do is express compassion and curiosity about the feelings and experiences underneath the thoughts of suicide. This can be something simple like, “Thank you for trusting me. This must be such a hard time for you. Can you share a little more about what’s been so difficult lately?”

Because people considering suicide often feel lonely and disconnected, your willingness to ask about suicide and validate the pain underneath the suicidal thoughts can be the first step toward healing. The next step is to encourage that person to get some additional help from a counselor or other trusted resource. Research indicates that most people who get help for their suicidal crises won’t ever be suicidal again. And, for those who struggle with longer-term suicidal thoughts, getting additional support can make the difference between life or death.

When someone confides in you about suicide, encourage them to contact one of the many resources available locally and nationally. Enrolled UF students can start with the CWC (352-3921575), where our on-call crisis counselors will learn more about the situation and recommend next steps. Non-students can contact the Alachua County Crisis Center (352-264-6789) or the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). If you’re not sure how to help someone you’re concerned about (whether they are a student or not), CWC crisis counselors can always consult with you.

To learn more, check out the Struggling with Suicide episode of the CWC Talks podcast, where campus suicide expert Dr. Meggen Sixbey goes in-depth about what a person considering suicide might be thinking and feeling. Another meaningful resource is the Live Through This website devoted to portraits and interviews with people who have survived suicide attempts.

been ordered to teach these live classes.

However, the majority of the students taking these classes will be simultaneously instructed online.

Both live and online students in faceto-face classrooms will be asked to adapt to a situation where professors must divide their attention between both live and online students. Faculty are only right now being trained in this new and experimental HyFlex technology.

This is a disaster that is now unfolding at the same time that the number of COVID-19 cases at our university, in Gainesville, the state and the nation are climbing upward to higher and higher levels of infection and death.

Why this trainwreck? Why is the university telling students, their parents and the legislature that undergraduates can take live classes this Spring just like last year? None of the other Florida public universities treat faculty lives so cheaply.

Why is human suffering being bartered for economic gain? Is the fear of losing funding and the drive to top-five status behind this? By choosing to accommodate the legislature, the administration is not being honest with students and putting all of us at greater risk.

At the beginning of the year, President Fuchs sent out a video asking that we be especially kind to each other this year. Is this kindness?

David Hackett is a religion professor.

A student’s story inspires hope

I

recently received an email from a student graduating in December.

“Dear President Fuchs, If your schedule allows, I would like for the opportunity to update you and explain how the University of Florida has had such a tremendous positive impact on my life. Without getting into too much detail, there was a point in my ‘colorful’ past (for lack of a better phrase) where I was truly hopeless mentally, physically and spiritually. … Bottom line, I am eternally grateful for the University of Florida … for providing me with the opportunity to transform into the scholar, leader, and well-rounded person that I am today.

In the same way that all of us Gators were challenged [by you to have] unreasonable expectations during this unusual semester, I feel that the University of Florida has provided me with the chance to be unreasonably hopeful in light of my unusual past.

Thank you for this exceptional university that has given me my life back. I look forward to the possibility of hearing back from you. Go Gators!”

We met last week. And, with the student’s permission, I briefly share his story as an encouragement as we face the remaining weeks of a difficult semester.

The student’s “colorful past” is one of addiction to opioids. He was a student at a prestigious university in another state, but due to addiction and its impact on his grades, he had to leave the university. He was homeless, living on food stamps and using heroin.

A recovery center and living in a halfway house for two years in South Florida brought him the sobriety he needed to get a job. His boss, a UF graduate, encouraged him to try

again to pursue a college degree. He took courses at a state college and then successfully applied to UF. In his bedroom today hangs his UF acceptance flyer, which reads “IT’S OFFICIAL. I’M NOW A GATOR” and “Your potential is Greater as a Gator.” Arriving at UF with “a few trash bags full of clothes and the hope for a better future,” his goal for his first semester was to pass all his courses with a grade of C or better.

He did better. Last year, he received his UF bachelor’s degree with a 4.0 GPA, and next month he is receiving his master’s degree with an expected 4.0 GPA. We first met last year at a university awards ceremony where this student received an award. I was so encouraged to meet him again last week and to hear that he is still doing well.

As he said, “UF didn’t cure my opioid addiction, but UF gave me back my life and my smile.”

I have never had a perfect 4.0 GPA, and I have never been addicted to opioids. However, this fellow Gator is such an inspiration to me.

As we all face the disappointments and threats caused by COVID-19, combined with the pressure of a rapidly approaching end to the Fall, please know that the seemingly insurmountable difficulties we are facing do have an end and that each of us should be encouraged by the hope before us. I pray we all have strength, stamina and a strong finish to the semester.

Finally, to any student struggling with addiction, please know there is help available through the UF Counseling and Wellness Center’s Alcohol & Other Drug Services programs.

I wish you a restful and well-earned break over the holidays. Go Gators!

Kent Fuchs is the president of UF. You can find his monthly column in The Alligator.

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

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solution on page 10

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

ACROSS ACROSS 11 Archaeological Deputized sites Western group 56 Farm trough African capital contents near ancient 9 Gambler’s Carthage 11 calculation __-pitch 13 14 “Right Milo ofnow!”

“Romeo letters and Juliet” 14 Home (1968)for monks 16 with 15 Lake Ten sawbucks 16 Canada’s Bench press southernmost target 17 point Words from a 17 Sacred, vacillatoras a 19 promise Snitch 19 20 Labyrinthine Golf bunker 20 How a sharp contents 21 incline “__ fairrises in love ... ” 22 Steak Golfer’s goof 21 orders 24 Confer Cogito __ sum 23 25 knighthood Bedtime wish on 27 Homer’s Hurry story of 24 29 67-Across Detroit NFLer 30 __ Religion 26 XING: 32 crosswalk Swing andsign Disco 34 Full Casino gratuity 29 of attitude 38 Appear Feel out of sorts 31 39 Woodshed Crusade tools 34 42 University Neither’s partner 36 leader 43 Join Marvel 39 (in)superhero 45 Be Peace signs 41 worthy of 46 High-ranking Up and at ’em 42 48 foreign __ fail: diplomat unexpected 44 Bump off disaster 45 Part of GPS: 50 Abbr.

Pandora’s box, e.g. on a tirade 46 Goes 51 “__-haw!”

Fastest-ever 48 performance, as 49 28-Down entrant in a race__, fire!”

51 “Ready, 56 Workout count 53 “Our thoughts are 59 with __ acid you” 60 Museum Part of RBG or 56 LBJ: Abbr. contents 61 Swear Inter __: 60 to among be true others 61 Ensemble playing 62 in Doze (off) this puzzle’s 63 circles Spiky, bleached hairstyle ... or 64 Storm relief org. what thefabric puzzle 65 Woven circles represent 66 TV award 66 Helen’s Colorado tribe 67 city 67 Carry Word out with peace 68 or turmoil instructions 68 Dark Ancient letters 69 or marble 69 breads __ capita 70 Individual preference DOWN 71 Salon board 1 Orator’s platform abrasive 2 “__ that special?”

3 Contributed DOWN to cause 1 the Self-assurance 4 undercover 2 Did Subject of a work seasonal buzz 5 Alternative plans or nod 6 3 Online Utopia auction in “Lost site Horizon” 7 as the 4 Retreat, Emit 5 tide Dog-dog 8 Md. neighbor connection?

9 as a 6 Updated, Immune system kitchen agent 107 Tehran’s land “I give up!”

118 7 or 11, say, in Regulations shoes affecting loud 12 Piano’s parties 88 “__ benamed an honor!”

159 Aptly 10 brand Deals of with coolers 11 27, Hintfor of mint 18 12 Beethoven’s Extract, as lye from ashes “Moonlight” 13 Bags The planets, 22 on a since Pluto’s diamond demotion 24 “This __ test” 18 President Sprint 25 before 23 Richard Dryer trap fuzz Leaning Tower 26 Nickname for city Hemingway 28 Finals, Exam proctor’s 27 say reminder 28 Annual Kentucky 30 race Copier function 31 Wool Intention 30 clippers Primaries,Jetson say 32 Youngest

Motion picture 33 Manhattan liquor Setrisk aside for later 35 At use carp 36 Pond “Of course!”

37 Slip up 38 “Metamorphoses” “The Son of 40 Man” painter poet Magritte 41 Bit of sunshine 40 Gas Noted tycoon 44 in fur signs 43 Layer “Lost” actor 47 Daniel __ gain Kim 49 Monetary 47 Parcel Perform in a 50 (out) choir 51 Accumulated, as 50 debts Take a breather

Taxiwith calculator 52 Act great 53 passion Float, as an aroma 53 Fall beverage Happily-after link 54 Map within a map Crooner Perry 55 British bishop’s 56 headdress Put in a folder Force folklore to be guy 57 “Pied” reckoned 58 Given to with 58 insolence Frosty coating 59 “Messenger” Mattel specialty 64 62 letters Tango need, so they say 65 Beats by __: audio 63 equipment Spare bone? brand

PUZZLE: ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Quality single family homes. Walk or bike to UF. www.ellieshouses.com 352-215-4991 or 352-215-4990 12-10-20-111-2

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Roommates

Your roommate hasn’t done the dishes in HOW long?! Find a better dishwasher in the Alligator Classifieds.

Female roommate needed for 2bdrm 2.5 bath townhouse near UF. Rent includes cable and internet. $50 application fee. First months rent and move-in fees paid. Utilities divided equally. Call 352-321-0554.

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Real Estate

NEW CONDOS-WALK TO UF For Info on ALL Condos for Sale, Visit www.UFCONDOS.COM or Matt Price, University Realty, 352-281-3551 12-7-20-16-5

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Furnishings

BEDS - Brand Name, Brand NEW Pillowtop Mattress & Box Set: Twins $89, Fulls $100, Queens $120, Kings $200. Can Deliver 352377-9846. Gainesville Discount Furniture.

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Wanted

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Release Release Date: Date: Monday, Tuesday,November November23, 17,2020 2020

Autos

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For Sale

●UF Surplus On-Line Auctions●

are underway…bikes, computers, furniture, vehicles & more. All individuals interested in bidding go to: SURPLUS.UFL.EDU 392-0370

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

The American Cancer Society Road to Recovery Volunteers Needed!

VOLUNTEER DRIVERS NEEDED to transport cancer patients to treatment.

Flexible schedule.

Training and liability insurance provided.

Please call 800-227-2345 if interested.

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Goats for Sale & Lease Horse Boarding - 7 miles to UF Charlie - 352-278-1925

By Joseph Craig Stowe By A. Gangi ©2020 Tribune Tribune Content Content Agency, ©2020 Agency, LLC LLC

11/17/20 11/23/20

12-7-16-10

14

Help Wanted

LifeSouth seeking Med Tech Students Get paid while training for career to become a Medical Technologist.

BS required.

Go to lifesouth.org/careers for more info 12-7-20-5-14 HIRING home/office/apartment cleaners(m-f and every other sat). Day and night shifts available. Must own a car. weekly pay $10.00/hr. if interested please call 352-214-0868.

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

Perfect for busy college students. www.expresstrainingservices.com/ww 12-7-20-16-15 Blake's Enterprise & Cleaning Service.

Commercial and Residential Cleaning, Strip and Refinish Floors. Licensed and Insured.

Call: 352-660-5912.

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ROUTE DELIVERY DRIVER IMMEDIATE NEED Delivery driver needed for early morning newspaper route in Gainesville.

Must be EXTREMELY dependable.

Long-term employment desired.

Must have VERY reliable vehicle capable of transporting minimal quantities of newspaper bundles.

Hours approximate: Between 3:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.

Remaining fall semester Mondays only thru 12/7 Spring semester (beginning in January) May increase two days per week - to be determined.

Email elight@alligator.org Please include references.

16 Health Services HIV ANTIBODY TESTING Alachua County Health Dept. Call

334-7960 for app’t (optional $20 fee)

Need CPR Training?

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14

Help Wanted

This newspaper assumes no responsibility for injury or loss arising from contacts made through advertising.

We suggest that any reader who responds to advertising use caution and investigate the sincerity of the advertiser before giving out personal information or arranging meetings or investing money.

HOGAN'S GREAT SANDWICHES - NOW HIRING bartenders and sandwich makers.

Day and night shifts available. Friendly and Fast Paced. Reliable transportation required.

Applications accepted at 2327 N W 13th Street.

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Alcoholics Anonymous 24-hour hotline #352-372-8091 www.aagainesville.org No dues or fees

Now you can easily submit your classified ad for print and/or web editions right through our website! just go to:

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10 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020

Entertainment

January 27, 2020

King Features Weekly Service

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

Sat & Sun 12-6-111-21

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www.WaldoFlea.com

by Fifi

Pets Because Cats Don't Understand Abstinence

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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.

1. MEASUREMENTS: How many Rodriguez inches are in a mile?

2. ASTRONOMY: What does the acronym SETI mean to the scientific community?

1. FOOD &3.DRINK: What isWhat another name LANGUAGE: does the Latin prefix “sub-” in English? for the vegetable knownmean in some parts of 4. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the the worldonly as apresident courgette?to serve two nonconsecutive terms?

2. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin phrase 5. LITERATURE: Which 20th-cen"Ars longa, brevis" mean? the autobiograturyvita movie star penned phy “Me: Stories of My Life”?

3. LITERATURE: Which 20th-century novel 6. HISTORY: What was the first National Monument in the begins with the line, "Whenproclaimed he was nearly States? thirteen, United my brother Jem got his arm badly 7. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the broken atisland the elbow"? of Luzon located?

8. MOVIES: Which sci-fi movie has 4. ANIMAL What isis aa pudu? theKINGDOM: tagline, “Reality thing of the past”?

5. MOVIES:9.Which 1983 movie featured the GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What characterwas of Tony Montana? the name of the United States’ first nuclear-powered submarine?

6. TELEVISION: What was thearename of the 10. GAMES: What the four railproperties in Monopoly? vacuum road cleaner on the children's series Answers "Teletubbies"?

1. 63,360 inches 7. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What color is 2. Search for extraterrestrial intellicarmine? gence 3. Below or insufficient 4. Grover Cleveland 8. SCIENCE: What was the first mammal to 5. Katharine from Hepburn be cloned successfully an adult cell?

6. Devils Tower, 1906 Thewas Philippines 9. FIRSTS:7.Who the first African Ameri8. “The Matrix” can man elected to theNautilus U.S. Senate?

9. The USS 10. Pennsylvania, Short Line, Read10. U.S. PRESIDENTS: ing and B&O What was the name

of President Bill© 2020 Clinton's family cat?

King Features Synd., Inc.

solution below

(c) 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

answers below

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by David L. Hoyt 1

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11-23-20

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ANSWERS: 1A-Signal 5A-Opera 6A-Tudor 7A-Cringe 1D-Spoken 2D-Greater 3D-Abandon 4D-Accrue B-Oregano

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alligator

2020 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

& Hoyt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Send comments to TCA - 160 N. Stetson, Chicago, Illinois 60601 or DLHoyt@HoytInteractiveMedia.com

: PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

www.alligator.org/classifieds | (352) 373-FIND | classified@alligator.org Mega Maze solution

Trivia Test answers

Sudoku solution

ScrabbleGrams solution

10. Socks

5. "Scarface," Al Pacino

9. Hiram Rhodes Revels, 1870

4. Small South American deer

8. Dolly the sheep

3. "To Kill a Mockingbird"

7. Dark red

2. Art is long, life is short

6. The Noo-noo

1. Zucchini

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 www.alligator.org/sports

FOOTBALL

What’s the deal with Emory Jones?

By Brendan Farrell Sports Writer

When Emory Jones signed with the Gators in Dan Mullen’s inaugural 2018 class, he was seen as the starter in the wings with Feleipe Franks under center.

Standing at 6-foot-2 with enticing passing abilities, Jones is a prototypical Dan Mullen quarterback.

Three years into the Mullen era, however, Jones still isn’t “the guy.” The Gators have instead turned Kyle Trask into a Heisman Trophy favorite.

For the last two years, Mullen has used Jones sparingly to spice up the offense and throw different looks at opposing defenses.

Jones had his moment on Saturday in the fourth quarter against Vanderbilt. On his fifth play of the game, Jones found tight end Kemore Gamble, who scampered to the end zone for a 30-yard score to seal a 38-17 win for Florida.

“It was pretty much the dagger,” Trask said. “He made the right read, and Kemore did the rest as far as execution goes.”

Does Jones make a difference with the offense?

Gators up 41-21.

“We wanted to make sure that we got him in and let him play,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said. “Obviously, the first play design didn’t go as we’d planned. But he did a nice job, it didn’t faze him, he didn’t freak out at all.”

Jones didn’t make another appearance in a competitive game until he had three snaps against Georgia and another three against Arkansas as well. Jones’ usage ramped up against Vanderbilt with eight plays, though three came when Florida was running down the clock on the game’s final drive up 21 points.

He has been featured on 10 drives through seven games.

Jones has had three one-and-done drives, but he’s performed better when given multiple plays. The first play of a Jones appearance has averaged 6.3 yards while later plays average 8.4.

How does Florida use Emory Jones?

It’s not a surprise, but Jones has been primarily used as a runner this season. Of his 22 snaps,

17 were running plays with Jones carrying the ball on 12 of them.

On those 12 plays, he has rushed for 64 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Seven carries were “successful”, giving him a success rate of 58.3%, well above the Gators’ 41% on the season. Jones has also handed the ball off five times for 19 yards.

Again, small sample size, but Jones is the Gators’ most efficient rusher out of any player with at least 12 carries. Looking at Expected Points Added (EPA), which values plays as points, Jones’ eight carries averaged an EPA of 0.50 per carry, which is by far the best on the Gators.

“I think one thing Emory does in coming up, like changing the running back, that he brings a little different perspective to the position,” Mullen said. “When he is in there, (the quarterback run) does draw up very, very nicely, and the personnel fits him nicely as well.”

The Gators are averaging 3.7 points per drive when Jones makes an appearance and 3.49 points when he does not.

The use of Jones as a rusher has had a positive effect on Flori-

da’s offense in some aspects, but there are still downsides.

Jones has been a mixed bag as a passer, but it’s hard to judge considering he’s only thrown five passes in competitive games.

He’s 3 for 5 through the air for 56 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

The interception against Ole Miss is still one of the worst plays of the season for Florida, carrying the sixth-worst EPA value of any play for the Gators’ offense (-3.73). The Gators’ EPA per play with Jones in the game is just 0.07, a stark contrast to UF’s usual 0.27.

For the most part, Florida has avoided using Jones in obvious passing situations, with one exception. On the five-play drive against Ole Miss, running back Nay’Quan Wright was dropped for a loss of a yard, then Jones ran for five yards to set up a 3rd and 6 deep in Ole Miss territory.

Mullen stuck with Jones, who threw an incompletion, forcing UF to settle for a field goal.

It was a weird decision considering that the Gators’ offense was rolling through Ole Miss’ defense like a hot knife through butter. It’s worth noting that Jones hasn’t appeared on third down since then.

What does all of this mean?

Florida’s run game could use the help that Jones provides. UF’s rushing performances have been mediocre at best this season.

It’s hard to fault Mullen for utilizing Jones as essentially another running back when the team is 47th in EPA per rush and 48th in rushing success rate. The Gators have only produced four running plays of at least 20 yards all season, and Jones has one of them.

Jones’ usage makes sense considering that it’s usually in favorable situations. When you have a quarterback that’s lighting the college football world on fire, it doesn’t make sense to keep Jones in for obvious passing downs.

“I think when you’re utilizing personnel in different ways, it certainly puts and adds pressure to the defense of how they’re going to match up against those different people,” Mullen said.

“Schematically, there’s things Emory can do better than Kyle, so all of a sudden those things come into play schematically they have to prepare for, because you’re putting somebody in a position where they can do well.” @Bfarrell727 bfarrell@alligator.org

Methodology

We’re specifically looking for when Jones entered a competitive game, not when he is playing in garbage time to relieve Trask.

Garbage time is defined as a lead more than: • 38 points in the second quarter • 28 points in the third quarter • 22 points in the fourth quarter After ruling out all of Jones’ garbage-time snaps, we’re left with 22 snaps, which is a ridiculously small sample size. Consider this a warning.

When does Florida use Emory Jones?

Jones had a season-high eight snaps in the Gators’ season opener against Ole Miss.

The redshirt sophomore entered the game on Florida’s second drive in Oxford and promptly threw an interception. Mullen kept him on the field for the first two plays of the next drive and put Trask back in after Jones picked up a first down on a seven-yard run. In the third quarter, Jones led a five-play drive that resulted in a field goal to put the Redshirt junior T’ara Ceasar netted a team-high 18 kills in Florida volleyball’s final game of the season against Georgia. Ceasar transferred from UGA and ended her first season as Gator with 109 overall kills.

Brendan Farrell // Alligator Staff

Florida bests Vanderbilt despite slow start

Sports writer Christian Ortega breaks down Florida’s slow start against the Vanderbilt Commodores in Saturday’s game. Scan the QR code with your phone to read the story, and more, at alligator.org.

Follow us for updates

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

12 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020

SWIMMING

Caeleb Dressel sets three more World Records in ISL Final

By Sara Kate Dyson Sports Writer

Courtesy to The Alligator

Former Gators swimmer Caeleb Dressel broke four World Records this month alone while representing the Cali Condors in the ISL.

Caeleb Dressel has broken four World Records and six American Records in the month of November.

Dressel broke one World Record and two American Records at the International Swimming League (ISL) semifinal meet on Nov. 16.

Less than one week later, on Nov. 21, Dressel broke two more World Records and an American Record in Day 1 of the ISL finals in Budapest, Hungary. The next day, Dressel broke another World Record and an American Record in Day 2 of the finals.

Dressel’s first World-Record performance came in his opening swim of the competition. He set up on the blocks in the 100-meter butterfly against both World Record holder Chad le Clos, and American Record holder Tom Shields. Those men didn’t hold their titles for much longer.

Dressel finished the 100-meter butterfly in 47.79, becoming the first man to swim the race in under 48 seconds, and shattered le Clos’ former record-holding time of 48.08.

The new record officially made Dressel the fastest 100 butterfly swimmer in shortcourse yards, short-course meters and

Student Discount on Wednesdays $15 Haircut with Student ID

long-course meters. He is the first man to accomplish this since Ian Crocker in 2007.

Dressel’s second swim of the day, the 50-meter freestyle, told a similar story. This time, though, he wasn’t racing against the current World Record holder; he was the current World Record holder.

Dressel finished the race in 2016, breaking his own record time by .08 seconds. He set both World Records in less than an hour.

Dressel didn’t slow down on Day 2 of the ISL finals.

It kicked off with the 100-meter freestyle. Dressel finished the event in 45.08, setting a new American Record.

Next came the 100-meter individual medley. In the semifinal meet last week, Dressel became the first man to finish the race in under 50 seconds. In the final, he destroyed his own record by .6 seconds, finishing the race in 49.28.

Dressel set four World Records in just one week.

The Gators alumnus, who still trains in Gainesville, led his team, the Cali Condors, to a finals victory to cap off the second ISL season. After his performance, Dressel unsurprisingly won MVP honors. @sarakatedyson skatedyson@alligator.org