December 7, 2020

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 15

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

Not officially associated with the University of Florida

What HyFlex learning will look like at in UF in the Spring PROFESSORS AND TECHNOLOGY PERSONNEL ARE HURRYING TO PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR A SPRING SEMESTER WITH MORE INPERSON CLASSES

By Rachel Slay Alligator Staff Writer

Shannon Ahern, Aubrey Bocalan & Emily Felts // Alligator Staff

UF braces for impact before students return to in-person classes in Spring 40% OF UNDERGRAD STUDENTS ARE ENROLLED IN FACE-TOFACE CLASSES

By Jack Prator Alligator Staff Writer

With Spring just over one month away, UF hammered out plans for a return to campus and face-to-face classes.

Not much will change.

Masks will be mandatory in UF public spaces, both in-

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT Batter up!

doors and out. Cleaning crews will scrub high-touch points in dorms, libraries and classrooms. Dorms will stay at limited capacity, though visiting restrictions will be loosened.

UF Health, Student Affairs and Housing directors appear confident in the ability to contain COVID-19 cases and are optimistic about vaccinations beginning in the Spring.

During Spring registration, 14,500 undergrad students enrolled in at least one faceto-face course – about 40% of

With description Story baseball right finisharound with comma, the corner, pg# writers Sara Kate Dyson and Ryan Haley evaluate the team and see how they stack up against last year’s 16-1 team, pg. 14

the 36,000 total undergrads.

There are 4,908 face-to-face undergrad class sections open for Spring. This is only slightly fewer than the 5,030 sections in Spring 2020.

With more students returning to campus and face-to-face classes, there will be new rules to remember as they grab a mask and head out the door.

Housing

On-campus living will in-

SEE CAMPUS, PAGE 5

Voices muffled by masks, microphones out of range, professors’ divided attention.

UF’s Spring semester will bring these challenges and more to its HyFlex classes.

Hybrid-Flexible classrooms, or HyFlex, will be used throughout UF in the Spring. Teachers will simultaneously address in-person students and the rest of their students remotely, via Zoom.

The switch will require professors to learn new technology, adjust course layouts and be flexible with their syllabi.

A small portion of the class will be in front of the professor, masked and socially distanced due to capacity limits for classrooms. The number of inperson seats varies based on the class and classroom size.

UF Information Technology is installing cameras, microphones and at least two monitors in every classroom in preparation for the Spring semester, wrote Mark McCallister, director of Academic Technology, in an email.

They will update existing microphones to increase range and clarity, he wrote.

McCallister couldn’t give an exact figure for how much UF is spending on this technology.

“Costs depends on a variety of factors, including existing cabling and technologies already in a particular classroom space,” McCallister wrote.

The monitors will allow the professors to simultaneously share their screen on Zoom and in person so students can watch the lecture in either format. The online class will also be displayed on a monitor so the instructor can interact with the remote students.

Professors will have to cater course content to the needs of both sets of students.

If more seats open up throughout the semester, students will be allowed to take the in-person section of the course, UF Provost Joseph Glover said

The case against the Spring semester

More than 200 professors signed a letter opposing UF’s HyFlex plan for the coming semester, pg. 10

UF doctors explain COVID-19 testing procedures

The university shifted from nasal swabs to saliva tests this semester and increased its testing capabilities, pg. 4

at a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.

Gillian Lord, UF professor and chair of the department of Spanish and Portuguese studies, has witnessed her two oldest daughters participate in HyFlex learning through Alachua County Public Schools. She said it doesn’t work.

She said teachers are either talking to the in-person students or talking to the online students and they rarely get the same treatment.

“I already kind of am aware of things to really watch out for, like not prioritizing one population over the other,” Lord said. “But I don’t know how you don’t do that.”

Communicating in a foreign language is hard enough, let alone through masks and from distanced desks, she said. Lord would prefer keeping foreign language classes 100% online.

Her department voiced these concerns to Glover on Oct. 13. Though their request was not granted, clear masks are the compromise.

Lord sighed as she talked about the added challenge of teaching students who are not in the same room.

“I don’t know how to get three people who are sitting 6 feet apart to have a conversation in a classroom without screaming,” Lord said.

Instructors will have to work twice as hard to make sure the classroom experience and assessment is fair for both sets of students, said Joseph Spillane, associate dean of UF’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Spillane, a UF history professor, is rethinking aspects of his course like class discussion and group work, he said. He is considering brief written responses to supplement in-class discussions every week, and group projects or assignments over traditional exams, he said.

“But I’m hopeful that the technology will be good enough, and that the training is good enough and the effort will be good enough so that students will find it to be a good learning experience,” Spillane said.

His department offered three sessions in which faculty members who are comfortable with the HyFlex technology helped colleagues who are nervous about it, he said.

To prepare for Hyflex learning, UF

SEE HYFLEX, PAGE 5

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2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

What mandatory COVID-19 testing Today’s Weather will look like for UF students

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 14

THE PLANS FOR MANDATORY COVID-19 TESTING WAS UNVEILED BY UF HEALTH’S DR. MICHAEL LAUZARDO

NEWSROOM:

By Corbin Bolies Alligator Staff Writer

UF students can add a negative COVID-19 test result to their supply lists in the Spring as UF moves to mandatory testing for those taking in-person classes.

UF will require COVID-19 testing for students taking in-person classes, living on campus, part of a Greek organization or a member of UF’s Reserve Officer Training Corps. It will begin the week before classes start and continue for at least the first six weeks of the semester or until the positivity rate drops below 3%.

It’s unclear whether all tests will be completed by the Jan. 11 start date or how long mandatory testing will ultimately last.

Dr. Michael Lauzardo, the head of UF Health’s Screen, Test and Protect program, said he expects to conduct up to 25,000 tests every two weeks.

When students arrive on campus, they will be asked to complete the COVID-19 screening questionnaire on One.UF, he said. Those who have symptoms will be tested first, followed by those who fall in the student groups that are required to be tested.

This initial round of mandatory tests will be completed by the end of the first week of classes, Lauzardo

Lauren Witte // Alligator Staff

Christopher Dawes, 20, a UF health science sophomore and Tri Gators member, leaves the Stephen C. O'Connell Center after getting tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020.

ISSN 0889-2423

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

said. Students are expected to attend the first week of classes even if they haven’t been tested, though he anticipates most students to have completed their tests by then.

After their first test, the two-week testing cycle will start, he said. Testing must be completed through UF Health, and students will have 48 hours to schedule their test once their two-week testing period ends.

Students taking only online classes will be exempt from mandatory testing, though they may still request a test, he said.

Students in the testing groups who have tested positive for COVID-19 within a 90-day period will also not have to test. Once that period expires, they will be reenrolled in mandatory testing through One.UF. Students’ results, which they will receive within 24 hours, will then be posted onto their One.UF account, Lauzardo said. They will be expected to show them to their professors, if asked.Faculty members will not be required to test in the Spring, he said.

As students go through routine testing, they won’t be expected to self-isolate unless they show symptoms or come into contact with someone who tested positive, Lauzardo said. If a student tests positive, they will quarantine and not be allowed on campus.

An in-person class won’t go online if a student tests positive, he said. Instead, UF will notify students in the class that someone tested positive and investigate where that student could have come into contact with someone with COVID-19.

Students who do not get tested or who come to class with a positive result will face consequences consistent with UF’s current behavioral expectations, Heather White, UF’s Dean of Students, wrote in an email.

If an outbreak emerges — where multiple students in an in-person class test positive — UF will reevaluate whether that class should move online, he said.

“We’re not doing a one-size-fits-all,” Lauzardo said. “We’re looking at each part individually just to do everything we can to see.” @CorbinBolies cbolies@alligator.org

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 ALLIGATOR 3

Congratulations to our Fall 2020 Gator Graduates!

Your hard work. Your dedication. Your vision. Your resilience.

You’re what makes the Gator Nation great.

Now you’ll join more than 400,000 Gators around the globe who are doing their part to solve the world’s toughest challenges.

As we celebrate how far you’ve come, we look forward to seeing how you will shape a greater tomorrow.

T O G E T H E R , U N S T O P PA B L E .

4 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

UF navigates COVID-19 test accuracy UF WILL CONTINUE PROVIDING THOUSANDS OF SALIVA TESTS IN THE SPRING AND SAYS ITS TESTS ARE THE BEST AVAILABLE

By Thomas Weber Alligator Staff Writer

UF’s COVID-19 testing capacity will be accelerated in the Spring as it becomes mandatory for thousands of students.

COVID-19 tests, which are varied in their techniques and levels of accuracy, have been scrutinized and fine-tuned since the beginning of the global pandemic. Now, the consensus is that non-rapid, molecular-based tests are the most accurate.

With any COVID-19 test, there is still a small margin for error that must be navigated, including potential for false negatives and positives.

UF uses PCR, or molecular-based saliva tests, which Dr. Cindy Prins, UF College of Public Health and Health Professions’ assistant dean for educational affairs, said are more reliable

than other types of COVID-19 tests.

“PCR tests are what we consider to be the gold standard for COVID-19 testing because they’re more accurate than rapid tests,” said Prins.

PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, is a process that amplifies small samples of genetic material. PCR tests are non-rapid because the samples have to be processed in labs. If there is viral material in the saliva or nasal sample, multiplying it through PCR helps doctors detect it.

Rapid tests, or antigen tests, are another option. The tests detect a protein on the virus’ surface, Prins said. While these tests produce results in minutes, they’re less sensitive, meaning the results are less accurate.

“It’s a trade-off between getting a faster result versus getting a more accurate result,” said Prins, who is also a UF associate professor of epidemiology.

UF does not currently have plans to provide rapid tests, wrote UF Health Shands spokesperson Ken Garcia in an email. Students can still expect to receive results within 48 hours next semester.

Samantha Harrison // Alligator Staff

Students are seen waiting in line to be tested at the COVID-19 testing site outside of Murphree Hall on Sept. 24, 2020. Students who wish to get tested are required to fill out an online screening questionnaire prior to making an appointment and are asked to bring their Gator 1 ID card.

The accuracy of nasal swab and saliva tests seems similar, but because there’s variation in how a nasal swab test is performed, saliva testing is a more consistent collection method, Prins said.

UF transitioned from nasal swabs to saliva tests in September, and lab processing capabilities have since grown from 1,000 tests a day to about 2,000 tests a day, Garcia wrote.

UF also streamlined access to testing through students’ One.UF portals. Chad Wishner, a 22-year-old UF computer science fifth-year, had difficulties scheduling a test at the beginning of the semester.

“They improved quite a bit on the testing process,” Wishner said.

He scheduled a saliva test in early November and said the process ran smoothly. He was happy UF made testing opportunities more widely accessible for students.

Though uncommon, some students have run into trouble with false positive or negative COVID-19 results.

“We run thousands of tests a week, and it is rare for false positives to occur due to a lab error,” wrote Sara Tanner, UF’s director of marketing and communications, in an email. “In the event they do, those tests are redone to ensure the accuracy of the results.”

Tanner wrote she did not have an estimation for the number of students who received false positive tests this Fall, but it’s rare.

Patrik Raguz, a 19-year-old UF computer science freshman, was informed he tested positive for COVID-19 in late September. He moved to Lakeside — the dorm for COVID-19 positive students — that evening.

After two days in Lakeside, Raguz received another email saying his test result was negative. Confused, he contacted university housing and was told his initial test was likely a false positive.

Inaccurate results are usually due to crosscontamination of samples in the lab or human or software error, like misreading or mixing up results, Dr. Cindy Prins said.

She said lab technicians run negative and positive controls through their systems to detect whether some of these issues are happening.

Raguz said he was exposed to at least two other COVID-positive people for about three days while in the quarantine dorm.

He said UF Housing encouraged him to get tested again but also cleared him to go back to his dorm, Simpson Hall, despite his exposure.

“When I came back, I knew that I should

quarantine myself because there’s an actual possibility I have it now,” he said.

Raguz and his Simpson Hall roommate wore masks and kept themselves distanced while he waited for the results of a new test, which ended up being negative.

Once students are notified of their test being a false positive, they are allowed to leave oncampus quarantine and return home, Tanner said. They’re encouraged to continue monitoring their symptoms.

Cecily Wood-Barron, an 18-year-old UF dance freshman, came in contact with a COVIDpositive person in early October. She quarantined in Riker Hall but soon developed symptoms, including a fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Her symptoms worsened, and two days later, UF Health Screen, Test and Protect decided to transfer her to Lakeside — she still hadn’t been tested, but she followed the university’s instructions. She was told her symptoms were too strong to be sent to Trusler Hall, the dorm for symptomatic contacts.

“I was exposed to COVID, I started developing symptoms; it just made sense,” she said.

“But it was not definitive.”

Wood-Barron received her first COVID-19 test after two days of living with a COVID-postive roommate in Lakeside. The next day, her result came back negative.

She said UF Health Screen, Test and Protect told her the test was probably a false negative.

She received a second test the day after another COVID-positive roommate moved in with her.

After another negative result, she asked UF Health Screen, Test and Protect whether she should get a flu test. She said she was told not to bother because it wasn’t flu season, and her fading symptoms would have made the test inconclusive.

It’s possible to have the flu and COVID-19 at the same time, according to the CDC. Some doctors say the two diseases combined can exacerbate each others’ effects.

Wood-Baroon moved home, where she tested negative for COVID-19 antibodies.

During phone calls with housing and UF Health Screen, Test and Protect, Wood-Barron questioned why she was put in COVID-positive housing without testing positive. She never received an explanation. @thomasjohnweber tweber@alligator.org

Public schools, nonprofits address digital divide in light of COVID-19 IN AN INCREASINGLY DIGITAL WORLD, SOME STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO NAVIGATE LEARNING WITHOUT LAPTOPS AND INTERNET SERVICE

By Sophie Feinberg Alligator Staff Writer

Eight months since Alachua County Public Schools went virtual due to COVID-19, students continue to struggle with the change.

With many students still not physically back in schools, education morphed to fit into an increasingly virtual world through digital or hybrid learning. Even in brickand-mortar classrooms, digital access is a necessity.

Nationally, about one quarter of all school-aged children are estimated to lack internet or devices, according to the National Education Association. More than 10% of households with a child in public schools within Alachua County don’t have broadband internet subscription, according to 201418 statistics from National Center for Education Statistics. On top of this, about 6% of those households lack a computer.

ACPS distributed about 7,000 laptops and iPads this school year to combat this technology gap, ACPS spokesperson Jackie John-

son wrote in an email. This is an increase from 2,300 computers in September. Computers are lent out free of charge to families.

Schools work with parents who need help, she wrote. After schools closed in the spring, ACPS used parked school buses with hotspots to provide internet access in highneeds areas with students living in poverty. Buses visited places such as Porters Community Center and Faith Baptist Church. With schools back in session, there aren’t enough buses to park to provide hotspot access, she said.

To further bridge the gap, the Education Foundation of Alachua County and the Community Foundation of North Central Florida teamed up to create a Community Connectivity Fund, which will go to students and schools to address the technology gap.

The fund launched Oct. 27 and helps with access to digital devices and internet connectivity by providing funding to purchase technology like laptops and hotspots.

COVID-19 exacerbated access challenges, said Rachel Debigare, executive director of the Education Foundation of Alachua County, a Gainesville nonprofit that serves ACPS students.

Staff works with public school students and the district, she said.

One element of the nonprofit is mentorship from professionals.

When mentorships went digital, it was clear that not everyone has

equal access to the internet and technology, she said.

With schools, libraries and other public places with free WiFi closed, it was hard to get in touch with some students, she said.

“Are they able to connect with their teachers?” Debigare asked.

“Are they able to download the content? Are they able to perform their homework? Which obviously in turn, it affects their achievement and their grades and their progress, and so it just definitely became something that we really started to tune into more.”

Now, Debigare said, the program is working to solve immediate problems and broaden the reach of whom it can help.

The ultimate goal is to provide technology on a 1:1 ratio, Debigare said. The purchases would likely be done through the school district, so they can be checked out, and families could continue to access technology support through schools.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the lack of access to online resources critical for a large portion of the community population, said Barzella Papa, president and CEO of Community Foundation of North Central Florida.

“The goal is to just make sure those who are underserved have the capacity to stay connected,” Papa said.

Even before COVID-19, many teachers in schools expected stu-

dents to work on a laptop while in the classroom, said Tedreyonce’ Moore, a 17-year-old senior at Eastside High School and dual enrollment student at Santa Fe College doing hybrid classes.

“I wasn’t really able to fulfill the things I had to do in class,” Moore said.

Before receiving a laptop in Fall 2019 through Take Stock in Children, a mentorship program of the education foundation, Moore would have to wait until she got home to do her assignments on her family’s desktop computer.

Now, Moore can join her peers doing work in class. She said she is able to complete assignments on time. On days when her brother had after-school basketball practice, she could bring her work with her.

Technology is essential, Moore said. Without it at home, students are limited, she added.

While she said she doesn’t enjoy online classes, she said she felt more equipped during the transition to online learning with COVID-19. Her brother uses the family computer and she uses her laptop.

Gainesville High School senior and Santa Fe College dual enrollment student Breonshea SpeedJackson, 17, had a family computer, but it was slow and worn down.

Before getting a laptop, SpeedJackson would arrive at school early to do work in the computer

lab and stay late to work in the library. Now that she received a laptop through the Education Foundation of Alachua County, she said she has more time.

She said she remembers the day she received the computer: Oct. 28, 2019. Speed-Jackson was called down to the office and remembers wondering if she was in trouble. Her parents were there, and she received her own laptop.

“That was really cool,” she said. “I was shocked. I was like, ‘Wait a minute, really?’”

With the independence of a laptop that goes wherever she goes, she said she can spend more time doing work from home.

“Internet access is very important,” she said. “If we don’t have internet, we can’t complete our work.”

With COVID-19 pushing classrooms online, Speed-Jackson said it was a struggle at first to adjust to Google Classroom, six teachers and different assignments. However, she said it is more orderly now that students and teachers have caught on to the technology.

Today, she said, life is good, and she’s looking forward to the next chapter: Going to college to study elementary education.

@feinberg_sophie sfeinberg@alligator.org

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 ALLIGATOR 5

What happened in UF Student Government this Fall?

SOCIALLY-DISTANCED SG ELECTIONS, VIRTUAL ACCENT EVENTS, NEW SENATE RULES IN FALL

By Lianna Hubbard Alligator Staff Writer

UF Student Government had virtual events, in-person elections and sweeping UF Senate rule changes throughout the Fall.

SG passed rule changes that limited virtual meetings and legislation authoring under a Gator Party supermajority. Gator Party authored and passed the legislation with a supermajority of Senate seats.

SG also held Senate elections in person with new precautions and safety measures and spent nearly a quarter-million dollars virtually hosting famous guests for the digitally remote Accent Speakers Bureau.

These are the elections and events SG held over Fall:

used more than usual in Fall, though some students never received theirs.

Gator Party dominated the elections, gaining a supermajority of 75 out of 100 Senate seats. The majority party won out against three new parties that were created during the Fall election cycle. All three losing parties, Progressive Party, Change Party and Union Party, said they would continue fighting for seats in Spring.

The Supervisor of Elections did not respond to questions about if early voting, voting accommodations or online options for candidates would be available in Spring.

Online voting was a contested issue this election. It has been illegal in SG since 2006, when the UF Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Candidates petitioned UFSC and UF Provost Joseph Glover to implement online voting this Fall.

The attempts failed, but failed candidates and Inspire Sen. Zachery Utt said they would continue to fight for online voting.

In Spring, SG will vote for a new executive cabinet, the president, vice president and treasurer and 50 new senators.

SG polls during a pandemic

About 6,100 students voted for 50 UF Senate seats in the Fall elections Oct. 6 and 7, about 3,000 less than Fall 2019 SG elections.

UF Supervisor of Elections Hayley Price created a new early voting option and voting accommodations for students who couldn’t go to the polls in person. Absentee ballots were also

Senate rules got a makeover

Before closing out the Fall semester, the Senate renovated its rules and procedures.

The new rules banned non-SG students from writing or sponsoring SG legislation and required students to register for public comment 19 hours before the Senate begins. They also

In-person seats will vary HYFLEX, from pg. 1 faculty can schedule consultations with UFIT personnel, go to open classrooms for self-guided practice or attend weekly workshops until Dec. 23, according to UF’s Preparing for Spring website. The website includes a “Pedagogy and Activities” page outlining best practices for

teaching and student engagement.

No training is mandatory because there are a variety of comfort levels with the technology, McCallister wrote.

The switch to HyFlex classes comes after UF announced it would offer more in-person classes on Oct. 6. Fuchs explained in a public address video

Libraries at 25% CAMPUS, from pg. 1 crease this Spring with 432 new dorm contracts signed – an increase of 7% from UF’s Fall residents, UF Housing communications director Sara Tanner said.

Tanner said she does not expect any challenges in the Spring.

“We’re really optimistic,” Tanner said. “We want students to have a good experience in and out of COVID.” Riker Hall, Trusler Hall and Lakeside building 2 were reserved as quarantine dorms this Fall. With more students returning in Spring, East Hall will be closed to provide more quarantine beds.

After UF failed to secure quarantine transportation for students in the Fall, the university made efforts to drive students who were not cleared for campus. Quarantine transportation will continue to be available this Spring.

Students involved in Greek life and in oncampus housing will receive mandatory COVID-19 testing, which will occur every two weeks for the first six weeks of the Spring semester.

Resident Assistants in dorms will be allowed to host both socially-distanced and masked in-person events in addition to virtual ones in the Spring. In-person RA events were prohibited this Fall.

In Spring, on-campus students will be able to visit residents who live in other on-campus residence halls. During Fall, only students on the same floor were considered guests and allowed to visit other dorm rooms. A rule made in the Fall mandating that guests cannot stay

on Oct. 9 that the expansion of in-person learning is necessary to “retain full funding for our university, and thereby protect the jobs of our employees.”

Flexible scheduling and guest speakers are factors of distance learning worth keeping, said Scott Sager, education coordinator and professor in UF’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation.

Sager teaches courses that require field experience – experience that was limited during the mostly online Fall semes-

overnight will stay in effect.

Off-campus guests will still not be allowed in dorms, apart from the two guests helping a student move in, Tanner said. In the Fall, move-in was extended from four to 12 days to allow for distancing.

Tanner assured the increased cleaning protocols introduced in the Fall will continue.

Shared bathrooms in dorm buildings will be cleaned weekly by housing staff and high touch points, like door handles and elevator buttons, will be disinfected regularly.

Libraries

The nine libraries across campus will remain at 25% capacity unless the university releases new recommendations, UF Libraries communications director Barbara Hood said.

Capacity counters will stay in place in the Spring and high-touch areas like door handles will be frequently sanitized. Gator 1 IDs will still be required to access the libraries.

Group study rooms will stay closed.

Libraries have not struggled with capacity limits this semester, and there have been no lines, she said.

If students ask for longer hours on weekends the UF Libraries are able to make that happen, Hood said.

“We won’t be open 24/7 anymore – for a while,” Hood said.

give the Senate president more power over ending debate and controlling Senate meetings.

The rules also require the Senate to meet virtually only in the case of a national, state or local state of emergency. Florida’s state of emergency ends Jan. 2.

These changes faced heavy opposition from the minority party, Inspire Party, but ended up passing with 52-13 votes.

Inspire plans to continue its opposition of the changes by challenging the virtual Senate rule in the Supreme Court, Minority Leader Brianne Seaberg wrote in a text message.

Accent hosted big names on small screens

Over Fall, Accent Speakers Bureau hosted five virtual events over Zoom, including Anita Hill, Malala Yousafzai and Rob Riggle, and paid speakers a total of $230,000 in student fees for about five hours of screen time.

Accent hopes to move some events in person again and bring the speakers to campus in Spring, chair Steven Wolf announced during UF Senate Dec. 1.

Wolf did not answer questions about how these plans are being developed.

“We will not go forward with any of those plans without coordinating with the university and getting approval from health officials,” he said. @HubbardLianna lhubbard@alligator.org

ter. He’s teaching an Integrated Natural Resource Management course in the Spring. He is using camera crews and recording studios to better facilitate the inperson experiences of class, he said.

UF has not provided faculty with a formal directive regarding in-person students having to quarantine if exposed to COVID-19, Sager said. He believes that is the best possible approach to the situation because of how diverse the university is.

“I want them to give the in-

dining halls were open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Masks & Classes

UF facility services stocked every classroom with disinfectant wipes dispensers and hand sanitizer.

This will allow students and faculty to sanitize their surfaces – desks and chairs – between classes, Fernandez wrote.

Clear plastic protective barriers were installed at help desks and welcome areas in the Fall. However, there are no planned installments of additional protective barriers at this time, Fernandez wrote in an email.

UF facilities services worked with individual colleges to set up additional spaces for faceto-face instruction.

Extra masks for students will be stored in the 350 classrooms available for classes.

structors the flexibility to figure out ‘What is the way that this makes sense given what I’m trying to accomplish in the course,’” Sager said.

At a Faculty Senate town hall in October, Glover, UF’s provost, said faculty members who test positive for COVID-19 would be no different than being sick from the flu.

@racheljslay rslay@alligator.org

This Fall, 14,000 Gator Care kits, packages containing masks and hand sanitizer were distributed, Student Affairs Vice President D’Andra Mull said. In the Spring, more care packages will be available first to those that did not receive one this semester, then all students.

UF Provost Joseph Glover said the maximum capacity in classrooms could increase if UF Health approves a change in social distancing guidelines.

“With the advent of vaccines, we expect that this coming fall, there will be no physical distancing requirements, and all classrooms will return to full capacity,” Glover said.

@jack_prator jprator@alligator.org

Dining

UF dining halls will function the same as the Fall. Pre-packaged meals will be available for take-out or students dining in. Seating at tables will be separated by 6 feet and masks must be worn when not eating.

Hours of operation reflect demand in the Spring based on foot traffic, UF Issues, Management and Crisis Communications director Hessy Fernandez wrote in an email. In the Fall,

Lauren Witte // Alligator Staff

A mask is seen on the “Focused Attention” gator statue in Library West on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020.

6 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

With more in-person classes inbound, students decide where to live SOME STUDENTS CHOOSE TO HEAD HOME WHILE OTHERS ARE MOVING TO GAINESVILLE

By Nora O’Neill Alligator Staff Writer

In a continuously unpredictable environment, UF students remain conflicted as they determine where to live during the Spring.

COVID-19-related apartment vacancies, as well as excitement and uncertainty surrounding the increase of in-person classes this Spring, are forcing UF students and Gainesville apartments alike to continue adjusting to housing

needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring-only leases opened for on-campus housing for students planning on returning to Gainesville next semester. As of Sunday, there have been 432 new agreements, Sara Tanner, director of marketing and strategic communications for UF’s Division of Student Affairs, wrote in an email.

In a typical year, about 8,000 students live in residence halls, Tanner wrote. For the Fall, there were only 5,609 residence hall agreements.

“We expect to return to normal occupancy in Fall 2021,” she wrote.

Sam Dillon, a 25-year-old UF physics and mathematics senior, said he stayed home in Destin, a city about halfway between Pensac-

Aubrey Bocalan // Alligator Staff

ola and Panama City, for Fall. All his classes were online, and he didn’t want to pay rent in Gainesville, he said.

“The search for housing has been very easy,” Dillon said. “Many people are trying to sublease their apartments, and landlords seem desperate to fill their units as well.”

Now that some of his classes are in person, Dillon said he is eager to return. He posted on a subleasing page that he needs a room and has received interest from other UF students.

The UF subleasing Facebook group currently has about 19,600 members as of Sunday and shows new posts hourly from students searching for people to fill their rooms.

One such student is Makenna Boose, a 19-year-old UF applied physiology and kinesiology sophomore. Boose is trying to move home to Miramar, a city in southern Broward County, for the Spring. She is trying to sublease her room for $845 in a two-bedroom and twobathroom unit at Campus Circle, 1742 SW 38th Terrace.

She had just one class on campus in Fall, and she is trying to avoid taking one in Spring.

“I just feel more comfortable at home,” Boose said.

She also worries about becoming infected with COVID-19 through classes, she said.

Boose has been trying to find someone to sublease her room for about a month and a half by posting in Facebook groups. She said she has accrued no legitimate interest.

Despite the dozens of apartments already located near UF, at least six new luxury apartments were built near campus this year.

Since 2013, 4,695 apartments totaling 11,945 bedrooms have been built or approved in Gainesville, according to the Gainesville Sun. But many apartments aren’t full. According to their websites, new complexes Hub Third Ave., Hub University, Aero on 24th, Campus Circle and Midtown Apartments are still accepting applications for this school year, some offering incentives to sign such as a month of free rent or a waived signing fee.

It’s hard to judge whether the money made from expensive rent is enough to outweigh the negative effects of this year’s low occupancy

rates, Wayne R. Archer, executive director of UF’s Kelley A. Bergstrom Real Estate Center, said.

“They’re way higher than I expected,” Archer said of the vacancy rates.

But as COVID-19 cases rise, there is still uncertainty among students about whether classes will remain in-person next academic year. Meanwhile, students are urged to re-sign year-long leases by their apartment complexes.

Ursula Duran, a 19-year-old UF accounting sophomore, has lived at Hub Third Ave. since it opened this Fall.

Duran said she’s received emails saying if she didn’t renew her lease in October, she could be moved into a different unit or have her rent increased.

“I don’t think it’s fair for apartments to apply pressure to re-sign early in unsure times,” Duran said. “For some people it would be a waste to live in Gainesville and not be going to classes.”

Richard Schackow is the landlord of an apartment complex off of Southwest 13th Street containing four separate three-bedroom and one-bathroom units. His building is in the process of being sold, so he said he hasn’t been renting out his units during the pandemic.

Schackow, who has been a landlord for over 40 years, said it’s important to him to communicate with tenants. He said he has worked with tenants to sublease their space or let them end their leases early in situations like graduating early or moving for work.

Tenants and landlords must work together regarding the future, he said. This could include adding the option for residents to sublease their space in the event they need to move out of Gainesville.

He also stresses the importance of renters looking into leasing agreements of multiple properties to understand the commitment they’re making.

“It needs to work both ways,” Schackow said. “I like to treat tenants fair so they respect my property and I respect their interests.” @noroneill noneill@alligator.org

UF students leave stressful home situations and look positively to the Spring STUDENTS HOPE TO TAKE IN-PERSON SPRING COURSES TO ESCAPE UNSAFE AND DESTRUCTIVE HOME SITUATIONS

By Kalia Richardson krichardson@alligator.org

Editor’s note: This article contains references to abuse.

Shrieks of “Ow” and “She hit me” echoed through the halls and into UF biology sophomore Mya Dyson’s childhood bedroom as she tried to focus on her virtual classes.

Since moving home to Stafford, Virginia, for the Fall, the sounds of Dyson’s five younger cousins whining, crying and screaming have broken the 19-year-old’s concentration and put her in a state of panic.

Some students Zoomed from their home bedrooms to save on rent and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

As family responsibilities collide with school obligations, some experienced plummeting grades and a decline in their mental health.

More than 14,500 UF students have registered for at least one inperson class this Spring. Some students are staying in Gainesville to revive the interactive experience

they’ve missed. Others have used the increased in-person courses as an opportunity to escape unsafe and destructive home situations.

Dyson stayed in her hometown to save money. She didn’t anticipate taking care of smaller children, who arrived after a family emergency.

Dyson spends her days babysitting her cousins, ages 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12, who moved in weeks earlier.

To complete her Zoom classes, she seals herself in her room as muffled screams, cries and laughter pound at her door. Dyson’s mom regularly walks into her room during exams and Zoom calls for help with chores.

“My privacy is gone,” Dyson said.

After her Zoom classes, she helps her older cousins solve fractions and decimals and helps the younger cousins learn to read and write until dinner at 5 p.m. It’s not until 9 p.m. that she has time to finish her homework.

Dyson said her Fall grades have suffered because of the distractions and has felt increasingly lazy and unmotivated. She registered for two in-person labs and one in-person class this Spring. The remainder of her classes are online.

When Dyson told her mother she was going to live in Murphree Hall, her mother cried. She said she’s not

sure how her mother is going to handle taking care of the kids but made this decision for her mental and academic health.

“There is a line between wanting to live my own life but feeling bad for leaving the other side of me behind,” she said.

Maria De Andraca, a 20-year-old UF economics and sustainability senior, decided to stay in Gainesville this Fall to eliminate similar interruptions from her 13- and 18-yearold sisters.

De Andraca said she doesn’t have a private space to study and feels disoriented in her Miami home. She prefers to study at coffee shops and libraries in Gainesville.

“When I’m back home I’m all over the place,” she said.

De Andraca registered for a mix of in-person, HyFlex and online courses for the Spring and is hoping next semester feels more normal, like previous semesters.

“The whole pandemic has made me really unsure about everything,” De Andraca said.

De Andraca graduates in the Spring and hopes to live the full experience – or as much as COVID-19 restrictions will allow.

Vanessa Diaz, a 20-year-old UF psychology junior, stayed in an offcampus apartment in Gainesville

during the Fall and plans to stay during the Spring.

Diaz’s parents are divorced, and she still moves from house to house every week when she’s home. With her older brother, father and step mother homebound, she feels a lack of privacy and said it’s more convenient to stay in Gainesville.

“When you’re with your roommates or with other students, everybody’s on the same routine,” Diaz said. “Everybody’s generally pretty quiet and everyone’s respectful of that, versus at home it’s more chaotic.”

She has registered for all in-person courses for Spring.

More than 8,000 in-person classes will be offered this Spring, which is twice the number of courses offered this Fall.

Faith Buckley, an 18-year-old UF journalism freshman, has no other choice but to stay in Gainesville this Spring.

Buckley had a verbal fight with her parents that turned physical in late July. What began as an argument on the Black Lives Matter movement and face masks led to physical abuse from her father. She was kicked out of her home in Tampa the same day.

“I didn’t really process it in the moment,” Buckley said. “But it spiraled as time went on into depressive

symptoms.”

She went to live with her sister, Hope, 22, in her townhouse in Tampa where she slept on the couch for a month until moving to Gainesville in late August.

Her parents stopped supporting her financially, and she had to file as a runaway on her FAFSA. Her 16-year-old brother also moved out of her parent’s home after the fight, and their sister is working to gain legal custody of him.

Everything she owns, from yearbooks to old T-shirts, is jammed in the backseat of her car and in the drawers of her dorm.

Buckley said classes were on the backburner during the Fall, but she’s beginning to pick up the fallen pieces and improve her financial and mental health. Her good and bad moments fluctuate, but she’s planning to take it day by day, hour by hour, she said.

She has two in-person classes and hopes to join more clubs in the Spring. She said the in-person interaction will serve as a distraction.

“I’m starting to see the possibility of a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. @kaliarichardson krichardson@alligator.org

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 ALLIGATOR 7

Kyle’s Files

That’s all, folks

I

promise I don’t believe everything happens for a reason.

Nearly three years ago, Ethan Bauer, a friend and former Alligator sports editor, picked me up from UF’s campus and drove me to The Alligator office.

I was a freshman at FSU at the time, and I was in Gainesville to visit some friends, consult an adviser in the journalism school that I was in the process of transferring to and, that afternoon, check out the newsroom I hoped to join.

What I saw in that empty, poorly lit room amazed me. The old papers, the quote bag, the memorabilia and hate mail and random items. This was it. Ethan opened the door for me — literally and figuratively — that day, but he wasn’t the first or the last person to do so.

After that, I transferred to UF and began my Alligator career and, well, here I am.

For years I’ve told people that I transferred for the stellar journalism program and that’s not entirely true. It’s time to come clean – I transferred to UF for the opportunity to work at The Independent Florida Alligator.

Five semesters later, I can say I did just that. But I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to cover the tennis team during my first semester on staff, be the editor-in-chief of one of the largest student-run newsrooms in the country or anything in between if it weren’t for the kindness, grace and support of dozens and dozens of people.

Reflecting on years of writing, editing and pulling my hair out, you would think it would be the stories that jumped out at me. The end product of the blood, sweat and tears and a bunch of other fitting cliches. But the people and experiences come to mind.

It’s Ethan giving me his blessing to join the staff

Column and Morgan McMullen, my first editor, taking his word and bringing me on to his staff. I think of the utter disdain in Meryl Kornfield’s face when I, a sports writer, contributed a story to news and dubbed myself a hyKyle Wood brid reporter. (I’m happy @kkylewood to say that the term stuck and spread throughout the sports section.) I recall talking with Bailey LeFever about how one day, if it were somehow possible, I wanted to be editor of The Alligator.

I think about a crazy college football season in 2019, driving around the SEC with Tyler Nettuno, Sam Campisano and Dylan Rudolph. I remember Tyler and Mari Faiello trusting me to edit the sports section and after a pandemic-stricken semester, Christina Morales nudging me to take her place as editor-in-chief in the Fall.

I’ve met and grown close to some truly incredible people in my time here. They’re what make The Alligator, and I’m beyond grateful for all of them. Food runs on print nights, trips around the SEC to Gators road games and Wednesday nights at The Social were just as much a part of my Alligator experience as editing flats and getting a call from the copy desk.

Nothing about this was easy. The past 15 weeks have been the hardest of my life. But I can say, confidently, I did what I set out to do and that was give The Alligator, its readers and my staff my all.

A lot of good, bad and otherwise has happened since I began chasing journalism five years ago. I’m not convinced that it all happened for a reason – I personally hate that trope. But with the people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had, it’s hard to believe none of this happened for a reason.

Kyle Wood was the editor-in-chief of The Alligator.

Column

This one is for my team

M

y first time as a reporter for The Alligator in Summer 2019, I was convinced it was a solo job. I went into the office to finalize my story, answer my editors’ questions, copy edit and I was on my way when they gave me the green light to

go home.

The next year I had other commitments, trying my best to play catch up after switching majors at the end of Rosmery my sophomore year, so I didn’t return to the newsroom.

Izaguirre @rgizaguirre I really thought that would be the extent of my run at The Alligator.

I’m glad I was wrong.

I found myself back on staff a year later as a coder and data visualization specialist and moved on to digital managing editor the next semester — both roles done from behind a screen as we navigated remotely due to COVID-19.

Maybe it was the pandemic, maybe it was the people, but even though we were farther away from each other, we were more connected. I looked forward to logging into my meetings with editors, writers, photographers and designers.

We’d start by bouncing ideas from Zoom screen to Zoom screen as we talked about projects and goals, getting sidetracked along the way by someone’s wall art, a sibling walking in or, my personal favorite, a cat seeking attention.

We’d talk about ourselves and ask about one another, getting to know the staff members we worked with every day to print a paper that week.

My managing team inspired me, taught me and gave me confidence in myself as a journalist. I’m grateful to have been part of a team that cared about elevating staff members, encouraging them to do their best work and understanding their circumstances when it inevitably got difficult.

Journalism isn’t a competition, it’s a collaboration.

A collaboration of skills, strengths and people. I’ve seen the amazing things that come out of The Alligator when it comes from a team that communicates and works together. And I hope it continues beyond my time here.

Rosmery was the digital managing editor of The Alligator.

Don’t let imposter syndrome stop you

A

fter a long battle with imposter syndrome, I finally mustered the courage to apply to The Alligator inside a hotel bathroom two hours before applications were due. Inside my head, I figured I was not nearly as qualified for the position, as I only had published three articles the semester before and never had stepped into a newspaper company before.

But two weeks later, I got a call that officially started my role as a student journalist.

As a general assignment reporter my spring semester of junior year, I often felt like I was running behind the Valentina rest of my co-workers trying to be half as good as them.

Botero Most nights I would get the dreadful text from my editor @lvbotero_ telling me to do better and, as the dramatic Cancer that I am, I would cry on my kitchen floor while eating some vegan Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. And I would be lying if I didn’t think about quitting every day. But as dramatic as I am, I’m equally as stubborn. Not only did I want to prove to my editor that I would be a better writer, I also had to prove it to myself because, at the end of the day, that’s why I applied to the position.

The following summer semester I began writing for The Avenue – the best section, in my (completely biased) opinion. I instantly fell in love with the stories I had the chance to produce, and I got the opportunity to write my first feature story for the Pride special edition. My editors at the time, Nora O’Neill and Chloe Greenberg, helped me grow as a writer, and for that, I am so grateful.

Fast forward to my final semester of senior year, I became digital editor for The Avenue, and I was able to catch a glimpse of the other side of the coin.

As my knowledge grew, my feelings of imposter syndrome slowly diminished.

Now, after nearly a year of being at The Alligator, all the hiccups and memories were 100% worth it. So whether you’re a freshman or senior applying to be a part of a team of staff writers, don’t let those thoughts saying “you’re not good enough” get in the way. Apply anyway because “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” - Wayne Gretzky - Michael Scott - Valentina Botero.

Valentina Botero was the digital Avenue editor of The Alligator.

Column

I didn’t know I was sentimental until I had to say goodbye

I

changed my major to journalism tors. We’ve had a crazy ride together.

And my multimedia team... I’m so and transferred to UF my junior happy I had the privilege to work with year and was terrified. such talented artists. My podcaster, I didn’t know anyone at UF, and Thomas3, did a phenomenal job, and I barely knew about journalism. But I learned a lot about editing audio. My I did know that I needed to work at The photographers are amazing, and I can’t Independent Florida Alligator. I applied wait to see the wonderful things that for Spring 2019 as a staff photographer Emily Felts will come from Sammy and Lauren. My and was a “finalist” but didn’t get the @EmilyFelts4 graphic designers, Aubrey and Shannon, position. went above and beyond my expectations When my application for Summer and expanded the way I perceived mul2019 was turned down, I asked the current photo editor how I could improve. The per- timedia journalism.

My wish came true. The experiences I gained this son told me I needed more experience and that the word “photojournalism” in my portfolio was spelled semester make me feel more confident about my future career. Plus, my organizational skills are finally wrong. I forgot the “u.”

I was upset because how do you get experience on point which needed to happen.

With all of that being said, the multimedia editor when no one will take a chance on you? And how in the world did I not realize I was missing the “u” in position is something I did not apply for. I thought I didn’t have what it takes and that I’d be shut down. photojournalism?

I didn’t apply for Fall 2019, because I thought I I was afraid I wouldn’t even get the photographer position. wouldn’t get the position.

I know there are many photographers here at UF During that Fall, I had my first photo published by the Alligator. It was a photo I took at the Trump who think they are not good enough, so they might Jr. protest at UF of a woman in a blue “Nasty Wom- not apply. A word of advice I want to give and also en” shirt, holding up a “Drain the Swamp of white need to take myself is to stop selling yourself short.

I am my own worst critic. Even after getting this supremacy. Go back to Russia” sign.

When I saw that photo on the front page of the position, I was scared I wouldn’t do a good job. Inpaper, I grabbed about four copies to give to my stead, this has been one of the best experiences I’ve loved ones. The feeling of seeing my published photo had. Apply to everything you want and if you don’t get it the first time, that’s OK. Don’t let it cast doubt was so rewarding to me. I finally made it.

I was the sports photographer for Spring 2020, on how great you are. Instead, use it as motivation to which was my first real experience with The Alliga- better yourself and your work.

It won’t always be easy, but I can guarantee it will tor. I barely had any sports experience, but I enjoyed always be worth it. the challenge.

Thank you, Kyle, April, Rosmery and Dana for Sadly, my time was cut short because of COVID-19, but I applied again to be a staff photographer seeing my potential when I didn’t see it myself. I’m this Fall to gain more experience during my last se- sad my time with The Alligator was short, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. mester here at UF. During my interview, I was asked to be the mulEmily Felts was the multimedia editor of The timedia editor, a role I absolutely love. Even though everything was held virtually, I’ve become so close Alligator. to some of the reporters and especially the other edi-

8 ALLIGATOR  MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

Campus Life

Emily Felts // Alligator Staff

Vivian Powell (left), 19, a UF environmental engineering freshman and Nick Cocoves, 19, a UF aerospace engineering sophomore, study at the Plaza of Americas on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.

Emily Felts // Alligator Staff

A biker rides past the Hub Food Court and towards Turlington on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.

Emily Felts // Alligator Staff

UF students enjoy the cooler weather while studying for finals at the Plaza of Americas on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020.

Emily Felts // Alligator Staff

Chace Sibley (left), 21, a UF criminology and anthropology senior and Stamatina Copulos, 21, a UF telecommunication senior, study for finals at the Plaza of Americas on Dec. 2, 2020.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue

FOOD & DRINK

Bidding farewell to Gainesville restaurants lost this year THE SWAMP, FELIPE’S TAQUERIA AND MORE ICONIC EATERIES CLOSED THEIR DOORS IN 2020

By Michelle Holder Avenue Staff Writer

While Gainesville may be a city landlocked in the middle of Florida, its lively food scene still manages to foster a cult following and rivals its culinary competition around the state.

Some restaurants may have shut their doors for good, such as Emiliano’s Cafe in 2019 and a slew of fan favorites this year, due to hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and other reasons. But Gainesville’s entrepreneurial environment has allowed the birth of many establishments, including Satch Squared at the 4th Avenue Food Park and a new food trailer for Halo Potato Donuts.

As the year now approaches its end, Gainesville remembers the following restaurants it bid farewell to this year.

The Swamp

Not

to

be

confused

with

its namesake, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the historic Gainesville restaurant known as The Swamp closed its doors June 30 and was torn down in July. What many agreed was a heart wrenching video of the building being demolished circulated on Twitter, gaining responses from the Gainesville community and UF alumni.

After failed negotiations with the property’s landlord, the property, located at 1642 W. University Ave., was sold to a development company planning to build an apartment complex on the property.

With Gator fan memorabilia garnishing the entire building, The Swamp was truly a UF staple.

Originally constructed in 1914 as a professor’s house, The Swamp opened for business in December 1994 and has since offered a central spot for Gator game viewing and socializing.

Rocco Abiusi, a UF 19-yearold mechanical engineering sophomore, said he was normally at The Swamp two to three times a week. When he heard it was closing, he was upset and reflected on his most memorable experience at The Swamp, watching the Conor

McGregor fight against Donald Cerrone on Jan. 18.

Not unlike the atmosphere the restaurant harbored during UF and other game days for years, he said it was “very loud.”

To Abiusi, The Swamp was a place to relax after stressful classes and enjoy food and drinks with his friends while watching the games.

“I’ve personally never found another restaurant that’s got the same kind of feeling,” Abiusi said.

While the traditional restaurant may be no more, The Swamp plans to reopen in the bottom of the planned apartment complex.

Daybreak Pleasant Street

The quaint breakfast spot Daybreak Pleasant Street announced its indefinite closure in a Facebook post Sept. 18. The restaurant was a local hot spot known for its breakfast and lunch specialities and small-town eatery feel.

Michael Sneed, co-owner of Daybreak Pleasant Street alongside his wife Patricia, said Daybreak’s last day open was back in March.

“Patricia and I love Daybreak, it was a culmination of 20-plus years of cooking and love for food and community,” Sneed said. “It

SPOTIFY

was heartbreaking to close.”

Sneed said that the pandemic has caused financial hardships for him and his wife, which also led to the decision to close.

“We will reopen Daybreak one day, but it will be at a different location,” Sneed said.

Larry’s Giant Subs

As a collegetown sandwich staple, Larry’s Giant Subs closed down in May. The owner, UF alumna Sarah Whitfield, said she has been planning on closing for some time. The pandemic was not the ultimate determinant, but because of issues with landlords and a decrease in student traffic, Whitfield said it was harder to do business.

Larry’s Giant Subs was started

by The Raikes brothers, Larry & Mitch, who built their first sandwich shop in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1982.

For now, Publix and Jimmy John’s sandwiches will have to satisfy Gators’ sandwich fixes.

Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria Felipe’s Mexican Taqueria, a lively Mexican restaurant located at 1209 W. University Ave., closed its doors Nov. 1. Known for its burritos, tacos and bowls, this

Reminisce (or celebrate) the end of the semester with the Avenue’s top picks of the week.

restaurant was a hit among UF students.

Pike Howard, Felipe’s director of development and finance, said the main reason for shutting down is because the landlord was considering selling the property.

Howard also mentioned a new location would be better for the franchise’s overall growth, and a new location in northern Naples is currently in the works.

@michellecholder mholder@alligator.org

Column

For the Navigators: the end of an era PREPARING FOR THE GROUNDHOG DAY AND ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE SOON TO BE KNOWN AS 2021

By Lonnie Numa Avenue Staff Writer

Well, here we are, at the end of a year that happened to play the biggest Uno reverse card in all of history. As this year comes to a climactic end, Jupiter, the planet of self-improvement and optimism finds itself in Capricorn, the certified cynic of the zodiac.

It’s hard not to bitterly reminisce about the hopes I had for 2020. Last New Year’s Eve, I was enjoying a bottle of Martinelli’s hard cider, dancing to Boogie Wonderland in my pajamas, hoping the universe would be just a little kinder to us in the coming decade.

Apparently, I jinxed the entire human race, (except everyone living in the post-modern utopia that is New Zealand) considering the subsequent fallout. March felt like an eternity on its own, April ceased to exist, summer was a blur and the only definite moments in time I can recall past that point are Halloween and the Supernatural series finale — which introduced me to a new brand of living hell.

But I’m not the only one in a metaphorical fist-fight with the concept of time passing — for Daniella Roque, a 19-year-old UF English senior, the moment Spring 2020 ended the days started to blur together, she said.

“I didn’t know what day of the week it was,” Roque said.

“Monday felt like a Thursday, Tuesday felt like a Sunday.”

To-do lists and calendars on Canvas have helped Roque maintain a semblance of a normal schedule, but staying on top of Keep up with the Avenue on Twitter.

Tweet us @TheFloridaAve.

things is a continuous struggle when the days feel too long, yet too short at the same time, she said.

That seems to be the curse of 2020 — a year seemingly doomed from the start. A World War III hashtag trended on Twitter within the first few days of the year, Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna amongst other innocents died in a helicopter crash, the U.S. Senate acquitted Trump on two articles of impeachment — and this was before COVID-19 crashed the “Party in the U.S.A.” “It’s funny because everyone said ‘2020 is going to be our year’,” Roque said. “It sounds like a ‘nice’ year — and then it was the opposite of nice.”

But as we look towards next year, I struggle with the internal conflict of whether I should take each day as it is, or if I should have already begun preparations for my doomsday bunker.

As a transfer student, Coralie Pettit, a 22-year-old UF English senior, only had one full “normal” semester at UF before the pandemic. Planning ahead at this point seems almost impossible since things could be upended at any moment, they said.

“On Dec. 31, instead of going to 2021, it feels like we’re just going to Groundhog Day back to March,” Pettit said.

A horrifying prospect indeed, but it would be in-character for this year! If we don’t get stuck in a time-loop of endless torment, Petit is looking forward to a possible vaccine — one that could allow them to leave their house, graduate and do other irresponsible 20-something activities, they said.

“But I also feel like there’s no way I’m anywhere near the top of the distribution list,” They said. “Healthcare workers, actually important people and people with health risks have got to be above a 22-year-old who’s going to get the vaccine and then go party.”

I wouldn’t put it past 2021 to go full-on “28 Days Later”— but in the spirit of the holidays, I’m going to try to be a little more optimistic, even if I’m this close to perpetuating my own version of Ben Affleck depressedly smoking a cigarette on his balcony.

Here’s to 2021 folks, may the odds be in our favor. Though if they aren’t, I’m sure there’ll be enough room in my doomsday bunker — for a small fee. @lonaald lnuma@alligator.org

Chloe Greenberg // Alligator Staff

Through ups and downs, highs and lows, we went through a lot this year. Here is some of the Avenue’s favorite new music that helped us make it to the end of 2020.

Hello, Goodbye

Alligator writers Tyler Nettuno, Evan Lepak, Brendan Farrell and Graham Marsh say their goodbyes to The Alligator in the Fall’s last print issue, pg. 15-16

Scan to follow the Avenue on Spotify

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 www.alligator.org/section/opinions

Editorial

Column

W

W

With the most reported employee COVID-19 cases in the country, UF is failing its faculty hen news broke that UF was ranked No. 2 in the nation for reported cases of COVID-19 by the New York Times, we kept a close eye on the numbers in case we rose to No. 1.

While that hasn’t happened quite yet, we did notice something odd, though. While keeping tabs on each schools’ COVID-19 dashboards, we realized UF has had a lot more employee cases than any other school. A lot more.

In addition to 4,104 student positives, UF has reported 691 positives for its employees and an additional 667 for employees of UF affiliate organizations for a total of 1,358 positives, as of Sunday afternoon. Clemson has reported 232 employee positives. Ohio State has reported 327 employee positives.

No other university comes close to UF’s embarrassingly high employee case count.

Didn’t UF start tracking cases much earlier than other schools? Yes, but UF’s own data indicates that the vast majority of cases were recorded after the start of this school year.

Isn’t UF a much larger school than its peers? Yes, but Penn State enrolls 89,816 students, yet only has 86 reported employee cases despite reporting over 5,000 student cases.

We imagine a lot of the organizational affiliate cases stem from UF Health and its various locations around the state. However, there is still the matter of the high amount of reported non-affiliate employee cases.

The simplest explanation for all of this, or at least the most symbolic, is that UF has utterly failed to keep its employees safe from its own students.

We’ve seen with our own eyes our school administrators failing to socially distance.

We’ve seen with our own eyes our school administrators ignore our foreign language professors’ request to stay online.

We’ve seen with our own eyes our school administrators callously denying faculty proper ADA accommodations.

We’ve seen enough to know that UF’s actions do not line up with its words.

As the Spring approaches, we know all is not what it seems. Next to this editorial is a letter signed by over 200 instructors decrying UF’s Spring plan.

These people are more than just professors, they are people too: people who will bear the cost of UF’s malfeasance with their lives, something UF seems to have forgotten. Our professors, alongside other staff and employees, have gotten sick at an alarming rate.

That’s why they have sounded the alarm bells.

UF has failed them this semester. UF will fail us next semester.

The Spring semester is a lie. The Spring semester is a farce. The Spring semester is a circus — but nobody is laughing.

We’d ask UF to do better, but we know it isn’t listening.

Kyle Wood

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Dana Cassidy

NEWS MANAGING EDITOR

April Rubin

ENGAGEMENT MANAGING EDITOR

Open letter from UF faculty against the Spring plan

e, the undersigned, are prolearning experience possible from fessors at the University of UF. Instead they will, in essence, be Florida. We write with con“lurking” to observe their own class, cern about the risks and as the instructor engages the stulimitations of the univerdents who are in the room. sity’s plan for Spring 2021. Moving Spring will have UF undergrads eiclasses back to a face-to-face format opinions@alligator.org ther masked and distanced in mostly will endanger lives, unnecessarily. deserted classrooms or peeking at Moreover, the reality is that our lasttheir course via a screen. This imminute, improvised plan for undergraduate provised plan features the worst, rather than education at the University of Florida next the best, of UF teaching practices by simulsemester will not provide the best, or even taneously doubling the class and splitting a sufficient, learning and teaching environ- the instructors’ focus. It is rife with troublement. shooting challenges, both technological and UF— wisely — closed campus in March. logistical. For example, how can all these Now, we are very close to being able to re- classes start on time if we are advised to get ceive vaccinations and return to normal. It to our classes 20 minutes early to thoroughly makes no sense to throw away all the work clean the area and then set up all the techwe have done and the sacrifices we have nology when the room will be occupied by made to safeguard lives at exactly the worst another class until five minutes before our possible moment in this pandemic, when class begins? one more term — or even half of that — UF is better than this. UF is a state and nawould see us return relatively to normal. tional leader in face-to-face and online eduWhile a “HyFlex” learning environment cation. When so many other top universities can be done well, the plan for Spring does in the nation are continuing online teaching, not allow for this. It is a last-minute, impro- why is UF not working from its nationallyvised, doubling-up of two classes in one, recognized strength in online education? At which will create harder learning environ- the very least, why does UF not embrace ments than a typical face-to-face class or a a “temp-flex” model, starting 100% online typical online class. until it is safe to be back and then coming Undergraduates who sign up for face-to- back 100% face-to-face, thereby creating the face classes — the few who are able to get learning and teaching environments we have into them — will be sitting in class, in masks, the resources and skills to implement well? far from classmates and distanced from their We all want to be back on campus, teachprofessor who will be teaching through a ing and learning together. To get there we mask, maybe even behind plexiglass. need a different plan.

The majority of students will still attend “online” versions of courses, but those students won’t be getting the quality online Respectfully,

Rosmery Izaguirre Zachariah Chou

DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR

OPINIONS EDITOR

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

The Alligator encourages letters and columns from readers. Letters to the editor should not exceed 250 words. Columns should not exceed 750 words. Names will be withheld if the writer shows just cause. We reserve the right to fact-check and edit for length, grammar, style and libel. Send letters and columns to opinions@alligator.org, bring them to 2700 SW 13th St., or send them to P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32604-2257. Editorial cartoons are also welcome. Questions? Call 352-376-4458.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 ALLIGATOR 11

Column

The HyFlex farce

UF, like most universities, has time-and-again expressed concerns for the well-being of its community during this unprecedented pandemic. UF, unlike most universities, has also asked the same community to choose between dying and having a job come Spring 2021.

This next semester, UF is going to implement its much-touted Hybrid-Flexible, or HyFlex, technology for undergraduate classes. As you register for classes, it is important that you know what HyFlex is and how it works.

I recently attended one of UF’s HyFlex training workshops for faculty. By the trainer’s own admission, UF’s idea of HyFlex is considerably different from how this instructional technology was originally conceived. Originally, HyFlex was for instructors to record classes for students unable to attend in-person. UF, on the other hand, is making us use HyFlex to teach online and in-person simultaneously.

This means that instructors will now do double the work to handle two separate modes of instruction at once, and to prepare two separate sets of class materials for in-person and remote delivery.

It also means that your instructor will be so burdened preparing for two classes while being paid for one, that the quality of instruction and attention to individual student work will inevitably suffer.

Because UF’s mandate is to offer as many inperson sections as Spring 2020, the Spring 2021 reopening is merely adding classrooms to the roster without actually allowing all students to be in these classrooms.

A substantial number of HyFlex classes within my department will have just one student in the classroom while all other students will log in to class via Zoom. Based on chat questions in my HyFlex training session, which were ignored by the facilitators, this malpractice appears to extend across other departments as well. Hence, a lot of frustration from faculty for having to do so much to have one person, or a handful of students, in class.

All registrar-controlled classes will be HyFlex capable for the Spring, meaning they will have two monitors to control the class meeting, one touch panel for projector control, two kinds of microphones so we can be heard through our masks, a document camera, a Kaptivo camera for the white board, two large-screen monitors to check on what students Zooming in can see and a cam-

era to film us.

If you think it might be difficult handling so much tech while also delivering in-person instruction, UF has two extremely practical solutions: a) arrive early to your classroom, if possible, or, b) sneak in to your allotted classroom when unlocked and empty to practice like your job depends on it, because it kind of does.

Now, you might ask, how would discussions take place in such an environment, particularly if you are the one student in the classroom? The answer: Log in to the Zoom meeting with your microphone on, so you can discuss with your classmates on Zoom.

Just to be clear, the university is asking its faculty and in-person students to go to campus to do exactly what they have been doing from the safety of their homes for almost a year now — to hold classes on Zoom.

Students on Zoom can also respond or ask questions by using the chat feature. But how will the instructor manage all the technology, lecture and facilitate discussion, both for the in-person student and for those on Zoom, while also monitoring the chat? According to UF, this is easy — just find a student assistant in class, if one is available!

By implementing HyFlex, UF is undervaluing our labor by asking us to selflessly keep teaching without compensating us for the additional labor required to do so. This is not a surprise, but the fact UF expects us to ask the same from our students — to ask them to do work for free as a goodwill gesture — is astounding.

Even as UF promises mandatory testing for all students in residence halls, Greek life and faceto-face classes, its purported measures are insufficient for a campus its size. These measures do not account for undetected infections between the mandatory two-week testing intervals. The weekly questionnaires also depend completely on individuals to report exposure or infection. Though officially barred, infected students might still use facilities, like the libraries, because as it currently stands, there don’t appear to be any checks in place to screen them from being in common spaces.

A community does not show care by jeopardizing the safety of its members. UF is not reopening its campus to offer you the full college experience.

It is bringing you back precisely because it does not care about your experience, or for that matter, your life.

The author is a graduate student who currently teaches at UF.

Column

My biggest regret at UF

A

s a person deepjunior year. However, as my final semester of colly interested in lege approached, I wonpublic service, dered if there was a more it is no wonder wholesome way to spend that I gravitated my time. toward the fields of jourI was banished from nalism and politics. the news-side of The AlliI spent many of my Zachariah gator the moment I joined years fighting the good SG. However, the Opinions Chou fight in UF Student Govopinions@alligator.org section was in need of an ernment, and it was both editor and I was more than immensely rewarding and happy to give public service through frustratingly Sisyphean. journalism a shot.

For those unfamiliar with SG at UF, As I sat through the Zoom interview it is not exactly a wholesome place. for the position, I wondered how differIt’s where wannabe politicos try to cut ent of a person I would have grown to their teeth, and the frat boy with the be had I stuck with The Alligator for the best smile gets to be king. last four years instead of SG. It was once thought you had to be These past few months, I have been involved in SG (and by extension Blue surrounded by some of the brightest, Key) to be involved in politics, but most persistent minds I have ever enthose sentiments are from a time when countered. Never have I seen a group UF was the only good school in the of people so selflessly invested in the state and thus had educated alumni to greater good of the community. Always flood the statehouse with. doing the right things for the right reaOver the decades, other schools in sons and speaking truth to power, my Florida got better and increased the size colleagues at The Alligator couldn’t be of their alumni caucuses while UF’s any more different from my former colGator Caucus shrank. The governor’s leagues in SG. office is now held by an Ivy League The people in The Alligator are acalumnus while the previous three gov- tually people who you’d want to be ernors aren’t even native Floridians. friends with. With a culture of excelUF’s domination of state politics is not lence and staff of the highest caliber, what it used to be. The benefits of be- our newsroom is filled with people ing part of Blue Key are now on par who you would want to surround with being enrolled in the Circle K Easy yourself with in order to become the Rewards loyalty program. best version of yourself.

As for federal politics, the only releI’m grateful for my experiences in vant UF graduate from this millennium SG and don’t regret joining. However, is Katie Miller, whose only claims to my biggest regret during my time at fame are (1) being someone who could UF is not spending more time with The love white nationalist Stephen Miller Independent Florida Alligator and the and (2) testing positive for COVID-19 wonderful people on its staff. while working as Vice President Mike To the Gainesville community: SupPence’s spokesperson. Not a good look. port local journalism. The Alligator is As you may guess, my opinion of truly a gift to Gainesville. most of the lackeys in SG is not high.

To my colleagues at The Alligator: A third of them don’t realize they are I am happy and grateful to have been being tokenized for the sake of racial able to spend my last semester of coldiversity. Another third are well-in- lege with such genuinely good people. tentioned but don’t know how to get Never change. things done. The last third are either To my former colleagues in SG: evil, unintelligent or both.

Make sure to send me a postcard when The thought of working to make you finally land in federal prison. my community a better place kept me involved, despite my lackluster colZachariah Chou was the opinions leagues and even long after I lost the editor of The Alligator. race for Student Body President in my

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

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

3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin prefix “sub-” mean in English?

4. U.S.was PRESIDENTS: Who 1. MOVIES: What the theme song forwas thethe only president to serve two noncon1997 movie "Titanic"? secutive terms?

LITERATURE: Which 2. GENERAL5.KNOWLEDGE: What is an20th-century movie star penned the autobiograespadrille? phy “Me: Stories of My Life”?

6. HISTORY: What theuse first 3. FIRSTS: Which company was thewas first to National Monument proclaimed in the an assembly line to manufacture its products?

United States?

7. What GEOGRAPHY: Where name is the 4. TELEVISION: was Marge's maiden island of Luzon located? on the animated comedy "The Simpsons"?

8. MOVIES: Which sci-fi movie has tagline, “Reality is a thing of the 5. FOOD &the DRINK: What are the main ingredipast”? ents in a modern mince pie?

9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What was the name of the United States’ first 6. U.S. STATES: This city has two prominent nuclear-powered submarine?

Whatis are four railnicknames, 10. andGAMES: one of them Thethe Crescent Monopoly?

City. Whatroad is theproperties city and instate?

Answers 7. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a baby puffin 1. 63,360 inches called? 2. Search for extraterrestrial intelligence 8. ADVERTISING MASCOTS: What product did 3. Below or insufficient Grover Cleveland Mr. Whipple4.represent for more than 20 years?

5. Katharine Hepburn 9. GEOGRAPHY: WhatTower, is an 1906 old name for 6. Devils 7. The Philippines north China?

8. “The Matrix” 9. TheArabic USS Nautilus 10. MATH: What number is the equiva10. Pennsylvania, Short Line, Readlent of the Roman numerals MCMLX? ing and B&O © 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

(c) 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

answers on pg 13

Release Release Date: Date: Monday, Tuesday,December December7, 1,2020 2020

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

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Autos

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12/01/20 11/30/2020 12/07/20

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 07, 2020 ALLIGATOR 13

King Features Weekly Service

May 25, 2020

1. Mosi Tatupu, a special-teams standout 1. Tommie Aaron, brother of Hank, hit for the New England Patriots from 1978-90, how many home runs in his seven-seaplayed football for what college team?

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son Major League Baseball career?

2. state park in Wyoming'sthe Laramie 2.A Bill Chadwick, NHL’s first and Albany counties is named after what U.S.-born referee and later a broadcaster for the New York Rangers, went sportscaster? by3. what nickname?

What Pittsburgh Pirates legend was named 3.

The name for the Albuquerque NL MVP and World Series MVP in 1979?

Isotopes Minor League Baseball club 4. What basketball of Famer is team the from was inspired byHall a fictional NCAATV Division I all-timeseries? leading scorer with what comedy 3,667 points?

4. Jim Covert and Ed Sprinkle, two members themedalist Pro Football Hall of 5. Name theof silver from Australia Fame Class of 2020, spent their entire who stood on the podium with U.S. sprinters playing careers with what NFL franTommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 chise?

Summer Olympics.

5. What traditional Japanese martial Throughout 1960s, Los Angeles art6. is literallythetranslated as “theRams way of defensive linemen Rosy Grier, Lamar Lundy, the sword”?

Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones were 6. Floyd Mayweather Jr. coldefeated what mixed arts superstar in a lectively knownmartial by what nickname?

2017 boxingNagra megafight Las Vegas?

7. Parminder and Keira in Knightley 7. What Croatia-born basketball starred in what 2002 British sports romantic player won three NBA championships comedy film? with the Chicago Bulls from 1996-98 solution below and was the 1996 NBA Sixth Man of (c) 2020 King Features Synd., Inc. the Year? answers below Answers ¿hablas español? lee alligator.org/spanish/ 1. 13. He hit eight of them in his 1962 rookie season.

2. The Big Whistle.

3. The Simpsons.

4. The Chicago Bears.

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by David L. Hoyt 12-7-20 5. Kendo.

1 3 2 6. Conor McGregor.

7. Toni Kukoc.

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5.

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Common, usual Type of fishing vessel Like a T-rex Closer

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Trivia Test answers

4. Bouvier 3. Ford Motor Co. 2. A rope-soled canvas shoe 1. "My Heart Will Go On"

10. 1960 9. Cathay 8. Charmin bathroom tissue 7. A puffling 6. New Orleans, Louisiana. The other nickname is The Big Easy.

Sports Quiz answers

5. Dried fruits and spices

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Sudoku solution

ScrabbleGrams solution

1. The USC Trojans.

2. Curt Gowdy.

3. Willie Stargell.

4. Pete Maravich.

5. Peter Norman.

6. The Fearsome Foursome.

7. "Bend It Like Beckham."

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 www.alligator.org/section/sports

BASEBALL

Discourse on the Diamond: looking ahead to the 2021 Florida baseball season

By Ryan Haley & Sara Kate Dyson Sports Writers

When Kirby McMullen launched a tworun walkoff home run in the final Fall scrimmage of 2020, he didn’t just end the calendar year on a high note.

He put an exclamation point on a dominant 12 months of on-and-off Florida baseball, which included a 16-1 record and a No. 1 ranking before the cancelation of play, signaling to the rest of the country that coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad has no intentions of 2021 being any different.

After attending almost every baseball scrimmage between the two of us this fall, here are our thoughts on what to expect from the first year at the new Florida Ballpark.

Who’s going to dominate the mound for the Gators in 2021?

The pitching staff was one of the most notable and impressive aspects of the topranked Gators last season, and it seems to have gotten even deeper. The team had eight pitchers on staff with a sub-two ERA and seven with a WHIP under one. Almost every single arm from last season will return to Florida for 2021. Tommy Mace, a top prospect who returned to Gainesville after he was passed over in the abbreviated draft, is the presumptive ace. Fellow draft prospects Jack Leftwich, Hunter Barco, Jordan Butler, and Nick Pogue also remain in the rotation. Tyler Nesbitt, who didn’t allow a run in 11.2 innings last year, could see a bigger role, as could Brandon Sproat.

Franco Aleman, St. Johns River State College transfer, got several starts in the fall and had some great performances. True freshmen Chase Centala and Timmy Manning also got plenty of work in the fall Sara Kate Dyson - For me, the one to watch this season has to be Leftwich.

Though he might stand in the background of Mace’s light, Leftwich shouldn’t be overlooked. He started all four Saturday games in 2020, posting a 4.15 ERA over 21.2 innings of work. Halfway through the fall, the veteran gathered 17 strikeouts and posted a 2.57 ERA through 14 innings. The team will only benefit from his return to the mound for his fourth season.

Ryan Haley - The favorite has to be Mace, and I don’t think there’s a case against him.

But I’ve never been one to argue for favorites, so I’ll make a case for Hunter Barco. As a freshman last year, he posted a 1.40 ERA in 19.1 innings, including a 5.1 inning, onerun outing against Miami two days after Mace’s gem against the Hurricanes. Barco tied Mace for the team lead in strikeouts (26) in seven less innings, and had the low-

est opposing batting average (.162) of any starter. He looked good in the fall but so did every pitcher. This rotation is super deep, and there are few wrong answers.

Which position player is going to stand out?

Outfielder Jud Fabian looks like the preseason favorite for best player on the Florida roster. Ranked as the fourth best 2021 draft prospect by MLB.com, Fabian was second on the team in hits (20) and led the Gators in doubles (6), home runs (5) and RBIs (13) in the 17-game season.

Outfielder Jacob Young also returns after batting .450 a season ago, as does catcher/ infielder Nathan Hickey, who led Florida in OPS (1.061) and slugging (.622) as a freshman. Longtime staple third-baseman Kirby McMullen will also get another season in Gainesville after his epic ending to 2020, as do returning starters shortstop Josh Rivera, outfielder/ first-baseman Kendrick Calilao and second-baseman Cory Acton.

Dyson - Since last season, sophomore Kris Armstrong has grown, not just in size, but in impact from both at the plate and in the field as well. Armstrong came to UF as a two-way player, earning as many appearances on the mound as at the plate in his freshman season. Now he is becoming one of the strongest and most dynamic Florida infielders on this squad. At several points in the fall, he led the team in RBIs and home runs, while also splitting, jumping and diving to hold down the fort at first base. Armstrong will come up big for the Gators this season.

Haley - It would be surprising if Jud Fabian did anything other than outstanding in 2021. He had my favorite play of the fall, throwing out a runner at third from the warning track at straightaway center on the fly. But I won’t break the trend of arguing favorites now, so I’ll talk about another fall standout in Jacob Young. Every time I looked up, Young was on base. Likely the fastest player on the team, he batted a staggering .500 in the opening week of scrimmages. Herecordeda hit in every 2020 game, rolling over an 18-game hitting streak into 2021. A vacuum in the outfield, Young’s presence will be felt in every game.

Who is the freshman to watch?

Florida’s 2021 roster will include nine first-year players. The incoming class includes two new catchers, four pitchers and three infielders. While we only had a couple months of fall ball to see how these young players may fit into the Florida system, many already made a mark. Halfway through the fall, catcher/infielder Wyatt Langford led the team in batting average, while catcher Mac Guscette and infielder

Gators guard Noah Locke scored 15 points and shot 5 for 6 from the threepoint line in UF’s win against Stetson on Sunday. He was UF’s Second Leading scorer during the game behind Keyontae Johnson (19 points).

Sara Kate Dyson // Alligator Staff

Clouds gather over Alfred A. McKethan Field at Florida Ballpark on Nov. 13, 2020 before one of the Gators’ fall scrimmages.

Sterlin Thompson also got the chance to show up at the plate several times.

Dyson - I’ve always been a big fan of pitching, and it is sufficient to say that this Gators team is loaded with talent on the mound. Freshman southpaw Timmy Manning is already making a name for himself in the deep Florida bullpen. Halfway through the fall, the lefty gave up just nine hits, the fewest among pitchers on the team with over 10 innings of work under their belts.

In the same time frame, Manning posted 16 strikeouts and a 1.38 ERA. It will be difficult to fight for a spot in that competitive Florida pitching staff, but I think Manning has the edge on the rest of the freshman class.

Haley - Overshadowed by McMullen’s 9th-inning shot in the final game of fall ball was a two-run double by Thompson in the bottom of the seventh. Thompson’s clutch hit gave his team a chance to claim the lead late in the game. The tall, lanky freshman starred in the scrimmages, hitting .308 the opening week and not looking back from there. It will be hard to find playing time in this infield, but Thompson was one of the most impressive players regardless of age.

Kyle Trask awarded Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week After throwing for 433 yards and four touchdowns in UF’s win over Tennessee on Saturday, quarterback Kyle Trask earned the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week award for the effort. Trask is first in the FBS in touchdown passes with 38.

What are the expectations for this team in 2021?

Dyson - This team’s future is bright, simple as that. It was dominant last year before the shutdown, and this team gained more than it lost heading into 2021. With a much deeper pitching staff, which includes the return of Mace and Leftwich, combined with a more seasoned lineup, the Gators should pick up right where they left off in 2020. If this team does not find itself in Omaha making a strong campaign for a second national title, I would be sufficiently shocked.

Haley - I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect another 16-1 start to the season. But Florida was the best team in the country last year, and I don’t really see any way this team could be worse. The pitching staff is somehow deeper than last year, all the starters are a little older and more experienced now, and they look like they just really enjoyed playing with each other in the fall.

This team could go really, really far, and I’d be surprised if they are anything other than national title contenders come Omaha.

Follow us for updates

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

@sarakatedyson skatedyson@alligator.org @ryan_dhaley rhaley@alligator.org

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020 ALLIGATOR 15

Nothing but Nettuno

Let me tell you about the best decision of my life

O

ver the last four years, I’ve dously. I’ve never let myself forget often wondered what I that feeling, how inadequate I felt would write in this column. in that moment. I used it as motivaI’ve watched my friends tion, and as a constant reminder that and colleagues graduate and there’s always room to learn more, leave their words of wisdom behind improve your skills and grow as an as they moved on to bigger and betindividual. ter things, and it made me ponder The three years since then feel what insight I might be able to impart Tyler Nettuno like a whirlwind. In that time, I’ve when my time finally came to do the covered lacrosse, men’s basketball @tylernettuno same. and football.

Well, that time is now. In 12 days, I had the privilege of serving as the I will be a graduate of the University sports editor in Fall 2019, the greatest of Florida. And after seven semesters at The Inde- honor I’ve ever received in my life. Those three pendent Florida Alligator, my stay here has now months were probably the hardest, most stressful come to a close. and sleepless of my life, but they were also the Even writing those words feels surreal to me. most fulfilling.

The Alligator means more to me than I could I had the opportunity to travel around the ever say. After all, how do you properly encapsu- southeast covering Gators football, attended 12 late an experience that had such a visceral effect of 13 games live and checked SEC stadiums off on who you are as a person? How do you say my bucket list with some of my best friends. I goodbye to something that played a bigger role had to convince myself it was real the whole time in your life than you ever could have imagined?

If I had told my 13-year-old self I’d be able to When I joined this paper two weeks into my do any of that by the time I was 21, I would have first semester on campus, I had no idea that I was never believed it. It was an experience I’ll never making the best decision I have ever made, and forget as long as I live. probably will ever make.

I’ve never felt such a sense of ownership over I knew I wanted to write about sports, but I anything I’ve done in my life. Never have I felt had little direction in terms of how to make that like I belonged the way I do at The Alligator. happen at the time. I applied to The Alligator And that’s why now, the thought of having on a whim based on the advice of a friend who to leave is so painful. This newspaper has been worked for the UAA, Turner Street. (If you’re such a key aspect of my life the last few years, reading this, Turner, thanks for that.) As I en- it’s inconceivable to think about not being a part tered the cramped basement of Weimer Hall in of it.

August of 2017, I met then-sports editors Matt The Alligator has been an inextricable part Brannon, Dylan Dixon and Jake Dreilinger, filled of my college experience. I can’t even tell you out an application that would certainly make me where I would be now if I hadn’t found it, but I cringe looking back at it now and grabbed a slice can tell you I wouldn’t be the same person. of complimentary pizza. I had no way of knowI’ve met so many talented people who pushed ing how my life would change that day for the me to be better every single day. But more than better. that, I’ve met friends that will last a lifetime.

I didn’t expect to get the job; I had no experi- Good, caring people who are passionate about ence, whatsoever. The application asked for clips what they do. of my work, and since I had never done anything Hell, I even met my girlfriend, the lovely and resembling sports writing, I submitted a 4,000- talented Lina Ruiz, at The Alligator. word research paper I had written my senior year Almost everything about my life today, I have of high school about concussions in football. this newspaper to thank for.

If you guys read even a single word of that, To the amazing student journalists who came I’d be amazed. before me, thank you for everything. I’ve learned I still haven’t forgotten (and probably will all I know from you, and your guidance and panever forget) the feeling of sitting in my dorm late tience toward a young, brash, over-confident reon that Tuesday night getting the call from Matt, porter will be forever appreciated. the sports editor at the time, to let me know they To everyone still there, I hope I was able to were bringing me on. give back even just a small fraction of what this I was thrown on the golf beat, and I realized paper has given me. I’m proud of every single how out of my element I really was. I was asked one of you and am always here for you if you to interview one of the team’s assistant coaches need me. almost immediately, and I had no idea what to I believe it was alligatorSports legend Ian Codo. I’m sure she was cringing alongside me as I hen who first coined the phrase, “I didn’t go to powered through my nonsensical questions. Still, school at UF, I went to school at The Alligator.”

I convinced myself I nailed it.

Earlier in my college career, I didn’t completely I remember submitting my first story and understand what that meant. thinking, “I bet this will be the best damn golf But now, as I stare down the barrel of the real story they’ve ever read.” Imagine my shock world, I can fully appreciate the wisdom of Ian’s when I opened the Google Doc to see nearly my words. entire article highlighted for corrections.

Tyler Nettuno was the sports editor of The It forced me to check my own ego tremenAlligator

Column

I found my home at The Alligator

S

ince my junior year of high different after a few hours of school, I’ve been a huge copy editing. fan of the band O.A.R. Granted, I’ve missed a lot I listened to their “Live of that stuff for a while now. from Red Rocks” album in We haven’t been in the office my old 2003 Buick Regal so much together since March. that I probably almost wore the After not seeing each disc out. One of my favorites is a other for a while, we started a song called “Black Rock.”

Brendan Farrell tradition of Zoom get-togethers “Where we come from, it’s every Wednesday night. It pretty @Bfarrell727 real important, no matter where quickly became a highlight of you go in this entire world, is my week. I wouldn’t stay up you remember that place,” lead singer Marc until some ungodly hour every week hanging Roberge said about the song. “That place out if I didn’t love these people. where you and your crew and your people, My Black Rock wasn’t the spot itself, you had that spot. but the people in it. I’ve had the pleasure of “It’s like you can go back in your mind at getting to know so many amazing, talented any point in time and know exactly where people over the years, and I’m going to miss you were when you told your friends that everyone a lot. In a way, I feel like saying you loved them. You know exactly where goodbye to some of my closest friends more you were when you told your people that than I’m saying goodbye to The Alligator. they’re there for you and you’re there for To Mari Faiello, Dylan Rudolph and River them.”

Wells: My Tampa Bay friends and also my I think about that quote a lot. I can almost best friends. Thank you for being the people recite the entire thing from memory. on staff I could rant about hockey with For as much as I’ve loved getting to write and not feel like I’m speaking in another about sports for The Alligator for seven language. Maybe when things are normal we semesters (I’ve almost lost count at this can go to Amalie Arena again and hopefully point), the people I’ve gotten to meet is a big the Sharks won’t get killed this time. reason why working here has been such a To Mark Stine: Thank you for giving me great time. a shot in the summer of 2018, right after I One of the things that I loved the most completed my first year of college. Covering about The Alligator was the freedom to be softball with you was amazing, and our trip myself. I’m not exactly the most outgoing to Tampa for the USF softball tournament person, and it takes time for me to really gel was a highlight of my time at The Alligator. with a group. However, around my people at To Tyler Nettuno: One of my favorite alligatorSports, I always feel at home. people on staff. Whether it was reminiscing I was also free to write about whatever I about the homeland together, making fun wanted. Any idea I had was usually met with of the futility of the Jaguars or talking about fervent support. A 1000-word article on how why 2007 was the craziest year in college the Gators use their backup quarterback? football history, you never fail at putting a Yes, please. An article about how the Gators’ smile on my face or making me laugh. You second-half offense hasn’t been that good? and Mari made Fall 2019 one of the best Get to work, Stat Boy. semesters I had on staff.

There’s a lot about that office on SW 13th To River (again), Christian Ortega and Street I’m going to miss. For a long time, that Payton Titus: Thank you for putting up was my spot. with me on our football staff this semester.

I’ll miss the camaraderie a lot. Any time Whether it’s me making fun of the UAA’s one of the sprots writers entered the room, latest Zoom blunder, forwarding dumb it was hard to not smile and give them a replies to my articles from my inbox (all of cheerful greeting. It turns out that staying up which end with “Sent from my iPhone”) or late working on something together every complaining about how I’m somehow the week creates strong bonds between people. only one who can attend a Monday afternoon I’ll miss the constant arguments about presser, thank you for letting me be me. I’m whose NFL team is the worst. There’s a lot sure you won’t miss editing 1200-word stats of heartbreak on this dumb staff, and I’m articles featuring at least three charts. convinced that none of our teams will ever It was far from a normal year on the beat, do a damn thing. but thank you for letting me tag along.

I’ll miss walking into the office with a To everyone else: Listen, I wish I had couple slices of Hawaiian pizza and hearing the time and space to thank everyone groans from my friends as they passionately individually. Just know that I love you all argue that it’s not pizza. from the bottom of my heart and it was a I’ll miss arguing about where to get food pleasure getting to know you. on a given night. I won’t miss asking “Where should we get food?” and having nobody Branden Farrell was the sports editor of offer anything, but I will miss the actual The Alligator food runs with the guys. La Tienda just hits

FOOTBALL

A guide to beat the Tide: How UF can survive the SEC Championship game

By River Wells Sports Writer

The last time the Gators found themselves in this position, the year was 2016.

After a scheduling controversy caused by Hurricane Matthew, UF defeated rival LSU after then-Tigers running back Derrius Guice was stuffed at the goal line in the final seconds. Florida captured its second SEC East title in as many years and traveled to Atlanta to get absolutely annihilated 54-16.

On Saturday, the Gators clinched an SEC East title and punched their ticket to the dance for the first time in four years. But if they want to take the SEC title back to Gainesville, here’s what they have to change going forward.

The “middle eight” won’t do it anymore

As noted by my friend and colleague, Brendan Farrell, Florida tends to stick with a formula where it performs exceptionally well in the last four minutes of the second quarter and the first four minutes of the third: The “middle eight”, if you will. Sure enough, the Gators scored a touchdown with 33 seconds to go in the second quarter against the Volunteers on Saturday and another one less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Here’s the thing, though: That’s not going to cut it.

In its past three games, Florida’s SEC Championship opponent, Alabama, has scored 35 points in the first quarter. UF has scored 10.

It doesn’t get better when looking at the second quarter, even with UF’s

“middle eight” proficiency: The Tide have scored 59 points in the second quarter over its last three games to UF’s 34. If Florida is going to beat Alabama, it’s going to have to come out and immediately score points, something UF seems allergic to recently.

“There are times, like I said before, trying to do too much, moving the protection, times I could have let it play out and little things like that,” quarterback Kyle Trask said of the team’s performance against Tennessee. “Nothing too big or crazy. We will get it cleaned up and continue to get better.”

Quite frankly, however, Florida is running out of time. The Gators will play LSU next week — an opponent that Alabama hung 55 points on this past week — and if Florida doesn’t

come out and score right away, the “middle eight” will become a miserable eight before the team can recover.

The defense can’t let teams hang around

In its last three games, all against unranked squads with losing records, UF has only led by an average of seven points at the half (Its largest lead of 10 was against Tennessee and its shortest lead of four was against Kentucky). And even though the defense has played decently well across all of those games — it’s given up under 20 points in each of those contests — the defense has a bit of a habit lately of letting these teams stay in the game when it heads to the locker room.

A habit it needs to break.

Because Alabama quarterback

Mac Jones, another potential Heisman candidate, won’t be inclined to hang around with UF’s defense.

Alabama comes out fast and vicious, and Florida’s defense could find itself blindsided in the opening quarter, especially if its offense is as lackluster as it has been at the start of games.

Florida certainly has much more of a shot than it did in 2016, especially with the electric offense it will bring to Atlanta. But if that electric offense takes a while to get a spark and the defense lets the Tide roll over them, the Gators may take the best team they’ve had in years back to the exact same place it’s been going: A New Year’s Six Bowl. @riverhwells rwells@alligator.org

16 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2020

24/Evan

Believe in yourself. Trust me, it’s worth it

I

on 13th Street has been a mainstay ’ve always been a pretty for me the last two-and-a-half years. humble person.

The place isn’t glamorous. Most If you were to ask any of nights the frigid air pierced through the people that know me best, my 140-pound body with ease, and they’d tell you that I prefer the smells that permeated from the avoiding the spotlight, am not the aging carpet were nauseating at biggest fan of displaying my accomtimes, but it didn’t matter. plishments to the world and that I That office is where I learned Evan Lepak absolutely loathe being the center of how to become a sports journalist. @EvanMPLepak attention.

That office is where I met dozens All of these things are true. and dozens of the most hardworkHowever, in this piece, I’m going people I’ve ever seen. ing to brag on myself for a bit. I’m going to brag The connections I’ve made and the friendon myself for making one of the best decisions I ships I’ve built because of The Alligator gave my could’ve made during my time at the University college experience at my dream school a purpose. of Florida. A decision that has truly changed my It’s hard to believe this chapter in my life is life. about to become a memory. It seems like I reWhen I came to UF in Spring 2018, I had no member walking into that office for the first time idea what to expect whatsoever. I was throwing just yesterday. myself into a major that, unlike most of my peers, While it’s sad to move on, I’m proud of what I had no experience in.

I’ve done and accomplished at The Alligator.

I was just a 22-year-old transfer student that Over 150 bylines, four separate beats and knew his love for sports needed to be translated three different positions later, I can wholeheartinto a career path somehow. edly say that I’ve left my mark on this newspaper.

Before moving to Gainesville, I did tons of So, here’s the bottom line: Believe in yourself research into what I needed to be involved with and what you can accomplish. from a journalistic standpoint. What was going With anything in life, do your best not to fear to benefit me the most, as both a writer and re- the unknown and restrict yourself from becoming porter? what you want to be.

I remember, without a doubt, the sports arI took the leap knowing damn well I didn’t ticles I rapidly skimmed through during the fall belong in that newsroom when I first got there. months of 2017 from The Independent Florida But it turned out to be one of the best decisions Alligator left me the most impressed. of my existence, and at this point, I couldn’t even I knew then, that, if I wanted to make sports imagine my last two-and-a-half years without it. journalism a career in the future, I had to become So, thank you to the readers for the continued a member of that newsroom. It wasn’t an option. support. Thank you to everyone that makes the It was a necessity. newspaper possible.

I applied to join during the Summer 2018 But most of all, thank you to all of the people semester and got my foot in the door as a copy I’ve had the pleasure of working with for not only editor. being my coworkers, but my friends as well.

It wasn’t a fancy position, but I was thankful that Mark Stine — the sports editor at the time — Evan Lepak was a sports writer at The gave a clueless hopeful an opportunity.

From then on, that horribly outdated building Alligator.

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Marsh Madness

Jacksonville die-hard takes his talents back to Duval after being groomed and developed by Alligator Elites

W

here would I be?

Wood at Social karaoke night.

As I write this, it is And when I think about my exa Sunday afternoon in perience since those moments now, early December. I just I can’t feel much of anything other watched the Jacksonville than thankful for the student newsJaguars lose another game to go 1-11 paper that has no equal. It’s a better to stay on track to draft Trevor Lawpaper than most regular, full-time rence or Justin Fields. papers. It’s run by passionate stuGraham Marsh dents that are damn good at their Well, I sort of half-watched it. @GrahamMarshUF I covered Florida’s men’s basjobs. ketball game against Stetson today.

I’m unbelievably proud that I This followed a college football got to be a small part of that for six rankings story I wrote earlier today for another semesters. publication and a high school football TV show So to people that I owe a lot to here, such as that I directed, edited and produced two days Jake, Mark, Alanis Thames, Tyler Nettuno, Kyle ago on Friday night at, like, 4 a.m.

Wood, River, Mari Faiello, Brendan Farrell —the Needless to say, I am exhausted. But having list never stops — thank you. To my beat partto finally accept that graduation is actually hap- ners I’ve gotten to spend press box time with pening in mere weeks, and I have to say good- — Bryan Matamoros, Payton Titus (as heard on bye to some of my favorite human beings in this Paul Finebaum), Evan Lepak and Dylan O’Shea, world at The Independent Florida Alligator, I thank you. have to think to myself: And to the rest of the roster, thank you, too.

Where would I be?

Thank you for laughing at my awful jokes.

Without The Alligator, would I have done Thank you for pretending to care about my Jags any of that other stuff? takes. Thank you for enjoying the fun press conThe honest answer is no. ferences with me and suffering through the awObviously, I wouldn’t have covered men’s ful ones with me, too. basketball for The Alligator without The AlligaBut more than anything, thanks for existing tor itself, but I wouldn’t have my Sports Illustrat- and being amazing human beings. You’re the ed editor title either. I wouldn’t have the resume people that make me glad I chose this as my futhat it took to get basically every opportunity I ture career path. You’re the people that make have gotten in this industry called sports media. saying goodbye suck so freaking much.

But more importantly, I wouldn’t have acI love you all dearly, you know I’m a text or a cess to memes as elite as the memes our very DM away at any time. I will not respond without own editor, River Bartholomew Wells, sends on a meme attached, though. a regular basis. I wouldn’t have people to rant Graham out. Go Jags. about the incompetencies of the Jaguars too like I so often do to our Duval crew. I wouldn’t have Graham Marsh was a sports writer at videos of myself singing “Beautiful Girls” with The Alligator.

Dylan O’Shea and “Promiscuous” with Kyle

: @FloridaAlligator

: @TheAlligator

: @TheAlligator_

t u o k c e h c w our ne

! e t i s b e w

scan here to see

¿Habla Español? alligator.org/spanish