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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2020
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 2
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Kate McNamara & Thomas Weber // Alligator Staff
What to know about ACPS’ first week of classes FIVE STUDENTS, NINE STAFF MEMBERS AND ONE DISTRICT EMPLOYEE HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
By Sophie Feinberg Alligator Staff Writer
After weeks of revised plans and pushed back start dates, Alachua County Public Schools made it through the first week of school. The week ended with 15 active COVID-19 cases as students, teachers and parents adjust to new learning environments. By the end of Aug. 31, the first day of school, a classroom was already in quarantine. ACPS reported a student COVID-19 case at Fort Clarke and Oakview Middle Schools. Howard W. Bishop Middle School has a staff case. There are active cases
at Idylwild Elementary School, according to ACPS’ COVID-19 tracker. The district office also had a reported case of the virus, and at least nine ACPS staff members have also tested positive for COVID-19. As of the second day of school, about 1,600 students switched over to brick-and-mortar learning from online platforms. Parents were encouraged to keep their students in place for at least nine weeks, said Jennifer Wise, the ACPS K-12 curriculum executive director, at a Sept. 1 school board meeting. The Alachua County Education Association is also still fighting against in-person learning. It joined the state lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Education. “All we want is that the local authorities have the power to act appropriately if we have an
Dorm resident with COVID-19 speaks out SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT
Story description finish with comma, The second known person to test pg# positive for COVID-19 in Hume Hall speaks on their experience, calls for more testing, pg. 5
outbreak,” ACEA president Carmen Ward said. The different instruction modules have impacted about 4,000 students with disabilities. The students encounter inequities as support systems evolved or were lost entirely in a virtual classroom. “Being in the classroom with the teacher is what he really needs to be able to be a better student,” said Vanessa Henry, mother about 12-year-old Jeremiah, a student with disabilities attending Fort Clarke Middle School. All children, including those in Alachua eSchool, can now get free meals. Previously, these students weren’t eligible for the National School Lunch Program. Now, nine more food distribution sites have been added in Alachua County.
@feinberg_sophie sfeinberg@alligator.org
Students met with poor conditions upon move in at Hub Third Ave ISSUES INCLUDE NO WI-FI, POWER OUTAGES, NO CELLULAR SERVICE AND UNRESPONSIVE MANAGEMENT
By Nora O’Neill Alligator Staff Writer
Rooms containing exposed piping, bedrooms without windows and faulty Wi-Fi awaited Jamie Schemmel when he moved in to Hub Third Ave. He signed a lease that advertised “furnished apartments that glisten with designer-quality finishes.” That’s not what he encountered in his first-floor, five-bedroom-by-fivebathroom unit. These issues come at a time when UF students are starting a mostly online semester and are relying on apartments for Wi-Fi and safe study environments amid the rising
Bob the gator goes to the vet
Bob, a 660-pound middle-aged alligator, visited the UF Veterinary College of Medicine on Thursday for treatment and went viral, pg. 4
Felipe’s — gone too soon
The Mexican taqueria will close Nov. 1. The early exit was not brought on by COVID-19, pg. 5
positive COVID-19 cases on and off campus. Residents pay between $660 and $1,535 monthly, according to the apartment’s website, for rooms that many have said were quickly built at the last minute. Schemmel, a 21-year-old UF economics and finance senior, decided to sign a lease at the newly built Hub Third Ave after seeing that it could fit him and six friends in one unit. Once there, he said he was met with uncured concrete ceilings, extremely low ceiling fans and no cellular service. “We walked in and were like, ‘What the hell? This isn’t finished at all,’” Schemmel said. Rachel Wolfrey, a 19-year-old UF political science and public relations sophomore, said she’s been unable to attend most of her live Zoom
SEE HUB, PAGE 4
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