September 14, 2020

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

VOLUME 115 ISSUE 3

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Not officially associated with the University of Florida

UF’s quarantining procedure riddled with issues STUDENTS QUARANTINED ON CAMPUS FOR THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER FACED MANY PROBLEMS IN DORMS Thomas Weber & Anna Wilder Alligator Staff Writers

Students who’ve quarantined on campus due to COVID-19 have faced numerous hardships in the semester’s first two weeks, including no transportation, non-existent security in the quarantine dorms, inconsistent testing and sometimes, no food.

UF students — COVID-19 positive or not — said they’re left with minimal guidance and little to no help when it comes to quarantining, and the university didn’t start addressing their concerns until as late as Thursday.

As of Sunday afternoon, 857 people are quarantined because of COVID-19 cases across UF’s campus. UF offers access to on-campus quarantining facilities for students with housing contracts who test positive and those they come in close contact with, said UF’s spokesperson Steve Orlando.

But despite on-campus isolation being complimentary for those with housing contracts, some students are abandoning UF’s housing and opting to finish quarantine elsewhere.

Students who test positive for COVID-19 are housed separately from students who have been exposed but haven’t tested positive, according to the student quarantine FAQ. For COVID-19 positive students, the on-campus isolation facility is Lakeside Complex building two, while Riker Hall is for those who came in close contact with students who tested positive but haven’t tested positive themselves, according to students who’ve been quarantined. Trusler Hall is also an isolation dorm, but it is unclear for whom.

Graduate family housing can also be used for students who have been in contact with a COVID-19 positive person but is not the primary choice, wrote Hessy Fernandez, UF director of issues management and crisis communications, in an email.

Residents of sorority and fraternity houses who test positive are being told to quarantine at local hotels, Orlando said. The cost of the hotel room is paid for by either the student or their chapter.

UF’s Screen, Test and Protect, the university task force that aims to handle COVID-19 on campus, will notify the students who must quarantine.

But the first hurdle is getting themselves there.

Photo by Zachariah Chou // Caption by Ryan Haley // Alligator Staff Writers

A fire at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday afternoon that lasted about an hour and temporarily closed down Museum Road is under investigation. A maintenance tractor is believed to be the cause, said Steve McClain, the UF senior associate athletics director. Nobody was injured, said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando. The Florida Gators tweeted that there was no damage to the facility.

UF is No. 6 in U.S. public universities UF ROSE FROM NO. 7 IN 2019, THOUGH IT FELL SHORT OF ITS TOP FIVE GOAL

By Corbin Bolies Alligator Staff Writer

Transportation and moving to the dorm Sometimes, UF isn’t the first to notify students of potential exposure.

Kaiana Kibler, an 18-year-old UF aerospace engineering freshman, called UF Screen, Test and Protect after learning her roommate tested positive Sept. 1. During her call, she said she was told she may have to quarantine, and a few hours later, she said she received another call telling her to be at the isolation dorm within two hours.

Kibler said she wasn’t told what to bring nor given any assistance or transportation to help her move from Hume Hall to Riker Hall — she didn’t even know where Riker Hall

SEE QUARANTINE, PAGE 4

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT Who gets to go?

UF hasn’t Story description announced finish itswith protocol comma, for pg# students attending football games, so Sports Editor River Wells took a look at what other schools have planned for the college football season, pg. 11

UF has been named the sixth best public university in the country in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2021 college rankings.

As of Monday, UF ties for sixth place with the University of California, Santa Barbara, with both schools improving from seventh place in 2019. The university also ranks No. 30 in the combined list of public and private universities, up from No. 34.

The top five is led by the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; the University of Virginia; and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“By nearly every measure, UF is continuing to make

What’s up with graduation?

2020 graduation is still postponed. 2021 graduates lie in wait, pg. 5

Sharing stories on hair discrimination

‘How could you judge my intelligence, based on my hair?’, pg. 6

gains, and I’m thankful to the elected leaders, faculty, staff and supporters of the university who have made that possible,” UF President Kent Fuchs said in a statement.

Rankings are based on six factors: student outcomes, faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence and alumni giving.

UF first reached the top 10 in 2017, tying with the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, San Diego for ninth place. The university has long hoped to become top five.

Three UF undergraduate programs also moved up in ranking. The Warrington College of Business rose from No. 28 to No. 24; the College of Engineering from No. 34 to No. 32; and the computer science program within the College of Engineering debuted at No. 48 out of 481 universities.

@CorbinBolies cbolies@alligator.org

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2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

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“Based on all of the available information, we have every reason to believe this storm represents a significant threat,” he said, adding that the coronavirus adds a layer of complexity to storm preparations. There are still some 5,400 members of the state's National Guard mobilized from Laura, and they will assist with Sally.

Sunday's Top AP Headlines Racial injustice themes fill empty NFL stadiums Jason Myers kicked off to start the Seahawks' season-opener against the Falcons, and the ball sailed through the end zone for a touchback. No one moved a step.

Instead, the players all dropped to one knee. After years of pleading with the NFL to act against systemic racism, they were willing to wait another 10 seconds to make their point. Teams opening the year in empty stadiums knelt, locked arms, raised fists in protest or stayed off the field entirely for the “StarSpangled Banner” and the Black anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on Sunday as the once-reluctant league brought racial injustice to the forefront on the NFL's first full slate of games. In Atlanta, the teams wore armbands honoring civil rights leader John Lewis and staged the most striking of the day's gestures: They barely flinched as the opening kickoff landed beyond the end line, took a knee and remained there for about 10 seconds before trotting off the field to resume the game. “It’s a start," Falcons running back Todd Gurley said after the game. "Are we going to keep doing this? You don’t want to make it a one-time thing — just like having a good game, and then the rest of the season you do nothing.”

Lewis, the Georgia Congressman who died in July, was an honorary captain for the game. The Falcons also wore shirts with his quote: “The Vote is the most powerful, nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society.” And that's just what the Falcons and Seahawks did before the game.“Everybody voted and said we’re going to come together as a unit,” Atlanta receiver Julio Jones said. “Collectively, we can move mountains.”

2 dead, 6 wounded in shooting near Rutgers University campus An early morning shooting near the Rutgers University campus in New Jersey killed two people and wounded six others, authorities said Sunday. Middlesex County prosecutors and New Brunswick

police said officers responding to the scene shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday found eight people with apparent gunshot wounds.

The victims were taken to various hospitals and two male victims were pronounced dead at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, police said George Biedenkapp told NJ.com that he thought the first loud popping noises that woke him up in the middle of the night were from a rumbling car but then heard more pops and then what sounded like firecrackers. “Pop, pop, pop, pop,” Biedenkapp said. “And then five, ten, fifteen minutes at most, later I heard the police cruisers, my whole house was lit up with police lights.” “I came outside, and then I saw the carnage,” Biedenkapp said. “Police cars, ambulances all over the place. ... I saw six stretchers with people on them, and one looked really bad, they were doing CPR on the way to the ambulance.”

Sally set to become hurricane and threaten U.S. Gulf Coast Tropical Storm Sally slowed down Sunday as it churned northward toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, increasing the risk of heavy rain and dangerous storm surge before an expected strike as a Category 2 hurricane in southern Louisiana. “I know for a lot of people this storm seemed to come out of nowhere,” said Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. “We need everybody to pay attention to this storm. Let's take this one seriously.” Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sally is expected to become a hurricane on Monday and reach shore by early Tuesday, bringing dangerous weather conditions, including risk of flooding, to a region stretching from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Edwards urged people to prepare for the storm immediately. He also said there are still many from southwestern Louisiana who evacuated from Hurricane Laura into New Orleans — exactly the area that could be hit by Sally, which is a slow moving storm.

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Teacher departures leave schools scrambling for substitutes With many teachers opting out of returning to the classroom because of the coronavirus, schools around the U.S. are scrambling to find replacements and in some places lowering certification requirements to help get substitutes in the door.

Several states have seen surges in educators filing for retirement or taking leaves of absence.

The departures are straining staff in places that were dealing with shortages of teachers and substitutes even before the pandemic created an education crisis. Among those leaving is Kay Orzechowicz, an English teacher at northwest Indiana’s Griffith High School, who at 57 had hoped to teach for a few more years. But she felt her school's leadership was not fully committed to ensuring proper social distancing and worried that not enough safety equipment would be provided for students and teachers. Add the technology requirements and the pressure to record classes on video, and Orzechowicz said it “just wasn’t what I signed up for when I became a teacher.” “Overall, there was just this utter disrespect for teachers and their lives,” she said. “We’re expected to be going back with so little."

When school leaders said teachers would be "going back in-person, full throttle, that’s when I said, ‘I’m not doing it.

No.’” Teachers in at least three states have died after bouts with the coronavirus since the start of the new school year. It’s unclear how many teachers in the U.S. have become ill with COVID-19, but Mississippi alone reported 604 cases among teachers and staff. In cases where teachers are exposed to the virus, they could face pressure to return to the classroom. The Trump administration has declared teachers to be “critical infrastructure workers” in guidance that could give the green light to exempting them from quarantine requirements.

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 ALLIGATOR 3

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UF students, faculty and staff are encouraged to receive their flu vaccine Sept. 14 – Oct. 30.

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4 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

‘They need to have a better plan’ QUARANTINE, from pg. 1 was.

In order to get to the dorm, Kibler hitched a ride with her two suitemates — one of whom had a car — who were also identified as contacts. Neha Iyer, one of Kibler’s suitemates, also moved into Riker Hall that evening.

“I was not offered any assistance moving my belongings,” said Iyer, an 18-year-old UF microbiology freshman. “Carrying a suitcase and a couple bags and making sure I had the right necessities and everything — I could not carry them.”

Upon arrival, she said she received a key to her empty room and papers with further instructions. Among them was a list of suggested items she should’ve brought, including 14 days’ worth of clothes — students don’t have access to washers or dryers, according to the isolation guide — a pillow, bedsheets, towels and any personal toiletries.

“They gave us a list of what we should’ve packed after we arrived, which was obviously unhelpful,” she said.

The list of items to bring is now provided to students in the quarantine FAQ, but Kibler said she was not given this prior to quarantining.

Greg Karcz, an 18-year-old UF computer science freshman, said he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 5.

Not having a car, Karcz said he would have had to drag his belongings about two miles from Cypress Hall to Lakeside Complex, a west-campus residence hall that’s almost a mile away from the nearest dorms, in the afternoon heat — all while sick with COVID-19. The only alternative was taking a bus, calling on a ride-sharing service or riding with a friend — all of which would risk infecting others.

“I told them that I don’t want to infect my friends or infect an Uber driver,” he said. “They were like ‘Yeah, I know that’s a problem — I guess just walk there.’”

Karcz wasn’t showing any symptoms at the time, but with all his bags and boxes, he had no other choice but to take an Uber. He said he wore a mask.

Holly, a 41-year-old Uber driver who preferred not to share her last name for safety reasons, has been an Uber driver in Gainesville for almost a year. She said when the app routes her to pick someone up from a testing site, she often cancels the ride.

Uber drivers are allowed to do this if they feel they are at risk of danger or infection, Holly said.

“I have no health insurance, so I try to limit exposure,” Holly, who is being treated for other medical issues, said.

Holly said she didn’t drive during the 45day stay-at-home order in March and April but feels mostly safe doing so now. She said she believes masks help a lot with exposure, and she always sanitizes her car.

“We are all being forced to work in our new condition, and most are wearing masks,” Holly said. “I don’t want to get sick and I don’t think my passengers do either.”

UF created GatorLift Express last week to transport students on campus to designated isolation and quarantine sites, Fernandez wrote.

UF Transportation and Parking Services

operates the service, which is available seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

GatorLift has existed for more than 25 years, providing rides on campus for disabled and mobility challenged members of the UF community, predominantly students, Fernandez wrote. GatorLift Express was born and named last week specifically to transport students to isolation and quarantine locations.

But for students like Alondra Arce, a 19-year-old UF sustainability studies sophomore, GatorLift Express wasn’t a considered option when she went into quarantine Tuesday. She said she hadn’t heard of it until after she had gotten into the quarantine dorms.

Arce said she had no safe way of getting to UF’s quarantine dorms on Tuesday without exposing anyone.

She said she took a Lyft, which she felt put people unnecessarily at risk.

Arce created an online petition for UF to provide safe travel to quarantine dorms on Sept. 6, which has 723 signatures as of Sunday.

After she made the petition, Arce emailed dean of students Heather White and UF President Kent Fuchs about her petition but said she never received a response. She said she did, however, hear about the creation of GatorLift Express shortly after, which she feels was in response to complaints about transportation.

“UF has done some great things to help mitigate the spread of the virus,” Arce said.

“But UF also has had its shortcomings and I think we should try to accomplish solutions for that.”

Fernandez wrote students need to maintain a physical distance of 6 feet minimum from the driver, wear masks and gloves and provide a clear pickup location.

She also said they must use only the rear entry door to the vehicle and sit in the seats furthest to the rear; and need to self-board, self-disembark and handle their luggage and belongings on their own.

Ella Bennett, a 19-year-old UF electrical engineering sophomore, said the last time she took the RTS bus, she saw no more than three of 10 passengers wearing their masks correctly.

“There are students who are exposed or positive, continuing to use public buses, how does the university think that’s going to work? It’s only going to spread it more,” Bennett said. “I know that would freak me out if I was the driver.”

Bennett said she was originally supposed to live on-campus in Buckman Hall but decided to live off-campus because she didn’t want to be exposed to COVID-19. She said she uses the bus system because it’s accessible but feels uneasy now because she saw people wearing masks incorrectly.

“If UF wanted students to come back and pay dorm fees, they need to have a better plan, and they need to be more prepared,” Bennett said.

Testing During her quarantine, Kibler said she called UF Screen, Test and Protect for days trying to get tested, but she said responses to her inquiries were inconsistent.

After being told she’d receive a call about testing Sept. 2, her phone never rang. Then

she was told she’d receive a call before 11 a.m. the next day, but she still didn’t hear back.

Kibler and Iyer did ultimately get tested on the afternoon of Sept. 3. But, they were both surprised to hear they were getting tested at Hume, the dorm they were supposed to be quarantining away from.

They were unsupervised on their walk from Riker Hall to Hume Hall for testing, so they could’ve gone anywhere they wanted, Kibler said.

They were tested in Hume Hall’s third-floor common area with other students from the floor who weren’t in quarantine, she said. She didn’t believe the other Hume residents were aware that she and the other Riker students were supposed to be quarantined.

Kibler and Iyer tested negative — they received their results a day and two days later, respectively — and have both opted to finish the quarantine period in their hometowns.

Iyer said she isn’t sure if she will return to Gainesville this semester.

“Their testing protocol could be greatly improved, because I feel like the first thing they should’ve done was test me,” Kibler said.

Karcz, who tested positive, faced similar issues with getting additional testing; he was told to get a test at the Student Health Care Center Monday, but after finding out a bus route passing by Lakeside was no longer running, he missed his test that morning.

After initially testing positive Sept. 5, he said he hasn’t been provided another test as of Saturday afternoon.

UF plans on expanding testing beyond the Student Health Care Center and the Hull Road testing site, Fernandez wrote. UF plans to continue pop-up dorm testing as well.

“Locations will vary by day to increase access for all students to get tested,” according to the email. “There will be options closer to on-campus isolation and quarantine spaces.”

Security and quarantine enforcement Kibler, Iyer and Karcz all said their quarantine dorms had little to no enforcement of quarantine policies. Anybody who is supposed to be isolating can walk between floors freely and even exit the dorm and walk onto campus.

UF uses data from quarantined students’ key fobs, devices that allow residents into the dorms, to monitor their movement during quarantine, Fernandez wrote. Other than leaving the dorm for testing or meal deliveries, she said violation of quarantine may become a conduct issue with the university.

She also said the dorms will have staff monitoring students’ movement.

But Karcz said his quarantine dorm roommate — whom he has two of, because COVID-19 positive students are put into three-bedroom apartments in Lakeside — has exited and entered the dorm without any supervision.

“Nobody monitors anything,” he said. “It feels like quarantine by choice.”

Food and amenities Karcz is on a declining balance, meaning he has money allotted for food through his UF account, but not an official meal plan. For the last two weeks, students who didn’t have meal plans were left in a precarious position when it came to feeding themselves.

At first, he was told he couldn’t use his balance to buy food; instead, he was told to get food through Uber Eats or walk to UF’s Field and Fork Pantry, which is 1.5 miles from

Lakeside.

Up until Wednesday night, Karcz said he was forced to figure out meal deliveries on his own, solely using Uber Eats to feed himself.

This contradicts UF’s July 10 reopening plan, which said all students quarantined on campus would be given access to food and other amenities during their isolation.

There was no mention of needing a meal plan in order to be fed during on-campus quarantine.

“During that time, the student will be provided with food, sundries, counseling and other services as needed,” the plan read.

On Friday, Fernandez wrote UF will provide meal delivery for students without meal plans. She said students will receive an email four hours after they go into quarantine detailing meal delivery options.

Students without meal plans will be offered a supplemental dining plan through Gator Dining, according to UF’s quarantine FAQ. This supplemental dining plan will cost $25 a day, despite UF’s July 10 reopening plan never indicating students would have to pay for food while in quarantine.

Fernandez wrote those quarantining off campus will receive a link giving them access to UF’s Food Assistance Program, where students are allotted a certain number of points every week, which they cash in for meals.

Since Wednesday, Karcz has been able to receive food deliveries through the school using his declining balance, paying $25 a day.

Iyer, who doesn’t have a meal plan, said she didn’t feel safe in the dorm’s communal kitchens or bathrooms.

“I had no food, and they didn’t really have a plan for what to do,” Iyer said. “I don’t feel safe using the kitchen, so I brought a few snacks, like a bag of oranges.”

Employees dropped off each night’s dinner and the following day’s breakfast and lunch in the dorm’s first-floor kitchen.

Quarantined students — on all floors of Riker Hall — are expected to leave their rooms, go to the first floor and sort through the food themselves.

“My main issue with the food so far is that a lot of it has to be refrigerated, and we have to share a communal fridge,” Kibler said.

She said the rooms in Riker don’t have refrigerators or kitchens, so quarantined students are expected to use the communal kitchens on their floors to store and prepare their food.

In response to students’ concerns about communal kitchens, UF began distributing personal mini fridges into Riker Hall’s isolation rooms Friday, said Arce.

But Kibler’s main safety concern was Riker’s communal bathrooms, which she said are completely unregulated, meaning multiple people are allowed to use the bathroom at the same time.

Iyer said she knew people who weren’t taking showers during quarantine because they didn’t feel comfortable using the communal bathrooms. She described the bathrooms as unclean and said she limited her use of them, too.

Kibler said the bathrooms seem to be cleaned once a day, usually in the morning.

“I’m just really uncomfortable with the communal spaces,” she said. “If I didn’t already have COVID by the contact, I think I would get it here.”

@thomasjohnweber, @anna_wilderr tweber@alligator.org, awilder@alligator.org

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 ALLIGATOR 5

Follow the aroma of soul food to East Gainesville BLACK-OWNED FOOD TRUCKS STRIVE TO NOURISH AND INSPIRE THE EAST SIDE

By Edysmar Diaz-Cruz Alligator Staff Writer

The smoky barbecue aroma of Black-owned food truck cuisine leads to the heart of East Gainesville.

Fueled by the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, Black businesses have seen an overwhelming amount of support in the past few months, even with the economic downturns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The food truck industry is no exception, and for Tony Jefferson, business has never been better.

Swamp Religion Food Truck was Jefferson’s vision after more than a decade of working in the food industry. He started as a dishwasher at The Swamp Restaurant shortly after graduating from Eastside High School and, for the next 11

years, worked his way up to kitchen manager. By then, he developed his own style of cooking.

“I got the passion of cooking and working with food, and it got to the point where I pretty much capped out at the restaurant, got a vision and aspiration to start my own,” Jefferson said.

The 32-year-old opened his own food truck in 2017 and now employs five people. Today, Jefferson’s goal is not only to nourish but also to inspire East Gainesville residents.

“I do this to show the Black community that it is possible to be your own boss and have your own business,” he said. “That keeps me on my toes and keeps me waking up every day. I know a lot of young Black men are watching.”

Food trucks like his own fill a gap on the east side of town, Jefferson said. There aren’t many options for residents as the landscape is speckled with fast food restaurants.

Unlike West Gainesville, affordable grocery stores are scarce in the region.

Jefferson said his clients hail

from all over Gainesville and Florida. However, most of the support is from those who grew up on the east side.

Earlier this year, Ardell Wright decided to take a lunch break from his shift as the on-air personality for 98.9 Jamz, a Gainesville radio station. When the 31-yearold arrived at the large, orange food truck, he felt right at home when he recognized people from Lincoln Estates, an East Gainesville neighborhood.

Music blasted from the vehicles in the nearby Swamp Car Wash, Wright said. He could smell the spices oozing from inside the truck.

The Cajun Shrimp Burger convinced him that East Gainesville residents were in on a secret.

“We knew about it before everybody else did,” Wright said.

He described the crowd as working East Gainesville natives with a taste for southern food and hospitality. Clients swerve their vehicles into the truck’s permanent location on East University Avenue for a quick lunch break.

“You can’t have a viable culture without food and music,” he said.

“Not everybody makes food, so the few people that do, it’s a big deal because it adds to the culture that is already there.”

Food truckers stick together and push one another, Jefferson said. He named businesses that garnered a lot of the east Gainesville community’s attention and support — such as Wayne Head Southern Kitchen and Fat G’s BBQ & Catering.

Gregory Brown said he was astounded at the support he received when he decided to open Fat G’s BBQ & Catering shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced local restaurants to close temporarily or shut their doors.

The 30-year-old is a barber by trade with a passion for cooking.

The idea of starting a food catering business began when a pastor of TheWELL, a Gainesville church, hired him as a private chef.

Cooking is now Brown’s fulltime job. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday he stations his smoker, a large barbeque on wheels, on

Williston Road in front of Bill’s Tire Repair, Inc. and serves about 300 people. Brown said he’s ready for his next step — serving East Gainesville from a food truck.

“A lot of the time, the weather closes us out,” Brown said. “Being exposed to the elements under the tent has been discouraging sometimes, so we’re really happy to have a food truck on the way.”

Brown hopes his truck becomes a go-to for local soul food once it opens sometime after November.

He added that he’s glad to see more food trucks sprout throughout the east side of Gainesville such as 3K BBQ, which will also begin its food truck operation soon.

“We all know each other and love each other,” Brown said. “We share each other’s posts. I’m really proud of what’s going on in the community.”

@EdysmarDiazCruz ediaz-cruz@alligator.org

UF’s spring 2020 graduates still haven’t had a graduation. Will 2021?

WITH 2020 GRADUATIONS STILL POSTPONED, THE CLASS OF 2021 IS WONDERING WHAT’S IN ITS FUTURE

By Corbin Bolies Alligator Staff Writer

Commencement is the ultimate milestone for most college graduates. But for UF seniors, it’s one they may not get to reach.

With the Class of 2020 commencement ceremonies indefinitely postponed due to COVID-19, current seniors have not been given a clear answer as to what will happen with their graduations. After UF’s announcement allowing fans for football this Fall, these students are concerned their graduation has been placed on the back burner.

UF has not done any comprehensive planning for the 2021 ceremony yet, said Stephanie McBride, UF director of commencements, calling the uncertain timetable for a vaccine the biggest barrier as to why graduations have not been organized yet.

The Class of 2021 graduation weekend is scheduled from April 29 to May 2.

“We have the venues reserved for those weekends,” McBride said. “What those weekends will look like? We don’t know what Corona’s going to do. We can’t predict that.”

That has led Suha Zaidi, a 22-year-old UF psychology senior, to lose hope for a ceremony entirely.

“They can claim it’s a top seven school for academics, but if they’re not letting students graduate, what does that really say?” she said.

“Losing the opportunity to have a graduation

is like the cherry on the cake of what 2020 has been.”

Zaidi is a Pathway to Campus Enrollment student (PACE) — a program that requires students to complete their first two years through UF Online — which she said made her feel less connected to UF. The switch to remote learning, especially in light of the upcoming football season, was the tipping point.

UF announced that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium will allow 20% of its regular capacity to attend football games this season. Other regulations include a four-seat distance between fans and mandatory masks throughout the game, except while eating and drinking.

Zaidi said it doesn’t matter.

“I think football is just a money source, but it shouldn’t be a higher priority than making sure we can graduate,” Zaidi said. “If football is safe, that should also be safe.”

Even if UF went ahead with concrete plans, it could still face difficulties with the State University System.

In June, the SUS directed state universities to plan alternatives to in-person ceremonies.

That prevented UF from hosting their rescheduled Spring and Summer ceremonies, with the status of the Fall event still unclear.

Other state universities like Florida State University and the University of Central Florida have not announced plans for Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 graduates.

The Board of Governors, which oversees the SUS, will provide direction on future commencement ceremonies soon, according to spokesperson Renee Fargason.

@CorbinBolies cbolies@alligator.org

6 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

UF students and faculty speak up on hair discrimination IN SPITE OF RESENTMENT IN THE GAINESVILLE COMMUNITY, UF STUDENTS, FACULTY AND ALUMNI CONTINUE TO EMBRACE THEIR NATURAL STYLES

By Kalia Richardson Alligator Staff Writer

Rik Stevenson stands in front of his UF classroom, wearing a full suit, a bow tie and his salt-n-pepper dreads skipping past his shoulders and trekking down his back. He asks students to pull out a piece of paper and make three assumptions based on his physical appearance.

Some students said his dreads make him look professorial or intelligent, but Stevenson questions how the assessment was made.

“How could you judge my intelligence, based on my hair?” Stevenson said.

A study conducted by the American Psychological Association said strangers can make first impressions within half a minute. Many Black students, faculty and alumni have worn their hair naturally or in natural hairstyles, but their appearances to others have not always been positive.

Some have experienced feelings of alienation due to their natural hairstyles. They admit receiving unwelcome comments about their hair, but those experiences have led them to further embrace it.

Richard Murray, a 22-year-old UF African American studies senior, has had dreadlocks for eight years. They’ve become a part of his identity, he said.

In 2019, Murray was shopping at a Walmart in Alachua County and overheard a child telling his mother he liked his hair. The mother responded that Murray’s hair reminded her of a thug and kept walking with her child, he said.

Despite the encounter, Murray admits no comment would sway him to change it.

“If anything, it made me embrace it even more,” Murray said. “Who are they to tell me what my value is?”

Murray said under no circumstance would he cut his hair for a job and argued that his hairstyle should not be a determining factor in the hiring process.

Faith Morgan, a 23-year-old UF wildlife, ecology and conservation alumna, had a similar experience in Gainesville in 2017. She applied for a job at an animal hospital and wore a wig in the interview.

On the first day of the job, Morgan said she wore her hair naturally. Within five minutes, her manager said, “I like you better with straight hair.”

Morgan was the only Black person at the animal hospital and questioned if she would have been hired had her hair been natural in the interview, she said. Her manager’s preference made her feel uncomfortable, and she got braids the following week to prevent future altercations.

“It was hard to find a job for me in the beginning, and I was just grateful at that point, but I shouldn’t have to suffer these injustices,” Morgan said.

Because of this, Morgan founded Girls w’ Curls that year, a UF organization that teaches young men and women to embrace and love their natural beauty.

In May 2010, Chasity C. Jones, who wore short dreadlocks, was offered a customer service position and fired once she refused to cut her dreadlocks at the human resources manager’s request.

Three UF College of Journalism and Communication doctoral students conducted a study stating that Black consumers report feeling undervalued and misrepresented by brands like Pantene.

By denying hairstyles such as dreadlocks, Black people are encouraged to use irreversible hair treatments to straighten their thick textures or wear wigs to disguise them, according to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.

UF professor Rachel Grant, who teaches “Race, Gender, Class and the Media,” said that Black hair is used as a form of discrimination and oppression “to otherize individuals” in order to uphold European beauty standards.

The Florida Senate bill 566 worked to halt discrimination of protective styles such as braids, locks or twists. While Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects against discrimination of afros, it omits other natural hairstyles. This bill later became known as the CROWN Act. The CROWN Act, defined as “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” was terminated on the senate floor in March. The act

Shannon Ahern // Alligator Staff

would have made it unlawful to discriminate against racial characteristics, such as hair texture.

While seven states have adopted the CROWN act, progress in Florida appears stagnant.

Stevenson, a man who has worn his dreads proudly for 14 years, calls himself a renaissance man. When not teaching diversity and inclusion courses at UF, he’s scuba diving, flying planes and riding his motorcycle under the fitting name “groundbreaker.”

Stevenson said his hair is a reflection of his heritage: his five brothers and sisters, his parents who never went to college and the counselor who told him he could never be a teacher. His dreadlocks are a distinct part of who he is and he

UF School of Theatre and Dance adapts to Zoom productions and hybrid classes UF SCHOOL OF THEATRE AND DANCE STUDENTS TEST THEIR FLEXIBILITY IN CLASSES ONLINE, IN-PERSON AND OUTDOORS.

By Jack Prator Alligator Staff Writer

How can an actor imagine themself to be in outer space, while their roommate sits across from them and the refrigerator hums loudly 2 feet away?

The UF School of Theatre and Dance has had to make drastic changes to abide by CDC guidelines.

While many UF students are no longer strangers to hybrid classes, acting students have had to fully embrace flexibility in their schedules.

Students may be asked to tune into a Zoom meeting one class and meet inperson with masks in the next.

UF acting professor Ryan Hope Travis has made similar requests of his

students during the transition to online acting classes this Fall semester.

His hybrid acting for the camera and acting analysis classes take place on UF stages, outdoors and in the digital sphere, Travis said. Careful consideration and planning by the school’s administration went into the decision to host indoor classes.

“Acting and dancing — it’s a communal experience,” he said. “And it’s from this community of artists that you find your place.”

His smallest class of nine students was assigned the largest studio at the program’s disposal, a 1,526 square foot room behind the Constans Theatre, Travis said. Classes can only be held indoors for a maximum of 90 minutes before students have to leave and let the room air out.

This is because the air in the building circulates every 11.5 minutes, according to an email sent by the school’s administration to faculty over the summer. At the end of the 90 minutes, the class must exit the building for 15 minutes to allow fresh air to run its course.

Travis said that he is aware of the strain on morale these social distancing policies can have on students in his program but has been blown away by their resilience.

“Yes, it has its challenges but it’s also in the spirit of what artmaking is,” he said.

He recently learned that students of his had been in contact over the summer with one another, hopping into Zoom meetings to discuss current social movements and have group dialogue separate from class.

“It blew my mind,” Travis said. “They were still finding a way to vibe.”

Joseph Meisner, a 19-year-old UF acting sophomore, acknowledged the difficulty of keeping everyone in the School of Theatre and Dance safe this semester. Only half of his class will meet at a time to minimize sustained contact with others.

“Personally and overall it’s taken a big hit to our morale because we’re just so used to being with each other and we feed off that energy,” Meisner said.

Travis said his background as a filmmaker came in handy throughout

said listening to others’ expectations will put you in a quandary.

“Some people will love you because of your hair, and then there are people who hate you,” Stevenson said.

Telling someone to wear their hair a particular way defies the normality of its natural state, he said, and he encourages others to reclaim a sense of self-pride in natural hairstyles.

the program’s adaptation to Zoom as a medium. He has nine short films to his name, as well as a feature film, “Cocoa in the Dark,” in the works.

Props, cameras and wardrobe were shipped to students participating in “Remove Before Flight,” a play created entirely through Zoom over the summer and directed by Travis and streamed July 23-26. The production, made up of a diverse cast of 10 UF actors, took on a reimagining of social and racial hierarchies with a focus on the criminal justice system.

He edited the cuts of each scene to create a coherent, linear telling of the story.

“Art comes out of a need to address social issues. Art comes out of a desire to help heal,” Travis said. “And the pillar of that is our ability to stay connected.

So, when you remove that, artists, we innovate.”

Anna Roman, a 20-year-old UF acting junior who had an acting role in Travis’ “Remove Before Flight,” echoed this enthusiasm but also said she’s experienced challenges like not being able to separate home, work and Zoom fatigue.

She, too, feels optimistic about the state of the program. Some of her motivation is derived from seeing famous actors near her age like Alex Wolff and Florence Pugh reading plays over Zoom.

krichardson@alligator.org @kaliarichardson “Everyone’s on the same playing field right now and there’s so much room to do whatever you want,” Roman said.

Phia Kallas, a 20-year-old UF dance and acting junior, said dance students who share a building with acting students are being confined to six-foot squares taped out on the floor while wearing masks.

This not only makes some dance routines that rely on physical contact between dancers impossible but is a struggle for social butterflies like Kallas.

“It’s really hard to see your friend and not be able to hug them,” Kallas said.

Technical difficulties plague the dance program as they do other departments, Kallas said. A momentary buffer could leave a dance student many steps behind in learning a new routine in class.

Like many others at this point in time, Kallas has had to make her social circle smaller, but she sees the silver lining in limited contact with others.

“Really cultivating those one-onone personal relationships has been helpful, too,” she said. “It’s just different.”

@jack_prator jprator@alligator.org

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 www.alligator.org/the_avenue

COLUMN

For the navigators: Romance and friendship as campus reopens STARTING NEW RELATIONSHIPS IN A MOSTLY VIRTUAL WORLD

By Lonnie Numa Avenue Staff Writer

As cuffing season approaches and Venus, the planet of emotional attachments and relationships, enters the sign of passionate and courageous Leo, some may be feeling bold enough to shoot their shot with the maskedup cutie sitting three yardsticks away from them at Marston. But for the UF populace still confined to their homes, the desire to hit the streets grows unbearable.

Even as a person thriving in perpetual singledom, I’ve caught myself gazing out my window this past summer like a heroine in a Brontë novel, longing for something more than the humdrum of everyday life. It would be easy enough to hose myself down in antiseptics and skulk around

Turlington Plaza searching for food, water, atmosphere or all of the above — but if there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout 2020, it’s how to manage my expectations.

I don’t mean to burst anyone’s metaphorical bubble, but campus isn’t the bustling, bike-addled, pseudometropolis we remember it being, which is making new relationships — both platonic and romantic — hard to come by.

Emelia Ulrich, a 20-year-old UF instrumental music education and music composition sophomore, is having a hard time adjusting to the eerie stillness that currently pervades campus. Everyone within the college of music intends to follow the new safety guidelines, but standing six feet apart from her peers during practice is pretty strange, she said.

“There aren’t a lot of music students in the music building at the same time, even if they are on campus,” Ulrich said. “So it does feel emptier.”

Ulrich feels the welcoming ambiance within the college of music made starting out at UF easier, and the intimate classroom settings encouraged her to bond with the peers she works alongside today.

In her eyes, everyone is still just as friendly, but I can’t imagine wearing masks and standing six feet apart from one another prevents the initial awkwardness new students may feel.

Unfortunately, meeting new people isn’t as simple as going to Midtown on Wednesdays and seeing where the evening takes you anymore.

This is why, for Ulrich, class GroupMe chats possess newfound importance and shouldn’t be underestimated by students, regardless of whether their classes are in person or online.

“You have to have more intent to create camaraderie among everyone around you,” Ulrich said. “If someone isn’t super comfortable with social media, I would assume they need to get a little more control with it if they

want to interact with people.”

For now, we’re going to have to let go of our preconceived notions of what this Fall semester was supposed to look like. The only people you might get to know this semester are the same ones you’ve been dissociating through Zoom lectures with this past week.

Pamela Mireles, a 26-year-old UF musical arts doctoral student, asks that if you’re considering venturing to campus even if you don’t necessarily have to, you must acknowledge that your decisions affect those who rely on UF staying open for their education and livelihood.

In general, if we want to be hanging out with friends, or even dating this Fall, we’ve got to make sure we’re communicating openly and frequently with those in our social circles.

“Just have communication with the people you want to hang out with,” Mireles said. “Try to be conscious that there are people who need to take care

of themselves, so please be careful.”

Mireles, in all her doctoral student wisdom, advises students looking to safely expand their social circles to join clubs, follow them on social media and try to attend virtual events. Some of the student-run organizations have been doing a great job of keeping members engaged from a distance, she said.

I understand we all have needs; I’m not the patron saint of celibacy.

But we’ve got to keep using the tools we’re lucky enough to have at our disposal to hopefully find new ways of connecting with one another. Who knows, if one thing leads to another, you could find yourself on a painfully awkward Zoom date with a fellow member of the underwater basket weaving society! No? Just me? Alright, fine, duly noted.

@lonaald lnuma@alligator.org

FOOD & DRINK

Remembering former Andaz, Tikka Express chef KHAN DIED AUG. 30 AFTER BATTLING A HEART CONDITION

By Marlena Carrillo Avenue Staff Writer

Chef Mehfooj Khan’s culinary journey took him across the globe: through India, into South Africa, to New York and Chicago, and finally to Gainesville, where he nurtured two local businesses and found a loving community.

The former master chef of the Indian restaurant Andaz, who recently continued his legacy of Indian restaurants in Gainesville with the opening of Tikka Express in 2019, died Aug. 30 after battling a heart condition, Tikka Express announced on its Facebook Thursday. The post referred to Khan as “a loving husband, father, chef, and friend.”

Khan grew up in New Delhi, India, where he first discovered his passion for cooking. Graduating from culinary school at 21, Khan worked as a chef in five-star hotels in India before moving to South Africa in 1992. He was one of the first chefs to introduce authentic Indian food to the area, said his wife Noori Syed. It was here that the two, who were married for 30 years, met.

Syed was inspired by Khan to open Tikka Express at 1011 W. University Ave. in 2019, where she and their son Abdul were mentored by Khan in the skills and knowledge required to run a restaurant. Syed, though, said the venture would not be successful without Khan supporting her.

“After he came to Tikka Express, Tikka Express had been complete,” Syed said. “The day he walked in, I said to him ‘Whenever you come in, I just feel that I have so much energy and I can do more.’”

Syed said Khan’s career brought him in contact with many prominent names, as he was one of the first Indian chefs to cook Indian food for former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela.

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He also cooked for other famous figures like former U.S. President Bill Clinton and actor Morgan Freeman.

Despite meeting these renowned figures, Khan found his community in Gainesville, where he was known by restaurantgoers as an attentive and passionate chef, even on the busiest days.

“If somebody comes to say, ‘Hi,’ he would just really guide them and make them feel the most comfortable,” Syed said. “He would never make any visitor, any guest of his, uncomfortable.”

Two weeks before his death, Syed said Khan mentioned to her he wished for more people to know about his cookbook “Secret Is Out,” which is dedicated to Indian food lovers around the world. Khan took great pride in his accomplishments, from his beginnings in the streets of India to present, owning his own restaurants and becoming a published author.

Khan passes on part of this legacy to his son Abdul Khan, who manages Tikka Express. Khan described seeing his son work in the restaurant as making him feel like a young man again, Syed said.

“He taught me a lot of things. He taught me, in fact, everything,” Abdul Khan said. “He made it very difficult for me toward the end, because he wanted me to learn. I think he was preparing me for life without him.”

Tikka Express closed temporarily for a grieving period and reopened Sept. 8.

Syed said she and Abdul are thankful for the Gainesville community’s flooding support as well as those remembering Khan throughout the world.

“He would always tell me that you would only know how good you are when you leave this world and go,” Syed said.

@marcar313 mcarrillo@alligator.org

Courtesy to The Alligator

The former master chef of the Indian restaurant Andaz, who recently continued his legacy of Indian restaurants in Gainesville with the opening of Tikka Express in 2019, died Aug. 30 after battling a heart condition.

‘Your life is worth it’

Sports writer Dylan O’Shea talks mental health and depression in his latest column, pg. 11

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 www.alligator.org/opinions

Editorial

On UF’s climbing rank: There is nothing at the mountain top

W

e thought it. We know you thought it too — but sadly, it wasn’t meant to be.

It looks like this year wasn’t the year that UF would become a top five public university. While it is great that UF’s rank keeps on getting higher and higher, we believe that our increasingly high ranking only emphasizes how much improvement is truly needed in areas that don’t factor into our ranking.

These past several years, UF has been on a ferocious sprint up the mountain of public college rankings.

Now, as the banners and trumpets come out once again to celebrate the triumph of good (UF) over evil (other highly-ranked public schools), we, the Editorial Board of The Independent Florida Alligator, would like to remind our readers that college rankings really are just a numbers game and we wish UF spent more time and money on improving our school in ways that aren’t factored into our national ranking.

As a quick refresher, last year the Georgia Institute of Technology tied with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for the coveted number five spot. That means there was no number six ranked school and the University of California Santa Barbara tied UF for the number seven spot.

This year, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has held onto the number five spot and the University of California Santa Barbara is still tied with UF. The pecking order of top colleges is more or less the same, aside from the Georgia Institute of Technology, which dropped a couple spots.

Now, without access to hard numbers beyond our overall ranking, we can’t quite tell if UF actually got any better relative to our peers or if our rise to top six was driven by the Georgia Institute of Technology having a rough year.

As students who have been around UF for a while, we have seen the game UF is playing. Much like someone trying to exploit point values and percentages in a video game, UF has been pouring millions of dollars into improving the 50,000 foot-level metrics that U.S. News uses to calculate its ranking while treating everything else as an afterthought.

One clear example of this has been the “Faculty 500” initiative, which aims to improve the student-faculty ratio from 20:1 to 16:1.

Another example of this has been through the UF Alumni Associations’ “My Gift. Our Legacy” initiative in which UF students received a medallion to wear at commencement in exchange for donating $10. UF should just pay us to donate money. It’s a lot simpler that way and honestly given the pandemic, we don’t have much cash to spare.

However, there are aspects to being a great university that can’t be measured by U.S. News’ rankings, aspects that are much more important to the lives of faculty and students than what percentage of our alumni donates each year.

What if “percentage of students testing positive for COVID-19” was a factor U.S. News used to calculate UF’s national ranking? Maybe it would be easier to get a COVID-19 test at UF. If UF administrators approached pandemic mitigation with the same zeal and foresight that they did while planning our rise to the top five, we guarantee you we wouldn’t have ended up with a COVID-19 mitigation plan as coherent as a magic eight ball and as transparent as a scratch-off ticket.

How different would UF be if U.S. News’ ranking took racial equity into account?

If UF administrators approached racial equity with the same zeal and foresight they did while planning our rise to the top five, we probably wouldn’t have buildings named after racists, homophobes and segregationists. Maybe we wouldn’t have a disproportionately low number of Black students.

UF’s metrics indeed rank it as the number six public school in the country, but there are so many other metrics that are not measured by U.S. News that fall far short of being what they ought to be for a school as highly ranked as our own.

Once we finally make it to the top of the mountain, the top five or perhaps the coveted number one spot, we can only hope our administrators will look around and realize there’s nothing left to do but focus less on pumping up 50,000-foot metrics and focus more on serving students and faculty while improving our school as a whole.

Kyle Wood

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Dana Cassidy

NEWS MANAGING EDITOR

April Rubin

ENGAGEMENT MANAGING EDITOR

Rosmery Izaguirre Zachariah Chou

DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR

OPINIONS EDITOR

Column

I was isolated in Riker Hall: A plea for a safer campus

I

woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head and found my way downstairs to urgent care.

I wish I woke up being as up-beat as Paul McCartney in “A Day in the Life.” However, I woke up on Labor Day feeling sick and achy. “Oh great, here we go,” I thought.

In a perfect world, I would have immediately scheduled a COVID-19 test with UF, but we are far from that. I scoured the UF website for probably thirty minutes, just to schedule a test. I called my first of 12 UF representatives that day, who directed me to email UF Student Screening for a test. Their response came two hours later, directing me to resubmit a questionnaire I completed in August.

By the time that response came, I had already trekked the 1.5 mile bike ride off-campus to CareSpot Urgent Care. The doctor instructed me, as a first-year student from Colorado, to find a way to quarantine in Simpson Hall, a traditional style residence hall, a petri-dish with myself as someone with a possible COVID-19 infection.

It was up to me to call UF Screen, Test and Protect once more.

It was up to me to report my symptoms. Upon reporting my symptoms, I was informed I was a suspected case, and I needed to await my test results in quarantine at Riker Hall. If I wanted to, I could have ignored my sore throat on Monday morning, gone to eat breakfast inside the dining hall, showered and brushed my teeth in the communal bathroom (all without a mask). If I wanted to, I could’ve not reported my conducting of a COVID-19 test.

Totally optional.

I understand how difficult it must be to run an institution at this moment. However, lives are at risk. Cleaners, dining hall workers, students and faculty are all being put in harm’s way. To make testing an optional procedure? Downright despicable.

At around 2 p.m. on Monday, I heaved two giant bags of luggage down the stairs of Simpson Hall and up the stairs of Riker, and thus began my 48 hour stay in Riker Hall. I had two windows, a communal bathroom, a creaky old desk and a large tiled floor.

Does it feel like home? Not quite; it is about as much fun as you would expect. Riker Hall is used as an isolation space; students are moved from Riker Hall to other locations on campus upon receiving a positive test result.

Now, I know what you are wondering, how is the food? We received one brown bag of food filled with three meals and a snack delivered to the common room each day. The university supplies a hot meal for dinner, a snack, water and two cold meals to be stored for breakfast and lunch the following day. When staff members realized I didn’t have access to refrigeration for these meals, they promised to provide it the night I left.

I spent two nights in Riker Hall and received a negative test result on Tuesday. I was instructed to receive one more negative test result in order to be cleared to return to campus. I once again made the trek to CareSpot and received another test on Tuesday night. The following morning, I received a phone call informing me I was cleared to return to campus.

Riker isolation was lonely at times with three desks and four dressers as roommates. I appreciate my friends’ efforts to wave from outside and to FaceTime me from across the country.

Isolation definitely puts things into perspective. You find yourself pining for another dining hall meal and another socially distanced walk. The moment of euphoria I experienced upon leaving the dorm is something I hope you do not actually have to experience.

My isolation at Riker Hall was close to the best the university can do. I appreciate the efforts of staff to clean the bathrooms once daily and to deliver meals. My experience may not make self-reporting symptoms seem like an advantageous proposition.

Yet, it is still the right thing to do. If you are feeling ill, stay inside.

Please, for the safety of others and for yourself, get tested if you are having symptoms or are in contact with someone who does.

We are in this fight together and must watch out for the safety and well-being of one another.

William Munro is a telecommunications freshman.

Column

Gainesville is your city and it needs your help

O

n Aug. 26, Dr. Michael Lauzardo gave a thoughtful answer when asked if UF’s opening would cause COVID-19 to spread and what steps the university would take to mitigate the impact. In the two weeks since, much has changed, and my worries have only grown — COVID-19 has spread rapidly within the Gator Nation, including a 27.1% positive test rate at the Student Health Center. Testimonies of dead end contact tracing, students afraid of or refusing quarantining and testing and lack of proper guidance for positive cases have raised issues that need immediate attention, not just from UF Health and administration, but from the powerful decision makers on the Board of Trustees and the Office of the Provost Joe Glover.

The daily median age of Alachua County cases has dropped to 20 years old since UF reopened. There is little doubt this is a result of the 250-plus UF COVID-19 cases and the 850-plus individuals in quarantine. I have no doubt UF Health is monitoring the campus spread closely, but it has been my job to govern off-campus pandemic policy since March and I have concerns that aren’t being addressed. When students are off campus at Publix, Walmart or a favorite restaurant, remember there are immunocompromised people in our community you could be endangering if you carry COVID-19 from a weekend party. If you live off campus with random roommates, you have added responsibility to not go out because your roommates can’t distance easily at home. Alachua County has required masks indoors to protect consumer confidence for our businesses reopening since April. These messages have been lost in UF’s reopening plan because they have said it isn’t their jurisdiction.

Some cynics might ask, why should UF care if that’s my job?

Since I was elected in 2017, UF officials have worked with me hand-in-hand to improve our city. It is in UF’s best interest because if they aspire to become a top five public preeminent university, then Gainesville must evolve into a preeminent city. Our future success is intertwined. Then COVID-19 struck Wuhan, then Europe and finally Florida. Now our survival is intertwined. Gainesville is the students’ city too, and we love to have them here, but in 2020,

health and safety from COVID-19 is our new priority. Off-campus gatherings are threatening our survival. It is cynical to suggest that UF’s campus is the safest place in the city if the rest of Gainesville is a casualty.

I have called on Alachua County Chair Robert Hutchinson and Mayor Lauren Poe to convene another joint meeting with UF administrators to discuss the reopening outbreak. In the meantime, I call on the community to submit their questions to their elected officials so that we can pose them in writing and expect answers in writing. My office will be directing questions to the Board of Trustees and the Office of the Provost because I hold them responsible. Until now they have been content to pass the buck to their administrators, their faculty, their undergraduate students, their world class health care system and the entire Gator Nation.

As long as I have something to say, the buck will stop here. I will accept zero deaths related to UF community spread whether on or off campus. I have family here who work at UF and our local essential businesses that must remain open. I will not see one of them endangered because of well-paid office holders who throw up their hands and say“Let’s just hope it works out well.”Hope is not a strategy, nor is it scientific. Hope is a question of faith and sincerity, and both are subject to proof. I place my hope in a well informed citizenry asking critical questions of their public institutions and leaders. Together we will faithfully see this through — since every pandemic in human history has an end — but I will not accept a single casualty because of a lack of leadership.

Don’t be afraid if you woke up with a fever today. Call for a test.

Don’t be afraid of being alone in quarantine if you test positive. You will be back. Don’t be afraid if you go to the hospital. Gainesville’s health care system is second to none. And don’t be afraid to admit you made a mistake, we all do. Decent people own up to mistakes and try to correct them. UF has made mistakes and it is time to fix them.

David Arreola is the Gainesville City Commissioner for district three and can be reached at arreoladi@cityofgainesville.org.

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

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1

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2

For Rent

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solution on page 10 Release Date: Wednesday, Monday, September September 14, 2020 9, 2020

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

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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

4

Roommates

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5

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6

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10 09/08/2020 09/09/20 09/14/20

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10

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13

Wanted

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

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

Wanted

13

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14

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by Fifi

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

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3. LANGUAGE: What does the Lat1. U.S. STATES: Where is the Rock & Roll in prefix “sub-” mean in English?

Hall of Fame located?

4. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the only president to serve two noncon2. LITERATURE: Which famous novel besecutive terms? gins with the line, "You betterWhich not never tell 5. LITERATURE: 20th-centuryGod"? movie star penned the autobiogranobody but phy “Me: Stories of My Life”?

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United States?

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MOVIES: Which sci-fi movie has theWhich tagline, “Reality is a movie thing of the 5. MOVIES: animated Disney feapast”? tured the theme song "A Whole New World"?

9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What the name of the United States’ first 6. GAMES:was How many strikes must one throw nuclear-powered submarine? to achieve a10.perfect 300 What score are in bowling?

GAMES: the four railroad properties in Monopoly?

7. ANATOMY: Which human organ filters blood, Answers removes waste and regulates salt levels?

1. 63,360 inches 2. How Search for people extraterrestrial 8. HISTORY: many survivedintellithe sinking ofgence the Titanic in 1912?

3. Below or insufficient 4. Grover Cleveland 9. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the island of Pa5. Katharine Hepburn lau located?

6. Devils Tower, 1906 7. The Philippines 10. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a group of 8. “The Matrix” rhinoceroses called?

9. The USS Nautilus 10. Pennsylvania, Short Line, Reading and B&O (c) 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.

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6. 12

1. Cleveland, Ohio

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 www.alligator.org/sports

COVID-19

What will the stands look like at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium?

By River Wells Sports Writer

When the USF Bulls ran onto the field at Raymond James Stadium, it was business as usual. The team burst through a makeshift pen beneath a slew of pyrotechnics and smoke as music blared over the loudspeakers.

But there was no roar from fans to greet them. When the announcer introduced the starting lineup and images of the team flashed across the Jumbotron, he did so to an empty stadium. There was no band on the field: Instead, they appeared over video as their music was pumped through the speakers.

Raymond James Stadium was empty as the Bulls won their opening game over The Citadel 276. While the stands were hauntingly devoid for the opener, that isn’t the plan going forward: USF plans to have fans in attendance for all of its remaining home games, including the vaunted “War on I-4” against UCF. New USF head coach Jeff Scott, who received an ice bath for only his team to witness upon his first

Bulls win, said the Bulls would probably allow around 15,000 fans when they are let back into Raymond James.

“I would just encourage all of our fans that haven’t bought tickets yet for that Oct. 10 game (against Eastern Carolina) to go ahead and buy those tickets,” Scott said.

“Whatever our maximum number for capacity is, that’s what I hope we’re able to have to this team.”

There’s just one problem: USF, like UF and so many other schools across the nation, hasn’t presented a plan for who will get those seats.

Florida sent out an email on Aug. 27 to season ticket holders saying that seat availability would be determined by “Gator Booster Football club levels.” The email didn’t say anything about student tickets, however: In fact, students were not mentioned at all.

On Sept. 3, UF sent an email out explaining that attendance at The Swamp would be capped at about 17,000 people, or 20 percent capacity.

“While we continue to develop finalized ticketing and parking information, we plan to provide the

specifics for ticketing and parking next week,” the email read.

But the next week came, and there were no specifics. It’s been 11 days since the email was sent out, and Florida students are still left wondering how — and if — they will be allowed into Ben Hill Griffin come the Gators’ home opener.

But what are other schools around the nation doing?

Florida State is also using a donor-based tier list for seasonticket-holder ticket priority. For boosters, there are two ticket packs for home games that contain different home games across the season: The highest donors can buy both ticket packs, and the opportunities descend from there.

For the students, ticket priority is based on “class standing,” where seniors and graduate students get the most points and younger classes get fewer. Students have the opportunity to earn points through activities such as making tweets or posts on social media with official hashtags.

Texas Tech, meanwhile, initially gave priority to season ticket holders before opening sales to

River Wells // Alligator Staff

The USF Bulls played their first home game without fans, but they plan on allowing them in future games. UF will be at 20 percent capacity for home games this season. the public. Students are delegated to the lower bowl at Jones’ AT&T Stadium and can come in on a firstcome, first-serve basis after paying a flat fee of $61.20 for the semester, according to Texas Tech’s ticket office.

These are a few of the options UF could pursue in getting students back into The Swamp. And while fans are eager to create at least a fraction of that college atmosphere,

some players, like USF quarterback Jordan McCloud, are just happy to play football regardless of the attendance.

“Our last game was in November,” McCloud said after the game. “So to come back nine months later, fans or no fans — regardless, it was fun.”

@riverhwells rwells@alligator.org

O'Shea Can You See

Dak Prescott’s openness about his depression shows true strength

I

was 19 when my therapist reached into the top-left drawer of her desk and supposed to be strong. There is pressure to dull our spectrum of emotions. And handed me a pamphlet on suicide prevention. don’t we dare shed a tear.

It was fall 2017, my freshman year at UF. This mindset is wrong. It’s outdated. It’s destructive.

If you placed the handout on a scale, it would have come in at less than an While having conversations about mental health has become more normalized ounce. My hands still trembled under its weight. in recent years, Bayless’ remarks only highlight that the world’s uncompassionate She gave me that pamphlet out of fear that I wouldn’t make it to next week’s fire toward mental illness is still ablaze. session. I gripped the pamphlet between my thumbs and stared through it for Not only is Bayless wrong to condemn Dak’s transparency, he also missed the Dylan O'Shea what felt like an eternity. This is what my life came to. mark on what it means to be a leader.

Twitter: @dylanoshea24 I wept.

A leader isn’t stoic, cold and macho. That false definition of leadership Email: doshea@alligator.org While I never contemplated taking my life, that moment was an all-time low originates from generations of insecurity and a lack of empathy. for me. I thought I was invincible for most of my young life, impervious to the A true leader is relatable, shows emotion and cares for his or her peers. That’s depression and anxiety I witnessed in others. That moment made me think differently. who Dak is.

No one is immune to illness, mental or physical.

He’s doing a great service to his teammates, the NFL and the rest of the world by being And because of this, anyone going through battles with mental health deserves a support honest about what he’s going through. Dak isn’t weak for opening up about his depression. system. People need to know it’s OK to not be OK. He showed ultimate strength in doing so. Starting the conversation is the first step in healing.

However, when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott opened up about his struggles Hopefully, this most recent development in the battle to normalize conversations about with depression during the 2020 NFL offseason, he was met with criticism by sports journalist mental health helps people understand how important it is to talk about these issues. and “Undisputed” co-host Skip Bayless.

Because, while it’s difficult to be honest about our pain, transparency and empathy are our On Sept. 9, Prescott revealed the passing of his 31-year-old brother Jace Prescott on April greatest allies.

24 had been a suicide. Dak said his brother’s death, along with the effects of COVID-19 and I’ve come a long way since my lowest point three years ago. But my battles with mental social quarantine, rapidly deteriorated his mental health. health are still ongoing. I have had off days. I’ve skipped class. I’m guilty of putting on a brave While he said football is his career and passion, he added that he got to the point where he face sometimes. And, there are days where I can’t hit the snooze button enough. no longer wanted to work out and practice.

But, I don’t ever wonder if I have a life worth living. Because if you’re here on Earth and Bayless took to his Fox Sports 1 television show and blasted Dak, claiming he’d shown breathing, your life is worth it. And life is a beautiful thing. weakness and vulnerability. Bayless said there was no place for softness for the Cowboys We’re not perfect. And, it’s important to remember we’re no more than human beings. signal-caller.

However, it’s even more important to remember we’re no less.

There is an increased stigma surrounding mental health issues for men in particular. We’re Former UF cornerback CJ Henderson recorded an interception in his debut game with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Henderson also made the gameclinching pass deflection to bring Jacksonville to 1-0.

Florida moves up to No. 5 in AP Poll

The Gators moved up to No. 5 on the newest iteration of the AP Poll released on Sunday. UF sits right behind Georgia but right above LSU as one of six SEC teams in the top ten.

Follow us for updates

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

12 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

TENNIS

Florida men’s tennis 2020-21 roster preview

By Ryan Haley Sports Writer

The Florida Gators men’s tennis team will be allowed to compete beginning Oct. 1st for the 2020-21 season, coming off of a season where it finished 9th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division I rankings before the season was suspended.

The Gators have 10 student-athletes on their men’s tennis team for the upcoming season. Meet the players who will wear orange and blue on the court this year.

Andy Andrade, Senior, Bradenton, Florida A 2019 Second Team All-SEC and a member of the 2019 SEC Honor Roll, Andrade has recorded at least 24 singles wins in each of the last three seasons. He had a team-high eight-match singles win streak last spring. Andrade won his first singles draw last fall at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic.

Brian Berdusco, Senior, Bradenton, Florida The 2018 ITA Southeast Region doubles champion, Berdusco has been in Gainesville for the past two seasons after competing at Pepperdine his freshman year. He and Johannes Ingildsen reached a high of No. 18 in doubles in Jan. 2020. Berdusco won the orange draw of the UVA Masters with Lukas Greif in Sept. 2018.

Blaise Bicknell, Sophomore, Miami, Florida As a freshman last season, Bicknell finished fourth on the team with 19 singles victories, including an undefeated 7-0 in dual singles and a

victory in his only SEC singles match. Bicknell was ranked as high as the nation’s No. 10 recruit as a high schooler according to the Tennis Recruiting Network and played three matches for the Jamaican national team in the 2020 Davis Cup.

Josh Goodger, Senior, Wallington, England A transfer from the University of Tulsa, Goodger ranked third on the team in singles wins (21) and first in doubles wins (16) in his first season with the Gators last year. He went 3-1 in SEC Singles and 3-0 in SEC Doubles. He was a finalist in singles at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic last fall.

Will Grant, Sophomore, Orlando, Florida As a freshman last year, Grant had a 10-3 record in doubles in the spring with Johannes Ingildsen, including a pair of SEC victories. Grant won both of his singles appearances last spring, including clinching a team victory over Mercer. He was ranked as high as the No. 5 recruit in the country according to the Tennis Recruiting Network in high school and was a seven-time International Tennis Federation doubles champions before he came to Florida.

Lukas Greif, Junior, Newburgh, Ind. A member of the 2019 SEC All-Freshman Team, Greif has a 11-1 career record in SEC singles matches. He qualified for the main singles draw at the 2019 ITA All-American Championship and won SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 19, 2020, after leading a comeback against No. 6 Wake Forest at ITA National Team Indoors.

Johannes Ingildsen, Redshirt Senior, Copenhagen, Denmark Returning for a fifth season, Ingildsen has been a staple in the Gators’ roster since Fall 2016. He has been a two-time Second Team AllSEC (2018, 2019) and two-time All-American in doubles (2017-18). Ingildsen has recorded 98 singles victories and 86 doubles victories during his four years at Florida. He reached a career-high ITA doubles ranking of No. 24 in February 2020.

seasons. He posted a team-leading 27 singles victories last season and reached a career-high ITA singles ranking at No. 11 in Feb. 2020. He won the singles title at 2019 ITA Southeast Regionals.

He’s also been named an ITA All-American twice (2018 - doubles, 2020 - singles).

@ryan_dhaley rhaley@alligator.org

Sam Riffice, Junior, Orlando, Florida Riffice is one of two captains for the upcoming season. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week twice (Feb. 6, 2019, and March 26, 2019) and 2019 ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year after going 10-0 in SEC singles as a freshman. Riffice has notched 42 overall singles victories and 34 overall doubles victories in only two seasons. He was also pegged as the 2020 ITA Southeast Region Player to Watch and the ITA National Player to Watch.

Ben Shelton, Freshman, Gainesville, Florida A local freshman, Shelton attended Buchholz High School in Gainesville. He’s the reigning FHSAA State Champion in singles. Shelton won doubles at the 2019 United States Tennis Association Boys 16s Clay Courts Champion and was a finalist in singles at the 2020 USTA Boys 18s Winter Nationals. He is also the son of head coach Bryan Shelton.

Duarte Vale, Senior, Cascais, Portugal Vale is the other captain this season. He has gone 9-0 and 4-0 in SEC singles the past two

Samantha Harrison // Alligator Staff

Senior captain Duarte Vale is one of nine returning players to the team as it begins the 2020 season.