Alex Brown // Alligator Staff
2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021
UF BLM
A year later: what progress has UF made in its anti-racism initiatives? The Alligator spoke to student leaders and UF administrators to find out By Makiya Seminera Alligator Staff Writer
Last summer, calls for racial equity drove people with authority across the country to commit to substantial social change. A year later, The Alligator is following up on how much progress those promises have made. Following the murder of George Floyd, the Black Lives Matter movement reverberated around the world. UF’s campus was no exception. Calls for racial equity took form in Gainesville through petitions, social media campaigns and demonstrations — evoking a response from university administration to promise change. As a predominantly white institution and one of the oldest universities in Florida, UF has an unmistakably long history of racial injustice to reconcile following Floyd’s murder. In 2017, white nationalist Richard Spencer was hosted on UF’s campus, which led a white nationalist supporter to shoot at a group of protestors at the intersection of Southwest 34th Street and Southwest Archer Road. A year later, a study from University of Southern California gave UF an F rating in racial representation. The same year, the university also came under fire after a video went viral of a UF employee aggressively rushing Black graduates off the stage during their commencement ceremony. At the end of 2019, UF student Kitan Adeniji and a group of her friends were called racial slurs by a white male student in a SNAP van. This year, the university commemorated the 50th anniversary of Black Thursday — the day when about 70 Black students marched to Tigert Hall to deliver their list of six demands for improving racial equity at UF to former university president Stephen O’Connell. The protest resulted in the arrest and suspension of almost every demonstrator, which prompted nearly 1,500 people to return and protest the arrests. Black Thursday evoked a variety of responses from UF, including the establishment of the Institute of Black Culture and intensification of Black student recruitment measures. Thirteen days after BSU issued a list of ten demands, including a zero-tolerance policy to hate speech, sufficient scholarships for Black incoming students and immunity to students arrested in peaceful protests, UF President Kent Fuchs released a statement, “Another Step Toward Positive Change Against Racism.” It outlined actions meant to address and eradicate racism and inequity at UF. The 15-point list was organized to address three areas of anti-racism work: education, history and representation. Some points on Fuchs’ list were quickly resolved, like discontinuing the Gator Bait cheer and the use of prison labor by UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science. Other points, like implementing reforms in the UF Police Department, supporting the recruitment and retention of Black stu-
dents and faculty and renaming buildings remain an ongoing effort. Fuchs said he’s proud of the level of engagement in the anti-racism initiatives from all parts of campus and disciplines.
“This is a university where everyone, no matter who they are, or what parts of the world [they come from], their ethnicity, their race, their gender, their sexuality, this is the place that wants them to be here and wants them to be phenomenally successful, and not just as an institution but for each other,” Fuchs said. During the largely virtual and socially distant year, COVID-19 has been a hindrance to the university’s anti-racism initiatives. Some UF departments found themselves overwhelmed with implementing new COVID-19 protocols rather than combating systemic racism. Black Student and Faculty Recruitment and Retention One of UF’s initiatives was to increase Black student and faculty recruitment and retention. Only 5.5% of UF Class of 2025 admits were Black, excluding those accepted into PaCE or Innovation Academy. UF’s admissions demographics data showed 845 Black applicants accepted to UF — 47 fewer from the previous year’s Black admission rate. In comparison, 48.9% of admits were white, 12.8% of admits were Asian and 18.8% of admits were Hispanic. Hispanic applicants also saw a dip in acceptance rates, with 101 fewer Hispanic admits this year than for the Class of 2024. To Fuchs, one of UF’s greatest challenges has been creating a student population that reflects national demographics. “[Improving Black recruitment], that’s an enduring effort, I believe, that will continue for years. It’s not one that we want to be slow on,” Fuchs said. “But it’s one that we have to continue to be committed to, not just to do it and check it off. It has to be continual.” UF’s new vice president for enrollment, Mary Parker, is also expected to be a leader in revamping admissions when she arrives in Fall, Fuchs said. Through her position, Parker will prioritize the improvement of Black student recruitment. Charles Murphy, director of freshman and international admissions, said he is unhappy with this stagnation. “There’s definitely a lot of work that we need to do for underrepresented populations generally,” Murphy said. “I don’t think there’s anyone, certainly in the admissions office or probably on campus, that is satisfied with where we are with that right now.” A decrease in Black enrollment is not a new trend for the university. Since 2010, UF has seen nearly a 4% drop
Alex Brown // Alligator Staff
Brittny Randolph, 30, (left), and Michelle McCraw, 24, (right) are both 4th-year medical students at UF. On June 25, 2020 they knelt in silence with fists in the air and encouraged others in the healthcare community to share #WhiteCoatsforBlackLives.
in Black undergraduate enrollment, with 2020 having the lowest percentage — 5.61%. Of the 37,881 degree-seeking undergraduates in Fall 2020, 2,127 were Black, according to UF’s diversity dashboard. Answers to why Black applicants were accepted at a much lower rate cannot be reduced to one answer, but Murphy said it’s hard to ignore COVID-19 as a factor. Coronavirus disproportionately affects minority groups due to discrimination, barriers to healthcare access, occupation as essential workers and wealth gaps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Due to these disadvantages, some minority students may have had greater difficulty submitting applications or maintaining higher grades. As a way to improve recruitment for students of color at UF, the admissions office is looking into allowing students to self-report their official SAT or ACT scores to help avoid extra application fees. Increasing the number of Black faculty at UF has been another point of concern for organizations like BSU, which requested to see at least a 5% increase in the Black professional population by hiring more Black faculty at all colleges. Unlike the Black undergraduate population, the amount of Black faculty working at UF has trended upward since 2010 — by less than 1%. If the university’s Black faculty growth continued at the same rate, UF would not reach BSU’s demand until 2102. As of 2020, Black faculty made up 4.62% of the UF faculty workforce. Both the Black student and faculty populations demonstrate a stark contrast with current U.S. racial demographics, with Black Americans making up 13.4% of the population, according to 2019 Census data. UF shows an even wider disparity from the state of Florida, where 16.9% of the population is Black. Renaming buildings and UF’s history with race Calls to rename the Reitz Union roared from protestors outside the building last October — only one of many ways UF students and faculty voiced their concern for changing its name. In their list of demands, BSU called upon the university to consider renaming buildings like the Stephen O’Connell Center due to their ties to racist and homophobic histories. During last October’s protest, demonstrators pushed for the university to rename the Reitz Union after Virgil Hawkins, a Black applicant who was denied acceptance to UF on the basis of race. Fuchs outlined two new presidential task forces focusing on history and symbolism at the university. Both task forces led missions to reconcile with UF’s involvement in discrimi-
Shelby Cotta // Alligator Staff
SEE UF BLM, PAGE 7
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MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 42
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
On-campus sexual assaults most prominent in residence halls ACCORDING TO THE UF’S CRIME LOG, 98 RAPES HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT UF SINCE 2015, WITH NEARLY HALF OCCURRING IN RESIDENCE HALLS
By Eve Thompson and Camila Pereira Alligator Staff Writers
UF’s residence halls are meant to be a second home for students, fostering a safe and welcoming environment at the university. But UF’s Crime Log shows residence halls are the most prominent places for rape on campus. Out of the university’s 98 rape reports since 2015, more than 46% happened in or near residence halls and facilities, according to data from the UF’s Crime Log, a record of campus crimes reported to UF Police Department and Campus Security Authorities. Five rapes occurred at or near Keys Complex, the most out of any dorm, while four occurred at Jennings Hall and three at Broward Hall. Also, 16 rapes were reported to have occurred at or near fraternities, making upward of 16% of the total rape reports since 2015. Some fraternities were listed, including Pi Lambda Phi, Kappa Sigma, Beta Theta Pi and Theta Chi, but 11 were unnamed on the Crime Log. Eleven assaults took place at or near UF Health Shands Hospital. UF Health public relations specialist Ken Garcia wrote UF Health takes accusations of sexual assault seriously and their hospital security cooperates with law enforcement to investigate any concerns. Garcia did not answer questions about why the hospitals have a prevalence of rapes reported and what preventative measures UF Health takes. Victims typically know their assaulter before the rape, making places where students live and socialize, like residence halls and fraternity houses, common areas for assaults, University Police Captain Rick Taylor said. The trends the Crime Log reveals are only part of the picture of sexual assault on campus. In a 2019 survey of more than 51,000 UF students, about 30% of UF undergraduate women reported nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent. Alyssa Zucker, associate professor at the Center for Gender, Sexualities and Women’s Studies Research, said many undergraduates, especially female students, do not report to police. “I think a lot of the reason why some victims don’t tell anyone is that they feel like they won’t be believed or they will be judged on the terms of rape culture,” she said. Rape culture, a set of beliefs which holds
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT Golden Gators
UF swimmers Story description Caeleb finish Dressel with comma, and pg# Bobby Finke rack up seven gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, pg. 15
Shelby Cotta // Alligator Staff
women responsible for preventing rape and often excuses male perpetrators, is rampant on college campuses, Zucker said. Being proactive and putting responsibility on the perpetrator, not the victim, can end rape culture. About 26% of undergraduate females are raped or sexually assaulted during their time at college, according to a 2020 study done by the Association of American Universities. College is often called the best four years of life. From parties and tailgates to snack runs and studying all night, it’s full of happy memories. However, for 98 UF students, those happy memories will be haunted by one specific moment. Sexual assault leaves lasting impacts on the victims, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. On a cool, calm Saturday night in February 2019, a freshman psychology and women’s studies student went to University Club, a gay bar off East University Avenue, with a group of her best friends. “It felt like a normal day. I was just gonna go hang out with my friends, go see some drag queens,” she said. “It was just kind of something we did on the weekends.” She usually went to bed earlier than her friends, so when she ran into someone she knew in high school who offered to give her a ride back to her residence hall, Keys Complex, she said yes. Instead of dropping her off, he followed her into her first-floor dorm room and sexually assaulted her She reported her assault because she
didn’t want anyone else to experience what she did. “That’s kind of what led me to calling [the police] because I knew in that moment if I didn’t do anything, there was a greater potential for that to happen to someone else,” she said. “The most important thing was that it did not.” After the assault, the survivor ran out of her dorm, wrapped in a blanket. She bawled as she sat in the Keys courtyard. Her roommate encouraged her to call the police, and UPD officers drove her and her roommate to Shands Hospital in a police SUV early Sunday morning, she said. Then, she said she was interviewed by police and hospital workers five or six times. Healthcare workers performed a rape kit exam, a four-to-six hour process that involves collecting physical evidence and examining injuries. She and her roommate spent 10 hours awake in the hospital. Her assailant was arrested the same day. “You go through an assault, which is one of the most invasive things that can happen to a person, and then going to get a rape kit done, you feel even more exposed,” she said. “You have somebody swabbing every square inch of your body and taking pictures of you and asking question after question.” The survivor, now a 21-year-old senior, pursued criminal charges against her assailant, whose family paid a $275,000 bail bond to have him released to his parents’ home in Jacksonville. He was let go with a GPS monitor and a promise to attend Phoenix House,
Following up
Updates on promised made during last summer’s BLM protests, pg. 8
a substance use disorder rehabilitation center in Citra, Florida, according to Alachua County court records. But the day she went to the State Attorney’s Office to discuss the case, they told her they would be dropping all of the charges due to insufficient evidence, according to court records. “That situation made me feel even more victimized than the assault itself,” she said. Now, the survivor says there are moments when she regrets reporting her assault. “Looking back, in a way it felt like speaking out about it almost caused more harm than good,” she said. Her assailant moved to another Florida university after the assault, she said. “Before this happened, I had a kind of false sense of security at UF. And the experience was very eye-opening. One of my main criticisms of this school, surrounding sexual assault, is they’re very reactive and not proactive in preventing sexual assault,” said the survivor. The only sexual assault education she remembered was a video explaining how consent was like tea, she said. “I don’t think a 10 minute video comparing consent to tea is adequate at all,” she said. The Office for Accessibility and Gender Equity has run the mandatory sexual assault prevention and alcohol education courses for incoming students since 2017. The prevention
SEE ASSAULT, PAGE 6
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4 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021
Today’s Weather
Goodbye Column by Thomas
VOLUME 115 ISSUE 42
Thomas’s goodbye column by Thomas
T
wo years ago, I wandered into The Alligator’s newsroom for the first time, totally clueless. It was the first meeting of Fall 2019, and I sat in the back as people pitched story ideas. I prayed that nobody would call on me, so I tried to look busy by admiring all the strange stuff decorating the walls — old newspapers, memes, inside jokes from past writers and editors that I wished I understood. I knew almost nothing about The Alligator, so it felt
Faith Buckley // Alligator Staff
Your Summer 2021 editors.
like I’d walked in on a cult. I transferred to UF from FSU that semester mostly because I thought journalism sounded pretty cool, which was maybe not the best reasoning for such a life changing decision. It must have been evident that I didn’t know what I was doing, because a few other newbies and I were rounded up to take a copy editing test. I didn’t even know what copy editing was, but sure, that sounded good. Unsurprisingly, I failed the test. I remember that semester’s Big Three breaking this news in the gentlest way possible, and they encouraged me to try again next year. I walked home feeling discouraged, and for the next few months, I questioned whether transferring to UF was the right decision. After receiving some muchneeded encouragement by people on staff, I decided to give it another shot the following Fall. This time around, I was a little more confident in myself, and I had even figured out what AP style was. I joined as the paper’s first health reporter that semester, and I’m thankful I was given that chance. My only regret is that I didn’t make a greater effort to join sooner. When I think of my college years, I’m going to think of The Alligator — the chaos of reporting from Midtown or
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a Mike Pence rally during a pandemic, editing flats until 2 a.m. on the comfy and probably dirty couch, or Thomas Weber being lectured @thomasjohnweber tweber@alligator.org on astrology over Zoom. Joining this paper was the best decision I’ve made, because through it, I found my passion. I also found the smartest, kindest, funniest and most caring group of friends and coworkers ever, and I’m even more grateful for that. I might not have remembered everyone from my reporting class, but I will undoubtedly remember everyone I met at The Alligator. Thomas Weber is a UF journalism senior. He was the Summer 2021 senior news director.
Goodbye Column
Probably you should finish your degree
I
f you’ve ever discussed my job with me, I’ve probably told you if I didn’t have to be a student to work at The Alligator — I would have dropped out of UF. I don’t like sitting through lectures, I think textbooks are a scam and homework that doesn’t clearly relate to turning me into a reporter frustrates me. But I loved working at The Alligator, and if it took earning a degree in the background to be here, that’s what I was gonna do. It’s sorta funny, maybe a little ungrateful for the opportunities I’ve had, but hey, college isn’t for everyone and I wouldn’t even be here without Bright Futures funds and yearly loans. It’s been like pulling teeth, but thanks to this little student newspaper, I will be the first person in my family to earn a Bachelor’s degree. I’m the eldest daughter of an Army veteran-turned-firefighter and a foster kid who had to be her own good example when no one else in her life would step up to the plate. They were my age when they had me, and worked so hard to make sure my three siblings and I were better off than they were when they emerged into the world. I’ve lived in seven states, about 20
houses, and Little Caesars $5 pizzas and Hamburger Helper dominated Cassidy family dinners for a little more than the first decade of my life. As I write this, I’m also a student at the top university in Florida and the editor-in-chief of one of the largest independent student newsrooms in the country. It means a lot to be the first, and when I walk across that stage it’ll be because I got to be a part of this paper. I do, of course, have other people to thank. To my family, my best friends, Lisa Turk and Ashley Hicks, and frankly anyone I’ve talked to in the last two years or so, thank you for listening to all my rants about print nights and the state of journalism today. To Julia Coin, Steven Walker and Thomas Weber, I don’t know how I got so lucky with you guys on my team. You’ve been the best editors and friends, and I’ve loved doing the news (when it’s new) with you. Karina Elwood and Payton Titus, few people have instilled so much confidence in me. You become a good journalist when you think you’re a good journalist, and you two made me believe it. Thank you to everyone who has ever passed through this newsroom for building
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Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications Inc., of Gainesville, Florida
me, and to every person who has told me their story — I’ll never forget them. Special t h a n k s Kaelyn Cassidy @kaelyn_cassidy to Coffee Culture as kcassidy@alligator.org well for fueling many print nights and frenzied editing sessions. Best coffee in Gainesville. From writing my first story for The Alligator with shaky hands to writing my last one in between editing the stories in this paper with tears in my eyes, if I’ve learned two very important things — first, you only need the word “that” about a quarter of the time you think you do, and second, everything in the whole world is interesting and boring all at once. Look around you, take a different walk home, sit in a coffee shop and people watch for a few hours. It’s all so typical yet so beautifully unique and worth your time. Be fascinated by the mundane. Kaelyn Cassidy is a UF journalism senior. She was the Summer 2021 editor-in-chief.
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C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S S U M M E R 2 0 2 1 G R A D U AT E S
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6 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021
Rape culture ASSAULT, from pg. 3
training has recently been revamped, and the office has also created an app to make sexual assault resources more available. After her assault, she sought counseling. However, for two years she struggled to find an affordable, long-term therapist in her insurance network. “I don’t come from a very wealthy background so I can’t afford to pay 200-plus dollars a session to see a counselor,” she said. She saw a UF Health therapist for four months until they stopped taking her insurance in June. Now, she is hesitant about continuing her treatment. “My therapist used to say a lot that trauma work was very hard work, and I agree with that. It takes a lot of time and energy,” she said. “And then, I’m a student and working so I don’t really have much time to be searching for a therapist and doing that at the moment.” Sara Tanner, UF chief of staff and director of marketing and strategic commuinication for student life, declined to answer questions on the prevalence of sexual assault in residence halls, resources for survivors or UF Housing’s preventative measures. Greek life’s preventative measures and processes for dealing with sexual assault land on the individual houses. UF’s Interfraternity Council oversees fraternities while the UF Panhellenic Council oversees sororities; however, both councils manage the chapters with houses at UF. When an assault of their member is reported to UPD, UF Panhellenic Council alerts the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life to assist throughout the case and offer resources to the victim, UF Panhellenic president Martha McCullough said. Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life director Reginald Lane, assistant director Ashley Cofield and associate director Simmone Horman did not respond to an email request for an interview.
Shelby Cotta// Alligator Staff
However, McCullough said it is entirely up to the individual chapter presidents’ discretion how they want to approach reports of sexual assault. “I usually don’t handle those cases personally but I am made aware of them, so in case I am needed in any capacity, I’m aware of the situation,” she said. Details of the crime are withheld from McCullough to protect the victim’s privacy. In the Crime Log, instances of indecent exposure, fondling and domestic violence were reported near Alpha Delta Pi, Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Gamma sorority houses since 2015. Sexual violence is prominent on college campuses, especially within Greek life, which makes up 13% of UF’s student population, McCullough said. McCullough believes assault is prevalent in the Greek community because they are a prominent, socially active organization on campus. Rape is a taboo subject that intimidates
people from sharing their experiences in the Greek community, she said. However, most assault cases within Greek life were reported to have occurred at IFC fraternity houses. IFC president Pierce Statham, executive vice president Scott Ater and vice president of membership Sammy Beyer did not respond to email requests for interviews, but Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity president Jeremy Grant did. If an IFC fraternity member is found guilty of any sexual misconduct in an informal investigation and trial, it results in immediate expulsion from the fraternity chapter as they have a zero-tolerance policy, he said. However, it isn’t a legal trial as Grant said but it is led by each chapters’ members and left entirely up to the chapter’s discretion in their decision and the severity of the punishment. The chapters are obligated to bring the incident and chapter’s decision to IFC’s and UPD’s attention. All IFC members are notified
of the report through a mass email, which omits the names of anyone involved, Grant said. Rapes were reported in Theta Chi Fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, Pi Lambda Pi and Kappa Sigma, according to the Crime Log. Eleven unnamed fraternity houses were also listed. Grant believes rape is prominent in Greek life because of the partying lifestyle. The use of alcohol and drugs puts students at a higher risk of being a victim of sexual assault, he said. He said it only further reinforces the stigma that most rapes occur within Greek life and makes them look bad as a whole. Alyssa Zucker, associate professor at the Center for Gender, Sexualities and Women’s Studies Research, said drugs and alcohol can contribute to victim vulnerability, but rape culture is to blame for prevalence. @evealanaa ethompson@alligator.org @CamilaSaPereira cpereira@alligator.org
MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021 ALLIGATOR 7
Renaming UF BLM, from pg. 2
nation, whether it be through reporting on UF’s history or establishing honorary naming practices. Fuchs said the university does not plan to replace honorary namings with other names. Instead, future and past namings will be evaluated separately. Led by UF’s general counsel Amy Hass, the second presidential task force reviews and recommends criteria for the process of establishing future honorary namings of UF buildings — buildings named for individuals who significantly contributed to Florida or the university. The task force is not in charge of renaming buildings, Aysia Gilbert, the only undergraduate member of the 14-person second presidential task force, said. Instead, UF administration will utilize the task force’s values and recommendations to decide whether to rename buildings.
“I would hope that we are able to create a message for people who are actually going to be in charge of changing these names to where they have to take into consideration this is just not something that we want on our campus,” the 20-year-old history sophomore said. The process of renaming UF buildings is split into two phases — documenting all honorary namings at UF and deciding what names should be removed. Since the task force started developing criteria for future honorific namings and compiling a list of all current honorific namings in November, the process could take at least a year, Fuchs said. Some honorary namings are under the jurisdiction of the Florida legislature and require a vote to remove the name, Fuchs said. The first presidential task force outlined in Fuchs’ initiatives, led by executive chief of staff Winfred Phillips, documents UF’s history with race and ethnicity. Currently, the first presidential task force is in the process of finalizing its report. Adreanne Martinez, a 23-year-old first-year law student and member of the task force, hopes the report will be accessible to the public in the next few months. Since October, the 11-person task force researched three critical time periods: 1853-1905, 1906-1958, and 1959-2020. The task force specifically addressed Native American history at UF, Martinez said. “I would have liked to see a couple more undergraduates on [the task force], maybe a couple more grad students,” Martinez said. “I think that’s important because our goals essentially are supposed to be serving the students [and] like how do we make it more welcoming for them.” On June 2, 2020, Student Government Senate passed a resolution written by Martinez and five other students that recommended forming the current UF Working Group on Indigenous Expropriation and Slavery to further the study of UF’s connection to Native American removal and slavery. Martinez was later recommended to join the presidential task force by former Chief Diversity Officer Antonio Farias. Both presidential task forces will be dissolved after they complete their individual missions. Finding a New Chief Diversity Officer Last Spring, the resignation of Antonio Farias, UF’s first Chief Diversity Officer, created an obstacle for the university in its pursuit to combat systemic racism. According to UF’s Anti-Racism website, Farias was in charge of two central anti-racism initiatives: strengthening recruitment and retention of students and faculty of color, as well as facilitating the focus of the 2020-2021 academic year to the Black experience and racism. Due to the CDO’s vital role in supporting a more diverse university, the necessity for a replacement prompted a thorough search from administration. In what seemed to be the end of a months-long hiring process, the search committee narrowed down the applicant pool to four finalists: Marquita Booker, Kauline Cipriani, Lakesha Butler and Seval Yildirim. After the applicants visited campus and interviewed, the university decided not to select any of the candidates and begin the search process again this summer, according to Fuchs.
Alex Brown // Alligator Staff
Due to UF’s size and comprehensive nature, administration decided they wanted someone from a university of a similar scale, Fuchs said. The university is currently welcoming applications and nominations for the position, Jodi Gentry, vice president for human resources, wrote in an email. The hiring committee plans to invite candidates to campus in early Fall and select the next CDO by later in the Fall semester. In the absence of a new CDO, important anti-racism initiatives have been distributed to liaisons across the colleges. The new allocation of tasks is temporary until the new CDO is hired, Fuchs said. For students like Dayanna Peek, a Black 19-year-old international studies and public relations sophomore, hiring a CDO who is able to personally relate to the student body should be a top priority. “I prefer for the CDO to be a person of color, that’s like bare minimum. And I feel like they should actually be in tune with the students,” Peek said. “You should be interacting with students and finding out what they really want and what they need.” Student Government’s role in anti-racism As the voice of the student body, UF’s Student Government had a large role to fulfill in pushing UF’s anti-racism initiatives. Despite former Student Body President Trevor Pope issuing an executive order denouncing national racist incidents after the murder of George Floyd, there was not an approved SG Senate resolution recognizing the Black Lives Matter movement until nearly four months later on Sept. 15, 2020. Throughout the 2020-2021 school year, Senate also passed resolutions denouncing digital racism, supporting the creation of a first-generation Living Learning Community in Murphree Area that would benefit underrepresented students, and calling upon the university to create the Working Group on Indigenous Expropriation and Slavery. BSU’s demands and Fuchs’ anti-racism points also called on Accent Speakers Bureau as a venue to bring more diverse speakers to campus. In the past, Accent speakers have stirred controversy on UF’s campus, most notably Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle in 2019. The Accent event elicited a large student protest and an attempt to impeach former Student Body President Michael Murphy. Accent hosted four Black speaker events in the 2020-2021 school year: Black Lives Matter founders Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, women’s rights leader Anita Hill, social media personality Tabitha Brown and actress Tiffany Haddish. The events made up a fourth of all Accent events for the 2020-2021 academic year. The increase of Black speakers was a positive step for the speakers bureau — the last Black speaker it brought was Saturday Night Live cast member Jay Pharaoh in 2018. Despite inviting a more diverse array of speakers than previous years, Accent paid the three Black Lives Matter founders $10,000 each — less than the $50,000 Accent spent
to bring Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle to speak in 2019. Students also expressed dissatisfaction with Accent’s last speaker of the 2020-2021 school year, Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports. Portnoy, who is white, was recorded using the N-word and calling former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick an “ISIS guy.” For the new school year, Student Government ushered in a new administration from the Gator Party, led by Student Body President Cooper Brown, Student Body Vice President Faith Maniti and Student Body Treasurer Giovanna Mompremier. In its Spring platform, Gator Party did not specifically address racial equity on campus. Since taking office, Brown’s administration plans to push anti-racism with Students Taking Action Against Racism. STAAR seeks to improve campus race relations through educational workshops, speaker panels and collaborative events with multicultural organizations. The agency’s co-chairs for the 2021-2022 school year, Hannah Thomas and William Ortiz, joined STAAR to expand their involvement in improving diversity and inclusion at UF. “I was at such a low point emotionally [last summer] that it was everything to be able to do something with those emotions and with that energy and feel like I was doing something that would positively affect students,” Thomas said. Collaboration with other agencies and cabinets is another essential part of making sure that every student’s voice is heard, Thomas said. The agency wants to shift from social media outreach to community events this upcoming year, Ortiz said. Becoming more proactive with activism rather than social media-based education is an additional area STAAR hopes to improve on. Funding Racial Equity Research As part of the effort to focus the 2020-2021 academic year on the Black experience, racism and inequity, a call for proposals was put out from the Office of Research to fund faculty research projects for the $400,000 Advancing Racial Justice Research Fund last summer. Forty-five applicants answered the call, which encouraged proposals that were directly relevant to the Black experience at UF to be submitted by September 2020, according to Sobha Jaishankar, Ph.D., assistant vice president of research. With the help of the Chief Diversity Officer, the Office of Research assembled a review committee to distribute proposals for grading. Each proposal was reviewed by at least three faculty members on the basis of four components: addressing a significant challenge in the Black experience, having a potential considerable impact at UF, possessing relevant experience and leadership to pursue the research, and assembling a diverse and cohesive research team. After careful evaluation, 14 proposals were selected to receive money from the Advancing Racial Justice Fund from a much larger pool of funding than anticipated — $970,000. “We had initially put aside $400,000 towards this initia-
SEE STORY, PAGE 16
8 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021
How policing procedures and policies changed following calls for racial justice CHANGES IN GAINESVILLE LAW ENFORCEMENT FOCUS ON MENTAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS FOLLOWING DEMANDS TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC RACISM
By Jake Reyes, Phong Huynh & Alexander Lugo Alligator Staff Writer
A year after Black Lives Matter protests shook the nation and Gainesville’s streets, the city’s police made efforts to focus on mental health responders and community relations. Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office implemented programs to decrease arrests and de-escalate mental health crises over the last year. GPD redistributed its officers to increase familiarity with the communities they patrol, while ACSO set up a unit dedicated to community outreach. Some local racial justice activists agree the steps are going in the right direction, but others believe more work needs to be done. Mental Health Response GPD and ACSO renewed focus on interactions with people going through mental health crises. Both departments are experimenting with mental health responder programs to help with de-escalation in crisis situations. GPD’s mental health responder program expanded from one to five positions last year, Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe said. Instead of arrests, a GPD officer trained in crisis intervention and a mental health clinician de-escalate situations and get people to mental health services. The mental health responder program had 655 interactions and 10 arrests in 2020, and 351 interactions with 10 arrests so far this year, Shelley Postle, a GPD corporal involved with the program, said. Additionally, the city signed an agreement with the state attorney last month approving the diversion and deflection program, Poe said. The initiative will send people to
counseling or a restorative justice program instead of court for nonviolent misdemeanors like shoplifting or marijuana possession. A restorative justice program places a person who committed a crime face-to-face with their victim to help them understand the consequences. “It puts a human face on it and it’s no longer a victimless crime in their eyes,” Poe said. The city and county set aside money for constructing a central receiving facility, Poe said. It would receive people who would otherwise face arrest or a hospital visit during a mental health crisis. The center would be a part of Meridian Healthcare, which partnered with GPD for its mental health responder pilot program. The project is now finding a location and securing state funding. Poe said he feels optimistic state funding will be provided because similar facilities are already funded by the state. ACSO also implemented deescalation tactics when responding to police calls. The office’s mental health responder program has been in place since April 2020, Kaley Behl, an ACSO spokesperson, said. The program has been composed of one mental health responder since its inception over a year ago and has not expanded since. The office hopes to grow the program in the future, Behl said. About 80% of the officers completed Crisis Intervention Team training, a program focusing on training most people on the force for interacting with someone going through a mental health crisis, Behl said. Officers are now required to intervene and report incidents where another officer acts outside their scope, Behl said. The policy was officially introduced in July 2020. Officers were able to report before the policy but it is now reinforced on paper, Behl said. “If you see an officer that’s doing something they shouldn’t be doing, you’re supposed to stop it and report it, period,” she said. Clovis Watson Jr. was elected Alachua County’s sheriff in November 2020. On the campaign trail, he promised de-escalation training,
community engagement and a focus on mental health assistance. ACSO’s mental health responder program and the reinforcement of its police accountability policy were implemented prior to the sheriff’s arrival. Sheriff Watson has not been interviewed since he became sheriff and did not respond to requests for an interview. Mackintosh Joachim, a member of the NAACP UF Chapter, said GPD and ACSO are going in the right direction after implementing mental health responder programs. The 22-year-old UF women’s studies senior said mental health programs and training officers how to respond to crisis calls are major points he advocated for in last year’s protests. “We’re sending people to mental health institutions to get the help they need,” he said. However, Joachim wants to see a psychiatrist or social worker respond to mental health calls in the future. Professionals who studied mental health and work in those environments would be better suited for the job, he said. Sending social workers or psychiatrists would take the workload off police, he said. In the meantime, having officers go through CIT training to de-escalate situations involving someone with a mental illness is better than no training at all, he said. Chanae Jackson, a Black Gainesville activist who participated in multiple BLM marches in Gainesville, welcomes some of the changes but does not think the fight for equality is over. She wants to see progress from two sides: the government and the people. Jackson advocates for more job training programs in Gainesville as she believes the workforce and better job training could reduce violent crimes. “By fixing these social issues in our communities, we actually reduce the victimization and the realization of our people, and we improve the lives of Black lives,” she said. One of her most important advocacies is pushing people of color to vote. She said the issues in systemic racism start with elected officials. “I want people to understand that the one place that everybody has
equal power is in that voting booth,” she said. “Anything else that we push, it won’t matter if the people who have the like-minded ideas are still in the minority.” Police and community relations Another area of focus for reforms is community engagement. ACSO implemented the government and community relations unit in January, spokesperson Kaley Behl said. One of the unit’s purposes is to serve as a contact point for community members to address any concerns ranging from juvenile crime to gun violence. “We have community leaders that are reaching out to us saying, ‘Help me bridge this gap between law enforcement and the community,’” Behl said. Behl did not provide specific names of people who called in. GPD also emphasized reaching out to the community and making themselves more available for engagement. A key component for improving communication has been attending neighborhood crime watch meetings, neighborhood association meetings, business watch meetings and staying in contact with the NAACP as well as the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce. Although the department was challenged by a nationwide shortage of police recruits, the department assigned officers to smaller beats in line with Chief Tony Jones’ promise last year. As of January, GPD is divided by zones and districts, which established more familiarity between the officers on patrol and residents, assistant police chief Lonnie Scott said. Officers were originally divided between the city’s east and west sides, Scott said. That divide is also how the city’s neighborhoods are racially divided; East Gainesville is predominantly Black neighborhoods, and West Gainesville is predominantly white. “We eliminated that designation,” Scott said. “The optics of it wasn’t right.” Evelyn Foxx, president of the Alachua County NAACP chapter, said her branch communicates with GPD on a monthly basis to find solutions
for issues like the recent rise in gun violence. She’s pleased with the open communication and thinks the mental health responder program is a good initiative, but there’s still work to do. “We aren’t where we need to be, but at least it’s a start,” Foxx said. GPD’s redistribution of its officers has also improved accountability in the department, she said. Aeriel Lane, the organizer for last summer’s March for Our Freedom group, said GPD has been more visible and involved in the community. She said GPD provided written documents and examples of how their funding was used toward the Reichert House and youth programs. “They do a good job of attempting to build bridges in the community,” she said. But she considers the national response to George Floyd’s death to be “slacktivism.” They are not sustainable, long-term solutions, she said. “Declaring Juneteenth as a national holiday is great and it also means nothing at the same time when it comes to advancement,” she said. “And I believe that putting up a statue of George Floyd is counterproductive because it feels like, okay, we did this thing, check that box and let’s move on to the next thing.” The BLM movement is not dead, but it is less visible, Lane said. She believes when a movement has lost attention, activism dwindles away. “Things are always happening behind the scenes,” she said. “But I think when it comes to how that contributes to the larger showing of activism, people who are on the outside see that as a dwindling whereas it’s more of a quiet storm below the surface.” Changes in Gainesville law enforcement demonstrate local progress to address systemic racism; however, community members are uncertain about its future extent in addressing racial justice and the community’s needs. @frlJakeReyes @phongphont @alexlugo67 jreyes@alligator.org phuynh@alligator.org alugo@alligator.org
Santa Fe College’s staff address racial inequality in society and the education system Thomas Beckwith won a statewide advising award for his presentation on the benefits and challenges of being a Black male academic adviser By Antonia LaRocca Alligator Staff Writer
After working over six years in academic advising, Thomas Beckwith’s efforts advising students as a Black man have reached community and statewide recognition. Beckwith drives 60 miles from his home in Fleming Island, Florida, to the Santa Fe College Academic Advisement Center, where he applies his passion for education by helping students reach their goals. Beckwith received the “Best of State” advising award from the Florida Academic Advising Association for his 2021 FLACADA conference presentation titled, “The Benefits and Challenges of Being a Black Male Academic Advisor in an era where Black Lives Matter,” according to a Santa Fe press release. Santa Fe and Beckwith are committed to
working toward eliminating racial disparities and increasing diversity with knowledge from Beckwith’s personal and professional experiences and Black Lives Matter protests during the Summer of 2020 with George Floyd’s death. Since starting in January 2020 as coordinator for the Santa Fe Academic Advisement Center, Beckwith said he assists students and provides leadership in his department. In his role, he helps students who are academically unprepared like he was when entering higher education, he said. Beckwith’s experiences as a Black man at predominantly white colleges allow him to relate to students and share what he has learned, he said. “It’s a way of paying a debt that I owe to society and also paying it forward and just being able to just clearly make a difference and impact,” Beckwith said.
Beckwith’s over six years in advising informed his virtual presentation, he said. He focused on media coverage of Black men, the construct of race and the benefits and challenges of being a Black male academic adviser. His journey through education was not always easy. Beckwith’s father died when he was in eighth grade, and while living in Section 8 housing in Florida, he considered dropping out of school when he turned 16 to help his mother pay the bills. The possibility of halting his academic education changed when his middle school assistant principal and mentor — a man he considers his father figure — provided support to him. “He intervened and got on me, and he kept me out of the streets and from being incarcerated,” Beckwith said. “A lot of my success is owed to him, along with many other people
that helped me in life, but he was the one to help plant the seed and keep me grounded.” This outlook projected Beckwith into higher education, working his way from high school to a master’s degree, he said. He is now pursuing a doctorate in education at Valdosta State University while working at Santa Fe. At his colleges, being among a handful of students of color on campus was overwhelming at times, he said. Although he is still among the minority at Santa Fe, Beckwith said he can be his authentic self as he creates a sense of belonging for underrepresented students. Naima Brown, Santa Fe’s vice president for Student Affairs, said she appreciates Beckwith’s drive and the example he sets for the college. Read the rest online at alligator.org @antoniarlarocca alarocca@alligator.org
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FOOD & DRINK
Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille announces official opening to the public THE ALL-AMERICAN RESTAURANT AND MUSEUM IS SET TO OPEN AUG. 11
By Alexis Carson Avenue Staff Writer
After months of anticipation, legendary Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier’s newest play off the field, Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille and Visor’s rooftop bar, is ready for its kick-off opening Aug. 11 Originally set to open in spring, Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille is an upscale yet casual restaurant and football museum that will cater to Gator fans and football enthusiasts everywhere. It is located in Celebration Pointe at 4860 SW 31st Place and will highlight Gators football history and its namesake legacy of success, quality food and first-class service. Freddie Wehbe, the managing partner for Spurrier’s, said construction delays and staff shortages because of the COVID-19 pandemic caused setbacks . But with the staff hired and construction complete, Wehbe said they’re ready to serve the Gainesville community. Spurrier said the space is close to 18,000 square feet, featuring Visor’s rooftop bar and three dining rooms that can host nearly 500 people total. It’s the largest restaurant in Gainesville and the ninth-largest restaurant in Florida, according to
Wehbe. Families and friends of employees have been invited to test the “practice dinners” to provide feedback for any last fine-tuning adjustments to the menu and the service. “So hopefully, opening night, we will have all the kinks worked out,” Spurrier said. The restaurant’s story began two years ago when Spurrier’s daughter, Amy Moody, sparked the idea. “Dad, you need a restaurant or something to put all these plaques and trophies and championship rings and all that kind of stuff,” she said, according to Spurrier. With help from Wehbe, an entrepreneur who owns Make It Happen, an improvement consulting company based in Gainesville, Spurrier said the vision started coming to life. “[Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille] truly is beyond the restaurant, it’s an experience,” said Wehbe. The “Head Ball Coach” memorabilia is displayed in the exhibit, including all of his trophies, championship rings and the coveted Heisman trophies for both Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel. In addition, patrons can find bathrooms decorated with Spurrier’s gameplays, and there is also a podcast studio where ESPN radio shows will be recorded. “We don’t have it yet but if we get [Tim Tebow’s] Heisman trophy, we’ll be the only restaurant in the world that will have three Heisman trophies,” Wehbe said. Spurrier said the restaurant pre-
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pared extensively to find the best staff. “I think we have some quality, first-class people that work there also, have good food, excellent service, and that’s what we plan to have all the time there,” he said. Mark Heigl, the head chef of Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, has been in the food industry for over 30 years and has worked as one of three head chefs in the summer 1996 Olympics. Spurrier said he is fond of Heigl’s work and that the flavor in everything he cooks is outstanding. “It is polished American with a little bit of southern in it and a hint of international,” Heigl said. The ingredients are locally sourced. They utilize Wainwright Dairy, Hawthorne Creek Creamery, Quincey Cattle Ranch and more. Everything is 100% made from scratch or sourced from local businesses. Opus Coffee provides the restaurant’s coffee. The menu consists of a wide range of dishes from oysters and mahi to margarita-flavored wings, steaks, burgers, salads and vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free options. Spurrier said a huge part of making the restaurant the best it could be was making sure the food was excellent. “If something wasn’t a 10, we were going to work on it until it was a 10. Or it just didn’t get on the menu,” Heigl said. Heigl said there’s a process to cre-
Houston Harwood // Alligator Staff
The Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille and Visor’s rooftop bar, as seen on Sunday, August 1, 2021, had to delay opening due to staffing issues. The restaurant, which is located at 4860 SW 31st Place in Gainesville, will open August 11. ating the perfect menu. “We visited all of the local farms to make sure that the animals were being treated right, the farms were ran properly and everything,” he said. “And so that’s how we did the farm to table.” Wehbe said Gainesville is not a small city anymore, and it needed a place like Spurrier’s — a quality restaurant with good food. “We built it for the community,” he said. “We built it for recruiting talent. We built it to enhance Gainesville. We built it to be able
to recruit better doctors and better professionals and better players and we had Coach Mullen in here a few times with recruits. They’re impressed, their families are impressed.” As of Aug. 1, reservations can be made online. Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille is open Sunday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to midnight. @Alexis_Carson99 a.carson@alligator.org
NBA Draft
Former Gators Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis lived out their dreams when their names were called in the NBA Draft July 29, pg. 14
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Column
Is sex trafficking happening in Gainesville?
S
ex trafficking is happening in every city and could impact any individual regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic background or education. With Florida ranking third in the country for reported cases of sex trafficking, it’s important that as a community we understand the reality of this issue and commit to doing something to change it. The indicators of trafficking and exploitation often go unseen, so when we as a community acknowledge the prevalence of sex trafficking locally, we create a safe place for survivors to be heard, believed, supported and, ultimately, for lives to be restored. A foundational point to understand is this issue has little to nothing to do with choice, but rather the lack thereof. Nearly all survivors we work with at Created Gainesville report they were victims of childhood sexual abuse. When we talk about the grooming process of victims, the early experiences of sexual abuse are a part of most survivors’ initial grooming, which creates normalization and vulnerability of continued sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking don’t find themselves in those circumstances overnight. Rather it often is a life-long process of desensitization to being abused and taken advantage of. Additionally, many victims of sex trafficking will be forced into prostitution, which is one of the most common forms of trafficking. This leads to countless mental and physical scars, with 68% of those involved in prostitution meeting the criteria for PTSD. Often, these scars are manipulated by traffickers as tactics to gain and maintain control over another person; these tactics include severe forms of violence, isolation, fear, sleep deprivation, quotas, debts, shame, drugs and promises of love, protection or fast money. It is important to understand that trauma is a frequent — and, for most, a daily occurrence. An added concern today is the prevalence of websites and online platforms which serve as a hotspot for predatory behavior. The internet adds to the shielding of this issue, meaning that more and more local youth and young adults are impacted. This needs our attention, especially that of service providers in our community, who may be the first point of contact for someone looking for help.
This phenomenon of greater online trafficking through escort ads, pornography and social networking platforms or video games, means as a community we need to stay vigilant in educating ourselves and others, while also creating safety measures and standing with those who may have experienced this reality. As a community, we also need to recognize no two experiences of sex trafficking are the same. As much as it is our human nature to want to understand trends, norms and patterns, we must remember that with trafficking, every story and situation is unique. When we attempt to box every Alison Ungaro survivor into one narrative, we strip the ability and opportunity for survivors to be heard and to access the help needed to escape. With that, it is vital that the most important voice in the conversation about trafficking is that of survivors. We learn best from those who have lived it. No one knows as much about what the needs of survivors are along the journey of escape, healing, and restoration as the survivors themselves. If we want to make lasting changes in our community and in the lives of survivors and those most vulnerable to sexual exploitation, we need to start with humbly acknowledging our gaps, shortcomings and lack of resources. We need to acknowledge there is a big issue in Gainesville and our surrounding communities that demands our response of action, compassion and generosity of time, resources and expertise. According to the Tim Tebow Foundation, there are only enough safe beds in the U.S. to serve 10% of victims of sex trafficking in our country. We must do better, we can do better and Created Gainesville is working tirelessly to fill this need of more safe homes, not only for survivors in our community, but for survivors all over our country in need of a safe place to hit pause, to rest, to create stability and sustainability to heal, to rediscover themself and to overcome the impact of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. To learn more about Created Gainesville and find ways that you can help us reach and restore lives impacted by sex trafficking, visit www.createdgainesville.com. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Alison Ungaro is the executive director at Created Gainesville which is aimed at reaching and restoring lives impacted by sex trafficking and exploitation.
Column
Q&A with a Gainesville City Commissioner about the city’s potential lawsuit against Florida’s anti-protest bill
HB1
is an anti-protest bill signed into law in Florida last works with cities. The Community Justice Project focuses on social justice movements and cities specifically in Florida. There is also an additional legal entity they brought month that sparked backlash from local governments in out of D.C. An entire team of lawyers throughout the nation is working on this. and community leaders. The bill was proposed by Gov. We recognize how important their work is and how important Florida is for the fight Ron DeSantis in response to the Black Lives Matter protowards racial justice. tests over the summer of 2020. The purpose of the bill is It’s a national fight and a big deal. to “combat rioting,” however, its broad definition criminalizes protesters as well. If a group of 25 people are protesting and one person commits a violent act, the It’s my understanding that the main reason for this lawsuit is to reallocate resources to police could arrest the entire group and charge them with a third degree felony of Natalie Cabral various programs within Gainesville from the police department’s budget. “committing a riot” for that one individual’s action. @nat_roseeee What programs would these funds be going to exactly? Not only does this bill provide regulations on protestors, but it also prohibits ncabral@alligator.org That we are even having these conversations about a possible reallocation of local governments from determining how to allocate funding for police to address staff and/or resources to a different department means there would be a decrease the concerns of their local communities. It protects the confederate monuments, and shields in funding for the police department. It is problematic that we cannot respond properly to counter-protesters from civil liability if they kill or injure a protester. our community that has repeatedly told us we need to think about youth services and what However, many cities and organizations are fighting this bill. Gainesville is the first city to that would mean for our community. We technically could not do that with this law. While challenge the law since the state passed it. theoretically we can, if a state attorney or even a city commissioner or the governor has a On May 20, the Gainesville City Commission recruited two law firms to challenge the problem with it, the governor can go line by line over our police budget and decide what he recently passed HB 1 bill. The city attorney will work with the Community Justice Progress and wants to do with it, not us. That right there is problematic. Public Rights Project to draft the complaint. The city attorney has some hesitation regarding the lawsuit. Until there is a cause of action, such as the state attorney challenging a budget decision made by the city of Gainesville, they do I’m a student and we know how politically active Gainesville is. This bill prohibits protesting or at least makes it harder to protest. Would this lawsuit help protect people’s right to protest? not recommend moving forward with it. Real circumstances need to present themselves before Not this specific lawsuit. There are different ways the litigation is being crafted around HB a lawsuit can take place. However, should they wait that long or move forward with the proceedings? Can Gainesville 1. For cities it is about home rule and overreach of the governor on how we spend our budget. The other piece is about the protest activities. The ACLU, Dream Defenders, NAACP, the Black even have the chance of winning a case like this? In an interview with commissioner Gail Johnson, who approved the motion to draft a Collective and a few other groups are specifically focusing on the protest aspect of it. There are going to be multiple litigation strategies and multiple lawsuits. complaint against the bill, I learned more about what this lawsuit could mean for Gainesville. The part in the bill about protests that impacts cities is if there are any protests it makes the cities liable for them by waiving sovereign immunity in specific situations. If there is a “riot,” What motivated you to take action and want to file a lawsuit? The motion was to direct city staff to work with the Community Justice Project and the and we actually do not know what a riot is given they did not clearly state the definition in Public Rights Project in order to draft a complaint and bring it back to us within thirty days. HB 1, then usually with sovereign immunity there is a cap for how much the city would be liable for. For any personal injury, wrongful death or property damage that occurs if we “fail to However, on Aug. 5 is when we are going to decide whether to take the next steps. We would be the anchor plaintiff. HB 1 is a terrible law. Targeting both individuals and us respond appropriately” that waves the immunity. We could be the hook for millions of dollars as a city. Not even just as a city, but as lawmakers. It essentially puts a target on our back. when usually we are only responsible for up to $200,000. We are speaking out for the protected right of free speech. Local governments are standing in solidarity with people who have the right to peacefully protest. This bill is a total overreach Do you all think you may have a chance at winning? from the governor and attack on home rule. I don’t think there would be multiple attorneys from both state and national level if we didn’t think we could win. It is a huge investment of time and resources, right? I can’t see anyone investing that if there was not a chance at winning. Tell me a little more about the nonprofits you are working with. They’re both fantastic organizations. Public Rights Project is a national organization that
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Alligator. The Alligator encourages comments from readers. Letters to the editor should not exceed 600 words (about one letter-sized page). They must be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, classification and phone number. Names will be withheld if the writer shows just cause. We reserve the right to edit for length, grammar, style and libel. Send letters to opinions@alligator.org, bring them to 2700 SW 13th St., or send them to P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32604-2257. Columns of about 450 words about original topics and editorial cartoons are also welcome. Questions? Call 352-376-4458.
Krishna Lunch celebrates its 50th anniversary SRILA PRABHUPADA, THE FOUNDER OF ISKCON, INSPIRED IT THROUGH HIS 1971 UF ADDRESS By Juliana Ferrie Alligator Staff Writer
Since 1971, the Hare Krishnas have offered a haven of love in the form of affordable plant-based meals at the Plaza of the Americas. July 29 marked the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness at UF, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, also known as Srila Prabhupada. His 1971 address, which took place in
the Plaza of the Americas, inspired the Krishna Lunch known by UF students and the Gainesville community today. In celebration of the anniversary, an event-filled festival began July 29 and continued until July 31. The events included speakers, an open house at the Bhaktivedanta Institute and a groundbreaking ceremony at the Krishna House, where they are expanding both the kitchen and its housing facilities. Krishna Lunch is served Monday through Friday at both the Plaza of the Americas and the Krishna House at 214 NW 14th St. The meals are vegetarian, follow a recurring weekly menu and are all-you-can-eat style. Lunch is served from 11 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on campus and from 11
Houston Harwood // Alligator Staff
A group of Hare Krishnas gathered outside the Krishna House at 214 NW 14th Street in Gainesville on Thursday, July 29, 2021. The Gainesville community is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Krishna Lunch at UF on Saturday and Sunday.
a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Krishna House. Nanda Dasi, 49, the Krishna Lunch manager, oversees the entire production, coming up with the menu, changing recipes as needed and making sure they never run out of food. She has been a follower of Krishna Consciousness for 30 years. “It’s definitely improved my character,” Dasi said. “I see the world very differently than I did when I first started practicing.” Dasi said 50 years is a long time to continually serve healthy meals to the students and people of Gainesville. “It started so small, and it grew to what it is today,” she said. “It persisted through time and even through a pandemic.” Even during the height of the pandemic, the Hare Krishnas found a way to be there for the community. They set up an online platform so people could order Krishna Lunch togo and decided to distribute lunches to the hospital for health care workers, Sruti Sagara Das, 31, the president of the Krishna House, said. For other people in need, they went doorto-door to ask if they wanted to sign up for Krishna Lunch, and many of them did, he said. Now, they provide meals to the Ronald McDonald House. “We just try to help out in general in the community, not just with the food but also the idea that we’re there for you,” he said. After not being on UF’s campus from April to August of 2020, they worked closely with the university to create safe COVID-19 protocols when they returned. Summer is slow, but they feed about 300 to 500 people each day during Fall and Spring, Das said.
“We’re just not out there to sell our $5 lunch,” he said. “We want to support students. We want to be there for them throughout the whole year.” Especially over the last year, the most rewarding part for Das is being there for other people through the ups and downs. He said the tradition of Krishna Consciousness comes from India, and its main text is the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna Consciousness’ main values are that there is one God, and everyone is a soul in a human body. There are many different ways to serve and tap into the nature of the soul, which is different from that of the material body, he said. “Our main essence is to function in harmony with God and to serve God as spirit souls,” he said. Krishna Lunch food is sanctified and offered with love to Krishna. The vegetarian and vegan meals offered fulfill one of their main tenets by providing food without violence. “The idea that when you cook something with love and devotion then that energy goes into the food,” he said. “When that energy goes into the food and whoever eats it, then they experience that spirituality as well.” For unlimited helpings, there is a suggested donation of $5, which Das says mostly goes toward the food itself. At Krishna Lunch, compostable plates are used in collaboration with UF, Das said. They work to have the least amount of trash possible and to avoid polluting the Earth — a living entity — further. Tasnim Thakur, a 21-year-old
MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021 ALLIGATOR 11 UF business senior, said her favorite thing about Krishna Lunch is the sense of community that comes along with it.
“It’s a tradition,” Thakur said. “If you go to UF and you haven’t had Krishna Lunch on that lawn at least once, it’s one of those bucket list things.” The food is good and really affordable, she said, which is important for college kids. By far, her favorite lunch item is Krishna’s Friday potatoes. Reagan de la Cruz, a 19-year-old UF marketing sophomore, said she likes Krishna Lunch because it’s a cheap, healthy option on campus. All of the people from Krishna are friendly, and it’s a fun place to have lunch, she said. She estimates she ate Krishna Lunch around 30 to 40 times this year. De la Cruz’s favorite meal is served on Fridays: Gauranga (creamy) potatoes, chili and carob halava. Nartaka Gopala, a 69-year-old property trustee for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, said the Krishnas are sometimes called “kitchen religion.” “We try to put the love and devotion into our cooking, and we also say prayers over our food so that when whoever eats the food gets a certain type of blessing,” she said. Through the years, Gopala has interacted with past UF students who say the Krishnas saved their lives while in school by feeding them every day. “They express their appreciation for the availability of food prepared with love right in the middle of campus when they need it the most,” she said. @juliana_f616 jferrie@alligator.org
UF’s media prominence rises to No.4 as faculty experts speak on international platforms UF faculty is recognized internationally, providing insight on issues such as COVID-19, national elections and Cuba’s humanitarian crises By Camila Pereira Alligator Staff Writer
While growing its ranking to become a topfive public university, UF’s faculty members have become locally, nationally and even internationally recognized for their expertise. In the past two years, UF’s faculty has been called upon to share their knowledge on a variety of current events and topics on respected media outlets such as NPR and the Washington Post. With nearly 5,000 faculty members at UF, some have been recognized for their research and work through notable awards from different organizations like the American Phytopathological Society and the NAACP Image Award. Major topics faculty members have contributed to include COVID-19’s impact on life expectancy, the virus’ Delta variant, the humanitarian crisis and protests in Cuba and this year’s hurricane season. Having faculty members speaking on national platforms contributes to the student experience and quality of education at UF, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando, said. “Our students know that they’re getting a top quality education here with some of the best faculty in the world,” Orlando said. “But it also raises the stature of the university so that people elsewhere in the country know the kind of great work that’s going on here at the University of Florida.” UF’s national media prominence increased by 107% in the past year, according to a June Board of Trustees presentation. In 2020, UF rose
to No. 4 in faculty expert share of voice, demonstrating a faster growth than any other top public university. During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, UF political science professor Sharon Austin said she was bombarded with requests for interviews from media outlets all over the world. Recently, she talked about the U.S. President Joe Biden’s April speech on Fox 4 Now Southwest Florida, explaining how it may have caught the interest of Floridians regarding education and police reform. Austin said not only does the media presence of faculty enhance UF’s reputation, but it also makes professors who get recognized for their research feel their hard work is important and has a purpose. Rolda Darlington, a UF political science doctoral candidate, said Austin has been her professor for over 20 years now, starting from her sophomore year as an undergraduate student to now as a doctoral student. The 39-year-old said her professor is not only a great person who cares deeply for her students but is also an incredible scholar. She said working with her has been a beneficial experience. Austin is part of the first all-female editorial team for the American Political Science Review and will be the first African American lead editor for the journal in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. She is also one of the first African American editors for the University Press of Florida. Darlington said it encourages her to see Austin as a fellow Black woman in political science who is widely recognized for her work while
representing UF. “It also makes me feel a sense of pride in my own work because I know I am working at a university that houses scholars like Dr. Austin,” Darlington said. Extension faculty member Lisa Krimsky is also included in the extensive list of UF faculty called to speak nationally. As a water resources regional specialized extension agent, she has often been called upon to provide insight on the red tide outbreak on Tampa’s coastline. As one of the extension UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences experts for harmful algal blooms in Florida, Krimsky was quoted in various media outlets, including the Smithsonian magazine, and she spoke live on the Weather Channel on July 23 about the red tide. She said the opportunity to speak on national media platforms allows professors to share applied science research acquired at UF, explain it to a wider audience and push for real-world solutions. Part of UF faculty’s mission is also to help foster a rich learning environment for students with their experiences and knowledge in their specialized areas. UF journalism professors and investigative reporters, Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi won the Pulitzer Prize in local reporting on June 11 for their Tampa Bay Times investigation on the Pasco Sheriff’s Office’s intelligence-led policing program. “As journalists, we definitely don’t do the work for the awards — we do the work to shine light on programs and to help people who don’t
necessarily have a voice,” McGrory said. “But I will tell you that being recognized by the Pulitzer board is just a tremendous honor.” Being an instructor who is still in a newsroom and knows the pressures of journalism today, she hopes her work inspires the next generation of journalists. “One of the highlights of every week is getting to interact with students and share my experience as a journalist, and kind of help them establish the building blocks of reporting that are going to be very useful in their careers,” McGrory said. Sophie Feinberg, a 23-year-old journalism graduate, said McGrory has always been a resourceful mentor to her, both while being her student and later in her reporting career. “I felt it was just invaluable to my learning process — inside and outside of the classroom — just encouraging me as a journalist and a person, and I can’t say enough how much I appreciate it,” Feinberg said. After the Surfside condominium collapse in Miami, UF design, construction and planning professor Zhong-Ren Peng was called to speak on numerous media outlets about the incident. Peng, who is also director of UF’s International Center for Adaptation Planning and Design, said being able to share his knowledge and work on the dangers of coastal living brings it to the attention of policymakers and society. He also helped to place an op-ed in USA Today, emphasizing the importance of faculty research on these current issues. “I think it’s the duty of the faculty,” he said. “It’s part of our service to the community.” @CamilaSaPereira cpereira@alligator.org
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MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021 www.alligator.org/section/sports
NBA
Mann and Lewis drafted to NBA THE FORMER FIVE-STAR RECRUITS ARE THE FIRST GATORS TO BE SELECTED IN THE DRAFT SINCE 2013
By Joseph Henry and Ryan Haley Sports Writers
Two former Gators saw their dreams become reality in the 2021 NBA Draft July 29. The Oklahoma City Thunder selected former Florida point guard Tre Mann with the No. 18 overall pick, and the Charlotte Hornets selected former UF guard Scottie Lewis with the No. 56 overall pick. This marks the first time multiple Gators have heard their names called on the same draft night since Chandler Parsons and Vernon Macklin in 2011. The Thunder selected Australian guard Josh Giddey with the No. 6 overall pick earlier in the draft. Giddey and Mann join shooting guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the OKC backcourt. Mann served as Florida’s floor general in 2020-21. The Gainesville, Florida, native averaged 32.4 minutes a game in a breakout season. The sophomore started all 24
games he appeared in and led the Gators with 16.0 points per game, improving on his 5.3 points per game the season prior. He also scored the most points by a Gator in a single game this past season when he dropped 30 points against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Mann came to UF as a 2019 McDonald’s All-American and a fivestar recruit according to 247Sports. Mann was more of a role player during his freshman campaign, averaging 17.8 minutes a game with just four starts. This was largely due to the presence of now-Gonzaga Bulldog point guard Andrew Nembhard. Nembhard’s departure for Spokane, Washington, gave Mann full reign of the Gators’ offense, and he took advantage. The significant bump in playing time led to Mann improving his overall shooting percentage from 35.6% to 45.9% and his three-point percentage from 27.5% to 40.2%. His second year under head coach Mike White ended with Mann earning a spot on the All-SEC First Team and foregoing his last two years of eligibility for the professional ranks. Mann’s silky smooth jump shot,
ball handling and overall athleticism set him up for success in the modern NBA, according to Derek Murray of BasketballNews.com. Scottie Lewis became the second Gator of the night to leave for the professional ranks in the 2021 NBA Draft. Lewis, a former five-star prospect and the class of 2019’s No. 7 overall recruit according to 247Sports, spent the past two seasons in Gainesville under head coach Mike White. He declared for the draft via social media on April 2, forgoing the rest of his eligibility. The 6-foot-5 guard entered the 2019-20 season as the headliner of Florida’s eighth-best recruiting class of 2019 and the third-highest recruit in school history by 247Sports’ rankings. He averaged 29.1 minutes per game as a freshman, fourth-most on the team, and offered a statline of 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per contest. He led the team with 1.2 blocks and shared the team lead with 1.2 steals per game. Lewis seemed poised for a breakout sophomore campaign, but the surge never came. He averaged 25.6 minutes, 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, all decreases from his debut season. He increased
Grethel Aguila // Alligator Staff
Florida's Tre Mann against Mizzou March 4. Mann was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder 18th overall in the NBA Draft. his assists to 1.5 per game, thirdhighest on the team, and added to his already gaudy defensive numbers with 1.0 blocks and a team-high 1.6 steals on average. The former Gator was ranked 63rd on CBS Sports’ prospect rankings, and he now joins a Charlotte roster
with the wing populated by the likes of Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and Malik Monk, among others. @Josephhenry2424 jhenry@alligator.org @Ryan_dhaley rhaley@alligator.org
EL CAIMÁN
Cuatro atletas hispanos cumplen sus sueños olímpicos con los Gators en Tokio 2020 Por Ariana Rios y Isabella Barnet Escritores del Caimán
Saira Gonzalez Traductor del Caimán
Los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio 2020 marcan la tercera mayor cantidad de atletas de la Universidad de la Florida enviados a los juegos tan esperados. Cuatro de los 32 atletas olímpicos calificados son hispanos que representan a UF en natación, carreras de pista y campo y golf. Cuatro Gators de Puerto Rico, Uruguay y Venezuela representan a sus países de origen para tener la oportunidad de ganar medallas en Tokio. Andrés Arroyo, de 26 años, comenzó su carrera profesional en la Universidad de la Florida en 2013. El Gator se clasificó para sus primeros Juegos Olímpicos mientras aún estaba en UF en 2016. Arroyo hizo su debut en los Juegos Olímpicos de Río 2016 como el primer puertorriqueño en calificar para la carrera de pista y campo masculina de 800 metros. Su carrera atlética
continuó desarrollándose como clasificatorio para los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio 2020 en el mismo evento. Dijo que no podría haberlo hecho sin UF. “Sabía que UF iba a ser quien me diera las herramientas para llegar a donde quería estar”, dijo Arroyo, quien eligió el programa de carreras de UF sobre Yale, Harvard y Princeton. El tiempo de la estrella de la pista en UF fue precedido por una impresionante carrera en la escuela secundaria. De origen hispano y una área predominantemente hispana de Orlando, Florida, Arroyo dijo que su transición a UF fue difícil al principio. "Estaba entrando en una comunidad que no conocía y que iba a estar lejos de mi lado español... No conocía a nadie más en el equipo que fuera tan español como yo", dijo Arroyo. Arroyo notó lo difícil que fue integrarse en la cultura de UF al principio, siendo el español su idioma principal cuando llegó por primera vez. Todo eso cambió cuando encontró organizaciones hispanas que lo ayudaron a conectarse con la comunidad hispana en UF y en
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Gainesville. Dijo que la Asociación de Estudiantes Hispanos (HSA) y la Unión de Estudiantes Puertorriqueños Activos (UEPA) fue impactante en su transición a UF. “Podía sentirme más en casa a pesar de estar a millas de distancia”. Arroyo también mencionó cómo su entrenador, Mike Halloway, es como un segundo padre para él y una gran razón de su éxito en los Juegos Olímpicos ahora. Halloway es uno de los dos entrenadores de los Gators en Tokio, sirviendo como entrenador en jefe de pista masculino de los Estados Unidos. Enzo Martinez-Scarpe, el capitán de 26 años del equipo Uruguayo de natación, es un ex alumno que compitió en el freestyle masculino de 50 metros junto a su compañero Caeleb Dressel. Algunos dicen que Martínez nació para nadar — con solo 6 meses de edad, los médicos le dijeron a su madre que tenía asma y que probara clases de natación infantil. Comenzó a nadar de manera competitiva en su país de origen a los 7 años. “Al principio fue muy difícil por el hecho que nunca había estado tan lejos de mi fa-
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milia, y creo que los latinoamericanos somos muy apegados a la familia'', dijo Martinez. “Pero sabían lo estaba siendo para cumplir mi sueño olímpico”. Otros Gators hispanos que calificaron para los Juegos Olímpicos comparten este mismo sentimiento, que los inmigrantes atléticos atienden a UF para tener una mejor oportunidad de jugar de manera competitiva. Al igual que Arroyo, Martínez permaneció con UF a través del Gator Swim Club para continuar su carrera de natación en Gainesville después de graduarse en 2018. Dressel ganó el oro en el freestyle de natación, mientras que Martínez no clasificó para la final después de calificar en el puesto 35 en las eliminatorias. Sin embargo, el deportista Uruguayo dijo que incluso estar en los Juegos Olímpicos de 2020 después de no clasificarse en Río 2016 fue suficiente para él. “El deporte son más las caídas que los triunfos… pero supe salir adelante, y de eso se trata los deportes”
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MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021 ALLIGATOR 15
TEAM USA
Dressel and Finke combine for seven gold medals at 2020 Tokyo Olympics Florida alumnus Dressel racked up five gold medals, while Finke brought in two By Faith Buckley Sports writer
Florida swimmers Caeleb Dressel and Bobby Finke returned to the United States with seven Olympic gold medals in tow — a simple accolade backed by the most seamlessly stressful moments seen in Olympic swimming history. Dressel started his gold streak in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay July 24, where he pulled in first place alongside American teammates Zach Apple, Bowen Becker and Blake Pieroni. The 10-time NCAA Champion dove into the pool first and took the lead within the opening 15 meters. He finished his opening leg in 47.29 seconds. “It feels great, we knew there was a huge target on our back,” Dressel said in an interview after the race. “We’re never going to doubt ourselves — that’s how Team USA works.” Dressel tallied his second gold medal of the 2020 Olympics July 28 when he won the 100-meter freestyle, his first individual
victory of the Tokyo Games. He stood atop the podium with a new Olympic record of 47.02 seconds, 0.06 seconds ahead of Australia’s silver medalist Kyle Chalmers. Dressel used his lanky 6-foot-3 frame and strong dive for a 0.60 reaction time to assume command of the race within the first 20 meters. The former Gator paced the pool once again and notched his third gold medal of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics July 30 in the 100-meter butterfly. He swam a new world record 49.45 seconds, holding off Hungary’s Kristoff Milak by 0.23 seconds. Dressel launched off the diving board with an astounding 0.60 reaction time off the blocks. He had the lead off the wall at 23 seconds flat, but a long turn allowed Milak to fight back. The Hungarian matched each stroke at the end, but Dressel’s long reach touched the pad first. The human dynamo swam to gold in the 50-meter freestyle July 31 with a 21.47 time. He outswam Florent Manauduo from France by a staggering 0.48 seconds. Dressel sprung into the race with a 0.63 reaction time but
Courtesy of the Associated Press
Caeleb Dressel celebrates his gold medal in the men’s 4x100-meter medley relay final.
continued to build his lead 20 meters in. He didn’t take a breath the entire race. Dressel didn’t have much time to bask in Olympic glory as he competed in the 4x100 men’s medley relay less than an hour later. He won his fifth gold medal in the race with a world-record-breaking 3:26.78 time, 0.73 seconds ahead of team Great Britain. Dressel swam the third stroke, the butterfly, in a 49.5-second split. Dressel wasn’t the only Gator to bring home gold, however. Current Gator swimmer Bobby Finke took home a gold medal July 28 in the 800-meter freestyle, his first Olympic medal and the second men’s individual swimming gold for the United States in Tokyo this summer. He set a new American record with his 7:41.87 time. The U.S. representative held steady in fifth place until the final 50 meters, when he surged ahead of Italy’s Gregorio Paltriniera, who dominated the waters for the majority of the race. The UF junior added to his hardware once again three days later when he hauled in his second 2020 Olympic gold medal July 31 in the 1500-meter freestyle. He raced a 14.39.65 time and out swam Ukraine’s Mykhailo Romanchuk by 1.01 seconds. Finke appeared fated for bronze at first.
The Gator swam behind Florian Wellbrock and Gregorio Paltrinieri throughout the first 350 meters and gained control of third place at the 600-meter mark. He held a constant 1.61 meters per second. He slowed down to 1.63 m/s at the 850-meter mark and maintained the respectable pace for the remaining lengths. Finke continued to hold tight with Wellbrock and Mykhailo Romanchuk as he sat comfortably in third place for 900 meters. He then did the unpredictable. The elite swimmer used all his force and surpassed both Wellbrock and Romanchuk the final 50 meters of the race. Finke finished the final length in an astounding 25.7 seconds. Finke became the first U.S. swimmer to win Olympic gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in 37 years. “I had to try and race the others,” Finke told NBC. “I was just trying to hold on and get my hand on the wall.” While Olympic swimming has concluded, the list of Gator accolades has only begun. Current and former UF athletes will compete in events such as golf, baseball and track and field as the games continue into August. @_faithbuckley fbuckley@alligator.org
Courtesy of the Associated Press
Bobby Finke of the United States on the podium after receiving his gold medal for the men’s 800-meters freestyle final.
NCAA
Texas and Oklahoma to join SEC BIG 12 POWERHOUSES WILL BECOME CONFERENCE’S NEWEST MEMBERS IN 2025
By Jesse Richardson Sports Writer
The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are on their way to the Southeastern Conference.
The two universities and their athletic programs will join the SEC in July 2025 after a unanimous vote by the conference presidents and chancellors July 29. A three-fourths majority vote, in this case 11 of 14 submissions, was required to approve the invitation. SEC commissioner Greg
Sankey received a request from the universities July 27. “We believe that there would be mutual benefit to the universities on the one hand, and the SEC on the other hand, for the universities to become members of the SEC,” University of Texas President Jay Hartzell and Oklahoma University President
Joseph Harroz Jr. wrote in a letter dated July 27. Sankey says the conference is always open for new competition. “While the SEC has not proactively sought new members, we will pursue significant change when there is a clear consensus among our members that such actions will further enrich the experiences of our student-athletes and lead to greater athletic and academic achievement across
our campuses,” Sankey said. There will be 16 teams in the SEC once the new members join. The plans for the two programs’ former conference, the Big 12, finding replacements or expanding is unknown. Television contracts must be negotiated before OU and Texas make their departure. @JesseRich352 jrichardson@alligator.org
16 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2021
Studying Race UF BLM, from pg. 2, 7
tive based on the quality of the proposals and the number of proposals,” Jaishankar said. “The research was so exciting that [the Office of Research] was able to allocate more funds, and therefore, we had close to a million dollars being funded.” The 14 research projects spanned across nine UF colleges and were given a year-long project period. Currently, the Office of Research is not sure whether they will continue to fund more projects through the Advancing Racial Justice Research Fund. Discussions on whether to continue the funding will most likely occur in August or September. Reevaluating UF curriculum For many years, IDS1161: What is the Good Life was a course every UF freshman would have to sit through, whether they loved it or hated it. One petition set out to change that last summer. Written by UF alumna Sarah Klein, the petition garnered over 26,000 signatures to push the university to re quire ANT3451: Race and Racism, which ultimately resulted in UF declining the proposition. Instead, Quest 1 courses have been expanded to address more diverse topics — many of which discuss race. “UF Quest has been charged with developing a curriculum that prioritizes student choice and the individual areas of expertise of the faculty teaching UF Quest courses so that students could choose from a range of courses to fulfill the UF Quest requirement,” Steve Orlando wrote in an email. Although Race and Racism did not become either required or an option for Quest 1 courses, the Quest program demonstrated considerable growth in the number of classes dealing with topics of race and diversity within the past two years. In the 2019-2020 school year, UF Quest offered 13 different courses that satisfied the diversity general education
Shelby Cotta // Alligator Staff
requirement, with four specifically addressing race in their course description. The number of courses that fulfilled the diversity credit in the 2020-2021 academic year rose to 16, five of those discussing race. For the 2021 Fall semester alone, UF Quest will have a 15-course catalog of diversity-designated classes for students to select from. Eight of those courses will specifically explore race. Part of this growth in both diversity and race-focused courses in the UF Quest program can be attributed to this year’s call for new Quest proposals, which directly encouraged faculty to submit proposals for classes examining systemic racism, diversity and inclusion, and social justice and
equality. Another measure UF has taken to diversify its curriculum was the establishment of a General Education Diversity Task Force last Spring. The task force’s mission is to assess the current general education program and suggest ways for more diverse content to be incorporated in courses, as well as develop opportunities for students to engage with antiracist practices. Juliana Ferrie contributed to this report. mseminera@alligator.org @makseminera