Monday, Oct. 31, 2022

Mistreatment persisted under Sasse for years at Midland, his former faculty say

Some say Midland presidential search was predetermined

By Christian Casale Alligator Staff Writer

An untransparent search process, elimina tion of tenure and pressure to take a retirement buyout — Ben Sasse’s presidency didn’t please everyone at Midland University.

One policy under Sasse’s administration stands out to two professors: a loyalty oath faculty were allegedly forced to sign. This oath promised faculty they wouldn’t speak nega tively of the university or of Sasse.

Now, these two individuals, who were Midland faculty members at the time of Sasse’s presidency, spoke to The Alligator under the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. They said the oath, along with a long line of other policies, define what some who were at Midland called a toxic workplace under Sasse.

One professor shared their notes from the time with The Alligator, which detail faculty needing to sign the oath by Oct. 12, 2012 — around two years after Sasse became Midland president. The professor referred to it as “the blood oath” faculty had to sign in order to keep working at Midland.

Looking back at Sasse’s presidency, some at Midland felt the bottom line was profit —

not faculty well-being. Midland faculty recall periods of buyouts and a shake-up of leader ship as Sasse cleared out long-time professors. His later run for office also didn’t come as a surprise to some.

In the five years before Sasse arrived, fresh men enrollment at Midland dropped by nearly 60%. In February 2010, the school was wor ried it wouldn’t make payroll, according to re porting by The Omaha World-Herald.

Midland had gone through a series of in terim presidents since 2007, when president Steve Titus resigned in the face of a faculty vote of no confidence.

Sasse was initially contacted by the Mid land Board of Trustees as an informal advisor while the college was in dire straits, according to reporting by the Fremont Tribune. Conver sations began to soon revolve around Sasse taking a larger role, and he was soon selected to become the president.

"It really was an accelerated process," Board of Trustees President Steve Bullock told the Tribune. "Since the early part of the fall we moved very quickly."

Alcyone Scott, who at the time was an Eng lish professor and the faculty chair, described

Sasse’s hiring process to Mother Jones in 2016 as predetermined.

“[Bullock] called a meeting of the faculty and staff,” Scott said. “The option was the col lege would close, or we would go along with the plan of some of the city fathers to hire this guy who actually grew up in Fremont to come in and turn the college around.”

Bill Staley, the chair of sociology at the time, said from his perspective, it wasn’t a search.

“We didn't go through a system of elimina tion and interviews and all that type of stuff,” Staley told The Alligator. “We were basically asked to waive all the protocol and all the pro cedures and just go with it.”

Faculty was essentially given two options: the end of Midland or taking a chance on Sasse, Scott said.

Sasse’s path to power at Midland and UF were similar. The search for the new president before Sasse came down to three final candi dates.

Midland University communications didn’t respond to multiple phone calls and emails. UF was also unable to comment in time for publication.

In May when Sasse arrived, he gathered

Fuchs leaves behind legacy marked by controversy, rankings ascension

8-YEAR TENURE FEATURED FAIR SHARE OF CHALLENGES

By Alissa Gary Alligator Staff Writer

As his eight-year tenure comes to an end, UF President Kent Fuchs is leaving behind a complicated legacy.

In a sit-down interview with The Alligator, Fuchs shared his thoughts on how extensive he wished CO VID-19 regulations at UF could have been, the scariest moment of his presidency and his personal disagreement with officials about perceived indoctrination on campus.

At Fuchs’ inauguration ceremony in 2015, he said creating a more diverse student body and making UF academics nationally recognized were among his presi dential goals. From handling COVID-19 on campus to achieving top-five public university status, Fuchs’ years at UF were eventful.

“I’ll miss the job,” Fuchs said. “But it’s also fun to be around this university and to be able to engage with all of it.”

Fuchs, 67, announced in January he’d step down from the presidency at the end of the Fall semester, and the university launched a search for his successor.

Fuchs’ decision to step down came in summer 2019,

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the school’s longest tenured faculty and an nounced that many of them would be offered an early-retirement buyout or asked to restruc ture their contracts, as reported by the Omaha World-Herald.

The only way Midland could get rid of long established professors like Staley or his friend Scott was a buyout, Staley said, because they had tenure. Once tenured faculty were gone, they were replaced with non-tenured, adjunct faculty.

Staley thought at least part of the reason Sasse put some pressure on senior faculty to go was because of his ambition to abolish tenure, he said. Staley was recovering from a heart surgery at the time and ready for retirement, so he took a buyout in 2011 but only on a few conditions after he saw the initial contract.

“I said, ‘Whoever wrote this was a pretty shady lawyer,’” Staley said. “‘You want me to sign this? If you want me to sign an agree ment, let’s rewrite this thing. This is pathetic, and you’ve been giving this to other faculty?’”

Staley, a former county judge, said the lan guage in the initial contact was unprofessional. He met with Sasse personally in Omaha and the two rewrote the buyout agreement over lunch.

Joanne Bracker coached Midland Univer

Fuchs has full confidence in Sasse

Sasse must address LGBTQ community, Fuchs said

By Siena Duncan Alligator Staff Writer

UF President Kent Fuchs found sole presidential nominee Sen. Ben Sasse’s search more effective than his own.

While there are three weeks between Sasse’s announcement and the Board of Trustees’ vote on him, there were only about three days between Fuchs’, he said. The extra time allowed the presidential search committee to do more research and more thoroughly understand Sasse before his confirmation.

“This search committee had what my search committee didn’t have,” Fuchs said. “That is, opportunity to talk to references, to grill, to ask tough questions as a group.”

Ideally, Fuchs said the search process should be completely confidential: The president would

be selected behind the scenes and announced to the public without their input, mimicking the selection process at top-ranked public and private universities.

An outside consultant said all top five public universities — University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Michigan Ann Arbor and the University of Virginia — also named a sole finalist in their recent presidential searches, UF spokesperson Steve Orlando said.

“People say, ‘Well we ended up with you, so it must be an OK process. And I say, ‘You could’ve gotten somebody much better,” Fuchs joked.

The presidential search was largely kept under wraps due to a new state law passed in March — SB520 — allowing the process to stay private. In comparison,

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President Fuchs talks about his legacy at UF after he will step down at the end of this year Friday, Oct. 28, 2022.

Fuchs’ email on protests invokes long history of UF regulating student protesters

REGULATION OF UF PROTESTS GOES FURTHER BACK THAN 2 DECADES

By Claire Grunewald Alligator Staff Writer

UF President Kent Fuchs saw the images of about 300 students storming Sen. Ben Sasse’s student forum Oct.10 and was reminded of the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, he said.

“It just was not a look that I thought was what we should have as a university,” Fuchs told The Al ligator.

In a university-wide email Oct. 24, Fuchs announced UF would crack down on student protestors for presidential finalist Ben Sasse’s upcoming visit. Students may be punished by the university under the Student Conduct Code if they protest inside Emerson Alumni Hall during Sasse’s second visit Nov. 1.

Fuchs didn’t know what this punishment would entail.

However, the regulation is at least two decades old, Fuchs wrote in his email. But the policy hasn’t been enforced in recent years.

The regulation of student pro tests inside university buildings was enacted on campus in 1969, according to UF library records of a student handbook. The regula tion came from a resolution that students’ non-compliance with oncampus regulations could result in arrest by campus police or outside law enforcement.

In 1968, however, a resolution sponsored by UF professor John Greeman called for the administra tion to use any and all available re sources to quell student disruptions — even university disciplinary ac tion.

Greeman’s resolution was never enacted at the time, but the regula tion was later amended to add that protesters could also be subject to academic punishments.

The policy wasn’t enforced Oct. 10, when around 300 protestors stormed Emerson Hall during one of Sasse’s open forums. UF spokes person Cynthia Roldan didn’t give an answer when asked in an email why this regulation wasn’t en forced then.

Many UF students still plan to protest outside of Emerson Alumni Hall during Sasse’s interview with the Board of Trustees.

Joshua Zeffren, a 19-year-old UF chemical engineering freshman, said he protested Sasse’s forums because he wanted to make it clear that Sasse isn’t wanted on campus.

Zeffren still plans to protest out side of Emerson Hall once again for Sasse’s next visit, he said.

“Fuchs’ statement that the re striction is in the name of free speech is nothing but pure hypoc risy,” Zeffren said.

But students aren’t the only ones who had negative reactions to the email. Steven Noll, a UF history professor, witnessed administration react to on-campus demonstrations

over the years. Noll believes the email is a veiled threat to students, he said.

“I think this verified to many students and faculty that the ad ministration is only paying lip ser vice to the ideas of free speech,” Noll said.

In 2019, UF released a Freedom of Expression Statement stating it will protect students’ First Amend ment rights, as long as students ex press their opinions in a civil mat ter. UF considers outdoor areas on campus traditional public forums, where students can hold demon strations so long as it doesn’t dis rupt the functions of the university, according to the statement.

Fuchs’ email also comes after UF’s decades-old history of stu dents who faced punishment or dis couragement from exercising their right to free speech on campus.

In 2017, Richard Spencer, an American neo-Nazi and antise mitic conspiracy theorist, spoke at an event on campus that wasn’t sponsored by UF. Many students planned to protest at the event, even after Fuchs sent an email urg ing students to not attend for their own safety.

“I urge everyone to stay away from Mr. Spencer and his follow ers and the Phillips Center where he will speak,” Fuchs wrote at the time.

Some students felt even more encouraged to protest after Fuchs’ email.

Megan Newsome, a 2017 UF alumna, protested Richard Spen cer’s visit to campus during her time as a UF student.

“Similar emails were sent then, begging us not to protest,” New some said. “Not only did it not stop us, I think it only riled us up more.”

Newsome felt insulted by Fuchs’ decision to prevent students from protesting Sasse’s second visit, she said.

“To act as if these students aren’t making a difference but are only getting in the way, that feels incredibly short-sighted to what the purpose of protesting is,” Newsome said.

In 2007, Andrew Meyer, a 2008 UF alumnus, was tasered and ar rested by the University Police De partment at a student forum for for mer Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

Meyer grabbed a microphone and began shouting questions dur ing the end of the forum. Officers attempted to escort Meyer out, but he broke away. Kerry insisted he ask his questions, so Meyer was given the opportunity to speak.

Meyer asked Kerry about his in volvement in Skull and Bones so ciety and used the term “blowjob” causing his microphone to be cut off and two UPD attempts to es cort him out of the forum. Meyer attempted to escape while more officers aided in his escort. One of ficer pointed a taser at him prompt ing him to yell out, “Don’t tase me, bro.” An officer tased him in the shoulder.

This incident led UF students to

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lead a protest against police brutal ity on campus. It also started a free speech debate across the nation. Howard Simon, director of the Flor ida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union released a state ment about the incident.

“People have a reasonable ex pectation to ask questions in a public setting — even if they are aggressive and some disagree with their position — that is, free speech plain and simple,” Simon said at the time.

One of the most notable oncampus protests occurred April 15, 1971, a day that would become later known as “Black Thursday.”

Seventy students marched into former President Stephen O’Connell’s office in Tigert Hall uninvited with a list of demands to address the lack of Black faculty and students at UF. Students were asked to leave the office after at tempting a sit-in earlier. After the group of protesters refused to leave for a second time, police began to arrest students. The sit-in protest grew to 1,500 participants who were attacked with tear gas.

The most prominent example of UF enforcing the on-campus demonstration regulation is “Black Thursday,” Noll said.

The UF student body president at the time of the protest, Steven Uhlfelder, attended the protest and spoke out against O’Connell. The UF alumnus was on the Florida Board of Regents serving as the governing body for the State Uni versity System of Florida before be ing replaced by the Florida Board of Governors, which he also sat on.

“I understand both perspectives having been a part of the protests and also being a policy maker for the university system,” Uhlfelder said.

Uhlfelder believes protests have a very meaningful role on campus, he said, but thinks there should be decorum in meetings.

“Meetings should be able to function efficiently and properly,” Uhlfelder said. “So I don’t see any wrong with what he’s [Fuchs] done.”

The “Black Thursday” protests resulted in 66 Black students arrest ed and suspended and 123 Black students withdrawing from the uni versity.

Mirroring previous UF students, current students prepare to protest outside of Emerson Alumni Hall for Sasse’s next arrival despite the looming presence of discipline from the university.

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Gainesville’s ‘lame-duck’ period, and how it affects officials until January

COMMISSIONERS PRIORITIZE WHAT THEY CAN

By Aidan Bush Alligator Staff Writer

With general elections rapidly approaching Nov. 8, Gainesville’s political scene will welcome new faces as a majority of the Gainesville City Commission may be re placed come January.

Most of the seven commissioners will reach the end of their term limits in January. Term-limited officials include commissioners David Arreola, Adrian Hayes-Santos, Harvey Ward and Mayor Lauren Poe.

Ward is a frontrunner to replace Poe in the November mayoral runoff, taking 27.94% of the vote in the primary. He’s facing off against former Gainesville Regional Utilities manager Edward “Ed” Bielarski.

While ending terms is a regular part of any political cy cle, a potential majority vote of commissioners terming out hasn’t occurred in decades.

This “lame-duck” period — when elected officials are still active but won’t be re-elected — forces commissioners to prioritize final pieces of legislation to cement their legacy.

Danielle Stoughton, a 21-year-old political science se nior, said terming out allows officials to usher in political action that would otherwise jeopardize their elections.

“You don’t have to worry about the reelection,” Stough ton said. “You can push for policies that you think are really important.”

In the past months, many lame-duck officials priori tized affordable housing legislation. Most recently, the city passed the elimination of exclusionary zoning Oct. 17, mak ing it the first Florida city to do so.

The ordinance, which passed 4-3, would allow multifamily complexes to be built in areas that were zoned for single-family homes prior. Ward was the only commissioner out of the four termed-out officials who voted against the policy.

The ordinance received large criticism from city resi

dents, the Alachua County Commission and the Florida De partment of Economic Opportunity before its approval.

While passed by the city, the ordinance can still be le gally challenged by state bodies or residents before it’s ap proved.

Adrian Hayes-Santos, District 4 city commissioner, said sweeping policies like single-family zoning elimination cre ate a better long-term future for the city.

“This commission is focused on passing progressive pol icy that will make our city a better place,” Hayes-Santos said. “Not just focusing on what will happen in the next year or two.”

Following the vote, terming-out commissioners’ priori ties vary widely. For some, there are still new policies that need drafting, especially in regard to affordable housing.

David Arreola, District 3 city commissioner, said inclu sionary zoning — which would require 10% of all new housing developments to require affordable units — was his

focus in office.

Without an aggressive passage of the policy, Arreola said a new commission would be reluctant to vote on inclusion ary zoning given public dissent against previous housing plans.

“The next commission is going to sit on it,” Arreola said. “They’re going to talk it to death.”

Others look to revise existing projects across the city.

Harvey Ward, District 2 city commissioner and mayoral candidate, said he hoped to advance projects looking to replace energy inefficient residential air conditioners and other appliances for homeowners.

The funding for replacements already exists, Ward said, but the actual programs need streamlining.

“We’re in a position where we can help people lower their utility bills by helping them get more energy-efficient appliances,” Ward said.

The position of mayor, as well as commissioner seats for Districts 2, 3 and 4, will have runoff elections. Only the District 4 seat currently has a clear victor: Bryan Eastman, a National Democratic Training Committee trainer.

The District 2 candidates are Santa Fe College Police Chief Ed Book and electrician James Ingle. The District 3 candidates are former Alachua County Affordable Housing Committee Chair Dejeon Cain and UF College of Medicine residency program coordinator Casey Willits, and the may oral race is between Ward and Bielarski.

After the elections Nov. 8, newly elected commissioners will begin transitioning into their new roles.

City staff will provide new officials with information and resources in regard to their office, current city issues and previous decisions the commission made.

Mayor Lauren Poe said acclimating oncomoning commis sioners to their new positions is a large priority for city staff.

“We’ll be working to make sure that the next commis sion is set up and ready to take over on their first day,” Poe said.

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Follow the money: Ward leads Bielarski, late County Commission surge

HOW CANDIDATE FINANCES CHECK IN AHEAD OF NOV. 8

By Heather Bushman Alligator Staff Writer

Money talks in politics. And with the general election just around the corner, it’s getting louder.

Past election trends have shown the candidate who spends the most on a campaign usually wins their election. Though the evidence isn’t definite, campaign finance data is typically a solid indicator of the victo rious party — the more money spent, the more effective the campaign.

With data from the Federal Elec tion Commission, the Florida Divi sion of Elections and the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, The Alligator looked at where candidates stand financially ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Here’s how the major races stack up by the numbers.

Gainesville Mayor

Gainesville’s mayoral race is headed to a runoff, where City Com missioner Harvey Ward and former Gainesville Regional Utilities general manager Ed Bielarski will contend for Mayor Lauren Poe’s vacant seat.

Ward, a registered Democrat, has served as the District 2 commissioner since 2017, and Bielarski, a non-

party affiliate, managed GRU from 2015 until it terminated his contract in January.

Ward’s contributions and dis bursements are just ahead of Bie larski’s, according to Supervisor of Elections data. He posts $68,000 in contributions and $56,400 in dis bursements, while Bielarski totals $63,000 in contributions and $52,700 in disbursements.

Both candidates’ top donors are individual contributors.

Alachua County Commission District 1

The race for the Alachua County Commission District 1 seat will see a previously elected commissioner try to win her seat back from her gover nor-appointed replacement.

Mary Alford, a registered Demo crat, will seek reelection to the seat she held from her election in 2020 until she resigned in May, when a Gainesville Sun investigation found her in violation of her residency re quirements. Her challenger, regis tered Republican Raemi Eagle-Glenn, lost the 2020 election but was ap pointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to fill the seat following Alford’s resigna tion.

Data from the Supervisor of Elec tions puts Alford just ahead of EagleGlenn in campaign finances, with Alford’s $19,500 in contributions and $13,000 in disbursements edging past Eagle-Glenn’s $17,500 in contri

butions and $7,200 in disbursements.

Both candidates’ top donors are individual contributors. Eagle-Glenn received $1,800 of in-kind contribu tions, which describe the monetary value of contributed goods and ser vices, from the Alachua County Re publican Party.

District 2

Two established faces in Alachua County politics will contend for the District 2 seat on the County Com mission, as former Gainesville mayor Ed Braddy will take on incumbent and registered Democrat Marihelen Wheeler.

Braddy, a registered Republican, served as mayor from 2013 to 2016 and was a two-term city commis sioner from 2002 to 2008. Wheeler, a registered Democrat, was elected to her first term in the commission in 2018 and was appointed chair in 2021, and she unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House in 2014 and the state House in 2016.

Thanks to an $11,000 gain in the last two weeks, Braddy is ahead of Wheeler in finances, according to Su pervisor of Elections data. Braddy to tals around $33,000 in contributions, while Wheeler’s contributions check in at around $23,900. Wheeler’s $22,200 in disbursements outweigh Braddy’s $17,000.

Braddy’s top donors are busi nesses like Swamp Car Wash West and Gainesville Self Storage, and he

received $1,800 of in-kind contribu tions from the Alachua County Re publican Party. Wheeler’s top donors are individual contributors.

District 4

The District 4 County Commis sion race will see not one but two challengers face a long-term incum bent for the seat.

Ken Cornell, a Democrat who was first elected to his seat in 2014, will compete with Van Elmore, a regis tered Republican, and Anthony John son, a non-party affiliate, to defend his position.

The incumbent is well ahead, ac cording to Supervisor of Elections data. Cornell’s $82,700 in contribu tions and $49,600 in disbursements swallow Elmore’s $7,800 in contribu tions and $7,600 in disbursements as well as Johnson’s $5,900 in contribu tions and $4,600 in disbursements.

Cornell’s and Elmore’s top donors are individual contributors. Johnson has largely funded his own cam paign.

Gainesville City Commission District 2

Two political newcomers will compete for the City Commission seat left vacant by mayoral candidate Harvey Ward.

Ed Book, a former Gainesville Po lice Department captain and current Santa Fe College Police Department chief, and James Ingle, an electrician

and union organizer, will contend to represent District 2 on the City Com mission.

Book is ahead of Ingle according to campaign finance data from the Supervisor of Elections. His $65,500 in contributions and $50,000 in dis bursements leads Ingle’s $54,500 in contributions and $40,100 in dis bursements.

Book’s top donors are individual contributors. Ingle’s top donors are unions and political action commit tees like the International Brother hood of Electrical Workers.

District 3

A Gainesville native and a new arrival will contend for the City Com mission seat left vacant by former mayoral candidate David Arreola.

DeJeon Cain, a former chair of the Alachua County Affordable Housing Committee, and Casey Willits, the UF College of Medicine’s residency pro gram coordinator, will face off for the District 3 seat on the commission.

Data from the Supervisor of Elec tions gives Cain a lead on Willits, with his $21,000 in contributions and $13,000 in disbursements ahead of Willits’ $16,200 in contributions and $11,000 in disbursements.

Cain has largely funded his own campaign, while Willits’ top donors are individual contributors.

Courtesy to The Alligator

Faculty weigh in

sity’s women’s basketball team for 42 years until her retirement in 2012. In 1999, she was inducted among the first class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Bracker was also an academic advisor and a faculty member at Midland when Sasse was president.

An anonymous professor who was a Mid land faculty member at the time said faculty members over the age of 55 were pressured by the administration to retire early. While she wasn't positive of the age line, she agreed there was pressure to agree to the buyouts, Bracker said.

“In a short period of time, a matter of hours, make a decision,” Bracker said she was told. “Do you want to be a head coach? Do you want to be tenured faculty? You can’t do both. There are your options, there’s no discussion.”

Sasse was up-front with them: They could take the buyout or continue at the university with an uncertain future after he got rid of ten ure.

“You can usurp power, and then you can do certain things because you usurp power, but there might have been a kinder, gentler way to do that than to say, ‘These are the new rules; this is what we’re gonna do,'” Scott told Mother Jones.

Longtime, established faculty members who took the buyouts were replaced with lowcost, part-time adjunct professors in a cost-sav ing move, some former faculty members said.

While the move was touted as a way to make Midland more financially solvent, Staley wasn’t so sure.

“It felt like they could get rid of tenure to get rid of people they felt they were paying too much,” Staley said. “I always looked at it as more of a power issue.”

A professor who was at Midland at the time described it as a decapitation of the leadership of the university, a sentiment Bracker also agreed with.

“Faculty invested their lives in that pro gram — in that school,” Bracker said. “There were a lot of really depressed faculty who felt they hadn’t been treated fairly.”

Jim Tremain, a retired psychology profes sor and faculty chair who began at Midland in 1973, credited Sasse’s ability to get the banks to forgive Midland’s loans, but said the longerserving faculty with a vested interest in the in stitution felt neglected.

“Obviously, the faculty felt we were becom ing more and more diminished in whatever we had to say about the future of the college,” Tre main said.

That summer, Midland received an injec tion of life. Dana College, located just a halfhour northeast down U.S. Highway 30, sud denly closed its doors.

“In modern times, you need about 1,500 students in order to be financially viable and secure,” Staley said. “I would attribute Mid land’s turn around, if you want to call it that, to Dana closing more than anything else.”

Sasse oversaw the Dana@Midland initia tive, which offered former Dana Students free room and board and matching financial aid if they chose to transfer to Midland.

Three hundred and twenty-one former Dana students came to Midland, as reported by the Fremont Tribune — a much needed boost to the university’s enrollment, bringing it to nearly 1,000. By the time Sasse ran for the U.S. Senate in 2013, Midland had 1,100 students.

David Mitchell, a partner at Fremont’s Yost Law Firm and an adjunct business law instruc tor at Midland for 20 years, credited Sasse with shepherding the process.

“[Sasse] led immediate efforts to salvage those academic relationships with Dana, to bring those kids over in a very seamless and easy fashion,” Mitchell said.

Sasse handled Midland’s turnaround the way any good businessman would, Mitchell said.

“Ben did a fantastic job taking a university

that was struggling financially, as well as with low enrollment, to come in and retooling it, re-imaging it, and helping change the overall curriculum,” Mitchell said.

Sasse’s corporate-like strategy had an ef fect: In 2012, the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce named Midland University its busi ness of the year.

“Sasse is a brilliant man — very well edu cated,” Bracker said. “I guess my biggest con cern was I really opposed boastful arrogance. I always felt he was very boastful and almost belittled you about his knowledge or intelli gence.”

Former Midland faculty; however, said the school’s undeniably financial turnaround came at a cost.

Robert Therien, a Midland art professor for 38 years before he left in 2011, was blunt to Mother Jones.

“I think Ben Sasse just pretty much de stroyed that school,” Therien said.

Therien declined to comment further when contacted by The Alligator.

Bracker characterized Sasse’s relationship with faculty as somewhat strained. To her, the school’s expanded emphasis on extracur ricular activities and athletic recruiting shifted the student environment away from its bluecollar, Nebraskan base.

“I think the academic requirements — the liberal arts requirements — were downsized considerably,” Bracker said. “[Sasse] sur rounds himself with good consultants, but he's definitely made some unfortunate decisions.”

In Staley’s view, it was indicative that small colleges aren’t interested in education for the sake of itself anymore, he said.

“It's all about getting a good housekeeping seal of approval stamped on your ass so you can sell yourself in a capitalist marketplace,” Staley said.

Midland wasn’t just a passion project for Sasse, Bracker said, but an avenue to further his political career — an item for the man who always had a plan.

“I just felt he put himself above the facul ty and he was pretty much out for himself,” Bracker said.

Staley and some other faculty members be

The Associated Press Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, is pictured on Midland University’s campus Wednesday, June 5, 2013.

lieved Sasse’s reason for taking the job as Fre mont’s president was to reingratiate himself with the state of Nebraska before an eventual run for U.S. Senate, he said.

A professor who was at Midland while Sasse was there said it was common knowl edge among the faculty that Sasse was using Midland to vault to political office.

Throughout The Alligator’s reporting, sev eral sources said, unprompted, they felt Sasse ultimately had ambitions for the White House. In Staley’s opinion, Sasse has been running for president since high school.

“If I saw any sign that Ben was motivat ed to use [UF] as a stepping stone for higher accomplishments, I'd be opposed to him as well,” Staley said, on UF student protests that occured in the wake of UF’s announcement of Sasse as presidential sole finalist. “As much as I liked the guy, I don't trust him.”

@vanityhack ccasale@alligator.org

Vote of no confidence

Fuchs’ approval was more public, with his name being announced alongside three other candidates, similar to what Lisa Lundy, a search committee member and faculty member, said the committee was hoping to do.

Although Fuchs wasn’t involved in the presidential search and doesn’t sit on the Board of Trustees, he met with Sasse in early October to give a tour of the presidential mansion. In that time, and based on opinions from colleagues he’d spoken to, Fuchs said he gained full confidence in Sasse.

Sasse reminds Fuchs of another prominent politician: former President Barack Obama.

“They just seem very similar to me in terms of age [and] in terms of their ability to communicate,” Fuchs said. “Very different politics; but if President Obama was a sole candidate here, I’d be incredibly supportive of it as I am with Sen. Sasse.”

Sasse will have skills no other UF president has had, Fuchs said.

He’ll bring great communications skills and resources from donors, foundations, federal government and the state.

“I believe he’ll be phenomenally successful,” Fuchs said. “I also believe he’ll set aside his politics, and I would suggest we should do the same.”

While he’s confident Sasse will be able to put aside his politics, Fuchs said Sasse should address his past comments on same-sex marriage. It’s important, too, for Sasse to show inclusivity through his actions.

“Given he has this voting record — he has this view about gay marriage — will he still welcome, embrace, support, encourage [and] want to grow the LGBTQ community?” Fuchs asked.

Fuchs refrained from offering too much advice to his successor, but mentioned the presidency demands a loaded schedule.

“I wish for him that he just has a lot of fun,” Fuchs said, “as I’m sure he will work hard — that he enjoys it and enjoys being a Gator.”

Some members of the UF community don’t share Fuchs’

confidence in Sasse.

On Oct. 27, the UF Faculty Senate voted to adopt a resolution of no confidence on the selection process of sole UF presidential finalist Sen. Ben Sasse, by a significant majority vote of 72-16. When the meeting was adjourned, the senators present erupted into applause.

The vote represents a little more than half of the entire Senate, which has 164 members. It is unclear whether the resolution will affect Senate Faculty Chair Amanda Phalin’s vote to approve Sasse as the next UF president Tuesday.

Phalin didn’t specify whether she’d vote yes or no.

“I didn’t have a vote today; I facilitated the process,” Phalin said minutes after the final voters were tallied. “However, the Faculty Senate votes is what the Faculty Senate is thinking.”

The meeting will take place Nov. 1 at Emerson Alumni Hall. Sasse will be interviewed by the Board of Trustees, which Phalin holds a seat on. The event is open to public comment, and it will also be livestreamed.

After protests Oct. 10, Fuchs sent out a university-wide email reminding students of a two-

decade-old regulation prohibiting protests inside UF buildings. The policy will be enforced Tuesday, according to the email.

During the meeting, senators particularly took issue with the lack of transparency during the nomination process, questioning why there weren’t more nominees.

While taking questions from attendees, Lundy said the committee originally wanted to present three nominees. However, faced with requests from candidates to be the only nominee if they were publicly announced, the committee opted to only select Sasse.

Cynthia Roldan, UF spokesperson, had no comment on the Faculty Senate vote.

The Faculty Senate’s vote of no confidence comes just over a week after the Student Senate’s Oct. 18 resolution condemning the presidential search process and Student Body President Lauren Lemasters for unanimously recommending Sasse as finalist and a general lack of transparency. Lemasters, who also is a member of the Board of Trustees, recently told students that her vote is undecided.

The final resolution, after going through an amendment process during the Faculty Senate meeting,

said the UF faculty were kept in the dark about the final candidates and their qualifications.

The final, amended noconfidence resolution included language acknowledging UF conducted the search in accordance with SB 520 and that the Faculty Senate was informed of multiple, well-qualified candidates who were unwilling to be named publicly.

The committee’s vote on Sasse was unanimous, Lundy said. Other candidates didn’t receive above half of members’ votes.

But Sen. Breann Garbas, clinical assistant professor, wasn’t convinced that was a reason to keep the selection as secretive as it was. She presented the resolution as something not necessarily condemning Sasse, but as a critique of the entire process.

“How is it possible that it took an emergency hearing for us to get as much information as we did today?” she asked, addressing Lundy.

Christian Casale and Alissa Gary contributed to this report.

@SienaDuncan sduncan@alligator.org

‘AI is the future’: UF faculty help roll out artificial intelligence courses in Florida K-12 schools

PUBLIC

By Sophia Bailly Alligator Staff Writer

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming the future of the workforce, and it may become the future of Florida’s K-12 classrooms as well — with UF’s help.

AI uses machine learning and knowledge, as opposed to the natural intelligence of humans. AI applications are becoming increasingly prevalent in careers and everyday life, said David Reed, UF’s associate provost for strategic initiatives.

“AI is a system of techniques that has — believe it or not — existed since the 1950s,” Reed said. “It’s old in terms of the way we think about AI, but its application has been revitalized in the past few years.”

The National Science Foundation’s program, Artificial Intel ligence for K-12 Initiative or AI4K12, established guidelines for incorporating AI curriculum and knowledge into classrooms. The initiative inspired UF to implement its own AI curriculum into public schools. Florida teachers learn about AI fundamen tals at UF-led professional development trainings.

The university currently has nearly $250,000 in state fund ing for AI professional development, said Nancy Ruzycki, a UF material science and engineering associate professor. UF’s funding for the program will run out next year once the current grant money runs out, she said.

“There's a need for continued funding to fund teachers and professional development beyond this,” Ruzycki said.

Dr. Nancy Ruzycki speaks about teaching design thinking to Symposium attendees at the Herbert Wertheim Laboratory for Engineering Excellence Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.

There are four courses under the AI initiative that UF is developing standards for. The first is AI in the World and the second is Applications of AI. The other two courses are still in development.

There are currently three teachers across Osceola, Orange and Broward counties who are teaching AI curriculum. The grant helps fund coaches who are specialized in the AI initia

Marked by controversy

after the Board of Trustees — the university’s governing body — for mally extended his appointment as president. Fuchs’ family were the only ones to know until August 2021, when he told administration. By January 2022, his announcement was public.

The role is largely flexible from president to president, Fuchs said.

His approach doesn’t include making decisions for individual col leges. Fuchs delegates most academ ic decisions to UF Provost Joe Glover or other intentionally chosen admin istrators and staff.

“I give them a lot of freedom to soar or to crash and burn and live with those consequences,” Fuchs said.

The university also saw scandal over the past eight years, with issues of academic freedom and skepticism over administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic casting a dark cloud over Fuchs’ accomplishments.

In March 2020, COVID-19 forced classes online, canceled in-person graduation and Fuchs urged students to leave Gainesville and return to their hometowns.

It wasn’t within his power to require UF students and faculty to mask or get vaccinated due to state regulations, Fuchs said.

But he would’ve made vaccina tion mandatory — his brother, who wasn’t vaccinated, died from CO VID-19 complications.

“If I was, like, king of every thing?” Fuchs said. “If I was presi dent, I'd force every citizen of the country to get vaccinated. But that's not our nation.”

Despite state restrictions, the uni versity effectively encouraged safe practices surrounding COVID-19, Fuchs said.

Many see UF’s handling of the pandemic in a less positive light —

UF Faculty Senate passed a vote of no confidence on Fuchs’ handling of COVID-19 last November. Others felt Fuchs should've been more vo cal, advocating for mask and vaccine mandates from state leadership dur ing the height of the Delta variant.

Michael Reid, dean of the College of Human Health and Performance, said he thought Fuchs handled the pandemic well, considering he had to make quick decisions to benefit all.

“The way he did this, caring al ways first and foremost for the safety of our students and our staff and our faculty, really inspired me,” Reid said.

Fuchs also faced scrutiny when three UF professors were barred from testifying as expert witnesses in a 2021 voting rights case against the state of Florida.

To participate in outside activities that involve the university, like law suits, employees must file a conflict of interest report. When the profes sors’ requests were denied, the press was aware before he was. As soon as he and Glover found out, he said the decision was reversed.

Since then, Fuchs said the process has changed so Glover has the final say in whether a report is approved. Fuchs himself doesn’t have a say.

“It's the most robust process now for approvals or denials of outside ac tivities, conflicts of interest and con flicts of commitment in the nation,” Fuchs said. “We've taken something that was negative and made it a posi tive.”

Under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ admin istration, some UF community mem bers were concerned with what they saw as encroachment from the gov ernor’s office. The fast-tracked hiring of DeSantis-approved Florida Sur geon General Joseph Ladapo served as one major point of concern.

Fuchs denied the idea, saying neither DeSantis nor his chief of staff have ever contacted him directly. He

opposes government regulation on the university altogether.

Rather, Fuchs sees a disconnect between the state government and the university. Concerned about “woke indoctrination” in public edu cation, DeSantis signed House Bill 7, commonly known as the Stop WOKE Bill. However, Fuchs denied indoctri nation is taking place at the univer sity, whether liberal or conservative.

“I don't agree with a genuine per ception by many elected officials that this is a university where we're here to indoctrinate our students,” Fuchs said.

A list of anti-racism initiatives were another test for Fuchs’ admin istration after the murder of George Floyd. Under Fuchs, UF’s non-white student population has increased by 3.62% from 2015 to 2021. However, one anti-racism initiative still garners criticism to this day: the ban of the “Gator Bait” game day chant due to its racist imagery.

His opinions on diversity were put to the test when white suprema cist Richard Spencer claimed Fuchs allowed him to be on campus for a speaking event in 2017. In a tweet, Fuchs said he rejected Spencer’s “vile and despicable message.”

Spencer’s speech at the Phillips Center was met with widespread stu dent protest and international news coverage. Although campus leader ship — under Fuchs — denounced Spencer’s message, they said his appearance was protected by free speech.

The university paid upwards of $500,000 to mobilize more than 2,000 police officers for campus safety on the day of Spencer’s speech, accord ing to an university press release.

Fuchs called Spencer’s visit the most difficult challenge of his tenure.

“It was scary,” Fuchs said. “No body here wanted him. Nobody, as far I know, invited him.”

Fuchs’ tenure was marked by highs as well — such as UF soaring up public university rankings.

UF climbed through the U.S. News’ public university rankings, moving from No. 14 in 2015 to No.

tive and meet with teachers on a weekly or biweekly basis to discuss successes and obstacles in implementing AI into class rooms.

Sloan Robbins teaches the course AI in the World at Boyd H. Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes for students in ninth grade to 12th grade. The course observes AI in a general philosophical sense, he said, and his students are focusing on computer perception and creating smart electrical grids.

“AI is the future of where everything's heading,” Robbins said. “There's going to be some aspect that they're dealing with in really every career field across the board.”

Juan Tovar also teaches AI in the World at NeoCity Acad emy in Kissimmee. He used AI teaching in previous computer science courses and is currently teaching his students the fun damentals of programming while creating their own chatbots. His principal learned about UF’s AI initiative from Ruzycki. The principal reached out to Tovar to teach a class this semes ter.

“He told me, ‘Hey, this is a great idea to implement,’” Tovar said. “I think we can do that here, and we decided to imple ment that.”

UF coaches connect with Tovar and Robbins at least once every two weeks to monitor their progress teaching the courses. The next semester-long course that Robbins and Tovar plan on teaching, Applications of AI, focuses on AI across disciplines.

Read the rest online at alligator.org.

@sophia_bailly sbailly@alligator.org

5 in 2021 and 2022. From day one, Fuchs’ focus was to bring UF to the top 10 public research universities nationally. Fuchs boasted all 16 of UF’s colleges have increased their academic excellence, raising the uni versity’s overall standing as a top university nationally.

“I decided that if we were going to do this, in this incredibly visible position, living on campus, all those kinds of things, that we wouldn't dread that or regret it,” Fuchs said. “We would just embrace it and enjoy it.”

Fuchs became the first UF presi dent to create a personal social media account when his Twitter went live in January 2015. Seven years later, he has more than 30,000 followers, as of October 2022. His first Tweet featured a photo of himself with editors from The Alligator captioned, “Hello Gator Nation!”

Todd Sanders, former director of UF social media, helped Fuchs es tablish his online presence. He said he remembered Fuchs insisting the first post include The Alligator, with whom he was meeting later that day.

“From the beginning, he made it part of the community,” Sanders said. “This is everybody's univer sity.”

For April Hines, the UF journal ism librarian, Fuchs’ interactivity with the campus community set him apart from previous presidents.

When Hines attended UF from 2000 to 2004, she said she didn’t know the president’s name, much less felt comfortable asking him for a selfie — an activity Fuchs is famous for among the student body.

“A lot of university presidents are not going to be like, ‘sure, I’ll put on a Darth Vader costume for this so cial media event,’” Hines said. “I've heard people refer to him as the stu dents’ president. I think that that's probably true.”

Fuchs’ infamous April Fools pranks, nights sleeping in the fresh man dorms and this year’s rocknaming contest, among other cam pus involvement, helped cultivate his fun-guy persona.

“We're intense. We want to beat out all the other universities in all kinds of ways,” Fuchs said.

“But we can also have fun doing it.”

After a year-long search, the Pres idential Search Committee unani mously recommended Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse as the sole finalist to replace Fuchs in an Oct. 6 statement.

Fuchs drew criticism after send ing a mass email Oct. 24 reinstating a 1969 regulation prohibiting indoor protests. The email came in light of an Oct. 10 student protest against Sasse’s presidential nomination dur ing which protesters entered Em erson Hall in between Q&A forums with Sasse.

Students who violate the regula tion will face consequences outlined in the Student Conduct Code, accord ing to the email.

“I encourage protests and others to speak up,” Fuchs said. “But in general, regardless of what the event is, whether it’s a class or a meeting, at virtually every university, you can not disrupt the meeting.”

Sasse’s presidential search was kept under wraps due to a new state law allowing the process to stay pri vate. In comparison, Fuchs’ approval was more public, with his name be ing announced alongside two other finalists.

Sasse awaits approval by the Board of Trustees Nov. 1 before for mally assuming the role in 2023.

“I believe he’ll be phenomenally successful,” Fuchs said. “I also be lieve he’ll set aside his politics, and I suggest we do the same.”

Upon the end of the semester, Fuchs plans on taking a sabbatical before returning to a professor’s role in the department of electrical and computer engineering.

But he’ll likely retire soon, Fuchs said. He hopes his legacy will reflect his work to be more accessible and create a more caring campus com munity.

Lorenzo Vasquez // Alligator Staff

FALL ARTS AND CRAFTS FESTIVAL HELPS SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES

By Luna Boales & Isabella Marzban Avenue Staff Writers

Guarded under a canopy of trees, hundreds of local artists, musicians and restaurants lined Cholokka Boulevard in downtown Micanopy Saturday and Sunday. Crowds of locals and families flooded the streets, browsing booths and mingling with visitors.

The 47th annual Micanopy Fall Festival, which took place Oct. 29-30, brought nearly 500 vendors and hundreds of visitors to the historic city’s main road. The arts and crafts festival was free to the public and featured a variety of north central Florida artists, musicians and food trucks. Music by local artists like the Chasing Rabbits Bands and Inisheer Irish Dancers greeted passersby as they browsed the festival’s offerings.

About 12 miles from Gainesville and UF campus, Micanopy is described on the Fall Festival website as “the town that time forgot.” The town, which was founded in 1821, was named after Seminole Chief Micanopy, who led during the Second Seminole War.

Now, Micanopy has a population of less than 1,000 and focuses on preserving its local community, sporting historic tourist destinations like the Micanopy Historical Society Museum and the Montgomery Wall Project.

The festival highlighted a wide array of vendors from throughout Florida — paintings, sculptures, jewelry, apparel and

other crafts and products filled the booths alongside the artists operating them. Many vendors set up at the Fall Festival in search of an opportunity to introduce their business to a new audience.

Judy Halas, a Citrus County resident, was a returning vendor at the Micanopy Fall Festival. Halas is the owner of Blue Roof Arts, a company that specializes in resin art and jewelry.

The weekend of the festival, she sold a wide array of pieces — including earrings, trinket trays for jewelry and wall art.

Much of Halas’ resin art contains items like flowers and glitter. She has also been experimenting with wood to make products like clocks and charcuterie boards, she said.

Halas’ first time vending at the Fall Festival was last year, she said, and she decided to return this year after having a successful experience.

“It’s always a great festival,” she said. “There’s always a lot of people — everybody’s very accommodating.”

Others were new to the Micanopy Fall Festival, promoting their art at the event for the first time.

Cyndee Titelius, an Ocala resident and X-ray technician, owns Dirty Girl Soaps and Scents, a hand-crafted soap company.

Titelius has attended a few markets in Florida this year, she said, and wanted to branch out by vending at the Micanopy Fall Festival. The event’s popularity was one reason why she wanted to come out, she said.

“I heard a lot of good things about this one,” Titelius said. “So, I thought I’d try it out.”

College-aged artists also lined the street.

Mckenna Johnson, a 20-year-old UF anthropology senior, attended the festival

environment,” Johnson said. “My mom used to make stuff and sell them at the market, so this is just kind of nostalgic for

@LunaBoales lboales@alligator.org

Honey

@IsabellaMarzban imarzban@alligator.org

Liana Barros // Alligator Contributing Photographer Community members visit different vendors along Cholokka Boulevard at the Micanopy Fall Festival Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month highlights education on abuse in Gainesville

PEACEFUL PATHS, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS RAISE AWARENESS

By Alexa Herrera Alligator Staff Writer

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of domestic violence.

In a journal titled: “Just in case I ever think of going back,” Jenn Weber keeps a list of everything her ex-boyfriend used to say to her.

“I’ll burn the house down,” she wrote. “I should punch you in the God-d–n face.”

Weber grew up in an abusive household, she said, and was used to being treated that way. So she overlooked the warning signs. She just thought that was the way life was.

When she finally could leave, she went to Peaceful Paths — an agency offering many different services for victims of domestic violence.

Weber stayed in the 32-bed long-term housing shelter that Peaceful Paths owns. During the year she stayed there, she got the emotional support she needed, and she learned how to spot the warning signs of abuse so she wouldn’t be in that situation again.

“It was so nice to have somewhere safe to go,” she said.

She often posts on Facebook advocating for domestic violence awareness and shares resources that victims can use. October has been Domestic Violence Awareness Month since 1987. Each year, it is a time to acknowledge domestic violence survivors and educate people about the issue.

During the month, the organization held multiple events to promote awareness, including a guest chef cocktail party Oct. 6, which is an annual fundraiser. During the event hosted at Oak Lane Wedding and Events, guests tried food from different vendors and could bid on items in a silent auction. The event raised the organization’s goal of $100,000 to help fund the services Peaceful Paths offers.

A clothesline project exhibit was free to the public from Oct. 10-31. The project highlights the experiences of domestic violence survivors through T-shirts.

There are sites around the city including Santa Fe College, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and Gray Robinson law firm.

At the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, a T-shirt covers a mannequin torso. Phrases like “it’s your fault” and “it was just a fight” are written in colorful markers, representing words a victim of domestic

violence might hear. Next to the shirt, an infographic about domestic violence and Peaceful Paths’ services is available.

“Education and awareness are important so that people can break the cycle,” Weber said.

Theresa Beachy, Peaceful Paths’ executive director, said domestic violence is prevalent in Gainesville. In Alachua County — where there are less than 300,000 people — there are close to 2,000 arrests for domestic-violence-related crimes every year, she said.

But that’s just according to law enforcement reports. Only 20-30% of victims call the police, she said.

Many calls to police fail due to lack of evidence. The number of cases doesn’t represent the full spectrum of what’s going on in the community, she said.

Peaceful Paths has many different resources including a 24-hour helpline, a 46bed emergency shelter, a 32-bed long-term

housing shelter and outreach services such as crisis counseling and support groups.

Some people who experience violence may not even think it’s domestic violence because it’s not the typical form of hitting or punching, Beachy said. Domestic violence also includes less-talked-about types like mental abuse, manipulation and stalking.

“It’s that silence that creates an environment of tolerance,” Beachy said.

Colleen Trojbom, a staff therapist at victim services organization Child Advocacy Center, said some don’t report domestic violence because they’re nervous the abuser will retaliate and hurt the victim more severely.

It’s important to educate the public on domestic violence because there are many misconceptions, Trojbom said. There’s domestic violence, which is defined as violence between and among those in the same household, she said. But there’s also

intimate partner violence, which is violence between people in a romantic relationship.

Intimate partner violence is always domestic violence, but domestic violence isn’t always intimate partner violence, she added.

Another misconception often had, she said, is the question: If the person experiencing domestic violence was being harmed, why didn’t they just leave?

Often there’s emotional abuse, she said, including a person threatening to harm themselves or someone else if the other person leaves. There’s also financial control where the victim can’t leave because the other person has all of the money, she said.

It’s important to know of misconceptions like this so everyone gets the support they need, Trojbom said.

@alexakherrera aherrera@alligator.org

By Aidan Bush Alligator Staff Writer

Gainesville commissioners wel comed international Polish city offi cials Wednesday, after raising thou sands in less than a day for their ongoing refugee crisis.

The Gainesville City Commission welcomed delegates from Rzeszów and presented them with $20,860 for their efforts in aiding refugees from Ukraine over the past few months.

The five-person delegation was made up of various officials from the Polish city.

Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February, causing over 520,000 to flee the country within the first month, according to the As

sociated Press.

Rzeszów, which is less than two hours from Ukraine’s border, cur rently hosts an estimated 50,000 refugees — nearly one-fourth of the city’s citizen population — and provides education, health care and legal assistance for them.

Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe said the city hopes to learn from Rzeszów’s efforts in providing rapid and inclusionary practices for those in need.

“We, as a city, were very in spired and concerned about Rz eszów as the war in Ukraine broke out,” Poe said.

The funds were raised within 12 hours as part of the Amazing Give event held by the Community Foun dation of North Central Florida.

Given the economic burden brought on by the sudden popula tion growth, the fundraising total will help Rzeszów provide public events, shelters and expand educa tion opportunities for Ukrainian mi grants.

Karolina Domagała, a delegate and head of the mayor’s office in Rzeszów, said the money will be es pecially helpful due to an expected influx of migrants in the coming months.

“We know that during the win ter we will have another wave of refugees,” Domagała said.

Donations help provide educa tion and work certification for those migrants planning to stay in Poland after relocating, she said. Ukrainian students integrate into the Polish school system, resulting in those schools needing greater infrastruc ture, she added.

While the donation and relief effort is new, Gainesville’s relation ship with Rzeszów spans just under a decade, as part of the Sister City Program. In total, Gainesville has nine sister cities in countries like Haiti, Nicaragua and Jordan, among others.

The program connects individu als, local governments and nonprof its together, allowing visiting oppor tunities and communication across national and language boundaries.

Steve Kalishman, chair of the Sister City Program’s Gainesville chapter, said participants gain in valuable cultural experience from the connections they form in the program.

“It’s not just seeing a museum or a church; it’s getting to know people where they’re at,” Kalishman said.

Both cities are similar in that they serve as college towns. Prior

to the ceremony, Gainesville and Rzeszów met to discuss both cities’ refugee efforts to ideally learn from each other.

While not facing the massive im migration Poland saw, Gainesville still has multiple community pro grams dedicated to working with refugees.

Gators for Refugee Medical Relief, a UF student organization, primarily works with Syrian and Burmese ref ugees locally and in Jacksonville, of fering food drives, tutoring and legal resources. The Polish delegates also attended a meeting from GRMR, and will spend the next few days meeting with migrant relief groups locally and across the state before returning.

Rae Riiska // Alligator Staff

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prefix “sub-” mean in English?

2. TELEVISION: Where is the Dunder Mif flin office located in "The Office"?

3. LITERATURE: Which 20th-century hor ror novel is set in the Overlook Hotel?

4. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the only president to serve two noncon secutive terms?

5. LITERATURE: Which 20th-cen tury movie star penned the autobiogra phy “Me: Stories of My Life”?

6. HISTORY: What was the first

4. MUSIC: Before his solo career, singer Harry Styles was part of which boy band?

in the United States?

7. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the

5. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital city of Denmark?

of Luzon located?

6. MOVIES: Which book is the 1922 silent film "Nosferatu" based upon?

8. MOVIES: Which sci-fi movie has the tagline, “Reality is a

7. BUSINESS: Which company goes by the nickname "Big Blue"?

8. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which state has pro duced the most presidents (8) by birth?

9. ANATOMY: What is a common name for the tympanic membrane?

10. U.S. STATES: Which state features a full-size replica of the Parthenon?

answers below

1.

2.

1. Tommie Aaron, brother of Hank, hit how many home runs in his seven-sea son Major League Baseball career?

acquired what reptilian-named

2010, feline-named sportswear com pany

2. Bill Chadwick, the NHL’s first U.S.-born referee and later a broad caster for the New York Rangers, went by what nickname?

is the name of the bronze pig trophy

to the winner of the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers college foot ball rivalry game?

3. The name for the Albuquerque Isotopes Minor League Baseball club was inspired by a fictional team from what TV comedy series?

3.

4. Jim Covert and Ed Sprinkle, two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020, spent their entire playing careers with what NFL fran chise?

NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas was known by what nickname inspired by his jer sey number?

4. Name the Loyola Marymount University Lions basketball star who collapsed during a game and later died from a heart condition in 1990 at age 23.

5. What traditional Japanese martial art is literally translated as “the way of the sword”?

6. Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated what mixed martial arts superstar in a 2017 boxing megafight in Las Vegas?

5. What NASCAR driver married former Tennes see Titans cheerleader Whitney Ward in 2017?

7. What Croatia-born basketball player won three NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1996-98 and was the 1996 NBA Sixth Man of the Year?

Answers

1. 13. He hit eight of them in his 1962 rookie season.

6. Name the former UCLA and NBA basketball player who was the lead plaintiff in an an titrust class action lawsuit against the NCAA over the use of athletes' images and likeness for commercial purposes.

2. The Big Whistle.

3. The Simpsons.

4. The Chicago Bears.

5. Kendo.

6. Conor McGregor.

7. What mixed martial arts organization was founded by pro wrestling promoter Jeff Os borne in Boonville, Indiana, in 1995?

7. Toni Kukoc.

© 2020 King Features Syndicate, Inc.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2022 www.alligator.org/section/sports

FOOTBALL

Georgia loss shows Florida’s progress, distance to go

Brock Bowers.

By Topher Adams Sports Writer

The Georgia Bulldogs faced a fourth-and-7 at the Florida 33-yard line. The Gators roared back from a 28-3 halftime deficit to cut UGA’s lead to as few as eight points.

After a Bulldogs touchdown and an ensuing Florida turnover on downs, this play was it for the Gators’ brief upset hopes. If Flori da could make a stop here, redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson and the UF offense could keep the game within reach.

At the snap, senior edge rusher Brenton Cox Jr. jumped offside, allowing Georgia quarterback Stet son Bennett to take a shot down the field to sophomore tight end

Bowers, who caught a tip-drill 73-yard touchdown earlier in the game, leapt in the air and brought down the catch, dominating his matchup on senior defensive back Trey Dean III to pick up the first down. The Bulldogs scored on the next play and sealed a secondstraight win over the Gators.

“I mean [Bowers], he’s one of the most special players in the country and probably one of the best players in the last how many years,” Florida head coach Billy Napier said about Bowers.

UGA, the No. 1 team in the country and reigning national champion, proved to be too much for Florida Oct. 29 en route to a 42-20 win. Georgia’s best players like Bowers and junior defensive lineman Jalen Carter dominated as head coach Kirby Smart’s team looked the part of the country’s

top team.

Dating back to Georgia’s 34-7 demolition of Florida last season, the discussion of a talent gap be tween these two programs has be come a hot issue for many Florida fans.

The Bulldogs’ roster features 15 former five-star players, compared to five for Florida according to 247Sports’ team talent composite. That doesn’t include former highlevel four-star players like Bow ers, who was a recruiting gem for Smart’s program.

Despite the perceived gap in roster talent, Napier dismissed the idea following Saturday’s loss.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s a talent gap or not,” Napier said. “It matters who played the best to day — who executed the best. We didn’t execute the best today.”

For a time in the third quarter, Florida did execute. The Gators rattled off 17 unanswered points and forced a pair of Georgia turn overs. Despite a 25-point halftime deficit, Florida showed its resil ience and talent against the best.

“I gained a level of respect for [our team] in terms of how they re sponded at halftime,” Napier said. “That's what I would say that I re spect the most; they care.”

Florida struggled early against the Bulldogs but still fought to stay in the game. The Gators did the same in losses to Tennessee and Louisiana State earlier in the season, always working to stay in games until the final whistle.

“We’ve been in plenty of games like that before this year,” Rich ardson said. “We’ve always fought through it. So, that’s just us. That’s

just how we play ball.”

The Gators continued to lay the groundwork of Napier’s program in their mentality. This year’s rendition of Florida’s rivalry with Georgia also showed some of the raw talent needed to eventually close the gap on its eastern divi sion counterpart and return to the forefront of college football.

Freshman running back Trevor Etienne finished with 121 all-pur pose yards and a touchdown, mak ing plays as a runner, receiver and kick returner. Freshman defensive lineman Chris McClellan made several big stops against the UGA running game and looks to take a larger role along the defensive front in Florida’s final four games.

Both Etienne and McClellan were major recruiting additions for Napier last offseason, highlight ing his inaugural recruiting class at Florida. They were the No. 190 and 113 rated recruits in the Gators

class according to 247Sports.

“Evaluation of recruitment is always important,” Napier said.

“To go where we want to go, to win an SEC Championship, to win a divisional championship, to win our conference, to win a National Championship, you got to do it all really well.”

Florida will look to close out Napier’s first season in Gainesville with a bowl game appearance, needing to win two of its final four to reach the postseason. The Gators also look to finish off a potential top-10 recruiting class to continue the revamped roster build.

UF travels to College Station, Texas, to face the Texas A&M Ag gies at noon Saturday. The game from Kyle Field will broadcast on ESPN.

@Topher_Adams tadams@alligator.org

UF, organizations respond to antisemitic message after Florida-Georgia game

MESSAGE WAS PROJECTED ONTO TIAA BANK FIELD

By Brandon Hernandez Sports Writer

An antisemitic message was projected onto the exterior of TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville after the Florida-Georgia game Oct. 29.

The message, “Kanye is right about the Jews!!!” was a reference to the recent antisemitic comments made by Ye, formerly

known as Kanye West.

Ye made antisemitic remarks repeatedly blaming “Jewish media” and “Jewish Zionists” for conspiring against him and the Black community during an interview on Revolt TV’s “Drink Champs” series that was posted and then removed Oct. 16. Ye has since been dropped by Adidas, GAP and other companies due to his comments.

Ye’s comments play into a larger narrative of antisemitic conspiracy theories pushed throughout history. Jacksonville’s Ye-related

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incident was the first outside of multiple antisemitic messages in California.

In response, UF and the University of Georgia released a joint statement condemning the message in Jacksonville.

“The University of Florida and the University of Georgia together condemn these and all acts of antisemitism and other forms of hatred and intolerance,” the joint statement on UF’s Twitter account read. “We are proud to be home to strong and thriving Jewish communities at UGA and UF, and we stand

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together against hate.”

The Southeastern Conference supported its schools’ statements, affirming it takes pride in the diversity of its campus communities.

“The SEC denounces all forms of hatred and intolerance,” the statement read.

UF Hillel, home to one of the largest Jewish student populations in the U.S., also condemned the projected message and ensured that UF Jewish students are free from antisemitism, discrimination and marginalization.

Follow us for updates

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

JACKSONVILLE

GATORS CONTINUE TO SHOW BITE, BUT NOT UP TO BULLDOGS’ LEVEL

Ashleigh Lucas // Alligator Staff

Florida head coach Billy Napier argues with an official during the Gators’ loss to Georgia Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

Rae Riiska // Alligator Staff

Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson prior to the fourth quarter of the Florida-Georgia game Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.

Antisemitic message

Rabbi Jonah Zinn, executive director of UF Hillel, said he wasn’t at the game in Jacksonville but was alerted of the antisemitic act by students who sent him videos.

“It’s shocking to see such hateful messages directed at Jews,” Zinn said.

Mason Solomon, a 19-year-old UF political science and criminology sophomore, didn’t attend the game but was in Jacksonville tailgating around the stadium.

“It was definitely quite terrifying seeing that one person that our generation looks up to is

able to impact the conversation of Judiasim and antisemitism in our society,” Solomon said. “It just shows how easily hate can be prevented and how easily it can be spread.”

Solomon, a UF student senator who serves on the Student Senate Jewish Caucus, was someone who listened to Ye’s music and enjoyed it. Now, whenever he listens to his songs, he’s reminded of the harm the artist has done to the Jewish community.

“As a Jew myself, it’s very hard to stand by and continue to support him or to turn a blind eye,” Solomon said.

Gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist

released a statement condemning Gov. Ron DeSantis, who attended the game, for not publicly commenting on the antisemitism.

“But while antisemitism is spreading in our state, Governor Ron DeSantis refuses to condemn it,” Crist wrote. “Even when it’s broadcast on the side of a stadium he is in.”

These messages come about two months after antisemitic messages were delivered to the front door steps of Gainesville residents in August.

Other antisemitic messages were displayed in Jacksonville prior to the game Oct. 29, News4Jax reported. Two banners reading “End Jewish Supremacy in America” and “Honk if you know it’s the Jews” hung over an overpass in the city’s west side, just off of Chaffee Road and Interstate 10.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry took to Twitter to condemn the actions and called those involved “cowardly.” Shad Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, also released a statement about the weekend’s events. The Jaguars are the primary tenants of TIAA Bank Field.

TIAA Bank, the organization that holds naming rights to the stadium, made a statement of its own on Twitter.

“We are horrified by and condemn the hate speech committed at TIAA Bank Stadium last night and other acts of anti-Semitism so visible of late,” the statement read. “TIAA stands with the Jewish community and remains committed to inclusion and tolerance for all.”