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VOLUME 117 ISSUE 17
MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2023
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Preserving a painful history DESCENDANTS KEEP STORY OF ROSEWOOD MASSACRE ALIVE 100 YEARS LATER
By Jack Lemnus Alligator Staff Writer
Caia Reese // Alligator Staff
Historian Marvin Dunn (right) stands with Rosewood descendant Gregory Doctor (center) during the Rosewood wreath laying ceremony Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.
While driving along Florida State Road 24, Marvin Dunn noticed a humble sign that read “Rosewood,” and he decided to turn left. As an author and historian of Florida’s Black history, Dunn knew of the atrocities committed in the north Florida town so long ago. He hiked on foot, deep in the palmettos and pines, along the railroad track he knew once served as a vital escape route. Then, he discovered the graveyard. “I had a very strange feeling,” Dunn said. “Like spirits were reaching out to me.” Among the tombstones was the name “Goins,” which he recognized as one of the original families at the time of the Rosewood massacre. Dunn later purchased a piece of property in Rosewood, where a wreath laying ceremony took place Jan. 8 for the massacre’s centennial. Though not a descendant
himself, Dunn bought it because many of the original Black families had left, and Rosewood is today a white community. “African Americans need to own the blood land,” Dunn said. “We need to own some of the places where these terrible things happened so we can retell these stories — not to make anybody feel bad, but to preserve the history for its own sake.” During his experience in the graveyard, he sensed the history beneath his feet. One hundred years ago, Rosewood, Florida, was a thriving Black community just under 50 miles west of Gainesville that provided residents decent jobs and land ownership opportunities — an anomaly nestled in the Jim Crow South. That was until Jan. 1, 1923, when a white mob invaded, murdered inhabitants and set the town ablaze. Survivors sought refuge in the swamp as they watched their lives be destroyed in a spontaneous act of hate. Law enforcement wouldn’t come to the rescue. The mob’s rage was spurred after a white woman in neighboring Sumner claimed that an unidentified Black man had attacked her. The search for the al-
SEE ROSEWOOD, PAGE 4
UF pursues new accreditor Muslim residents reexamine FLORIDA LAW PROMPTED CHANGE
By Alissa Gary Alligator Staff Writer
For the first time in its history, UF will be mandated to shop for accreditors between now and 2025. Accreditation systems provide a list of standards to guarantee a high quality of education, which member universities must abide by to maintain their accreditation. Aside from lending credence to the institution, accreditation also ensures students have access to federal financial aid, said Andrew Gothard, president of United Faculty of Florida. “It's a very big deal,” Gothard said. “And not something that ill-informed politicians should be playing games with.” The changes to accreditation come in light of Senate Bill 7044, which requires Florida universi-
ties to seek new accreditors every five years and prohibits them from maintaining the same accreditor two cycles in a row. The first to face new accreditation are the University of Central Florida and Florida Polytechnic University, which will transition in 2023. UF and three others will make the change in 2025. The Florida Board of Governors is tasked with finding potential accreditors for universities, a list from which universities can choose which accreditation to apply for, according to SB 7044. Universities aren’t all required to choose the same accreditor, said Renee Fargason, a Florida BOG spokesperson. Some Florida university presidents, including UF President Kent Fuchs, discussed accreditation during a closed-door meeting in Tallahassee in December, according to reporting from the Tallahassee Democrat. UF officials declined to comment on the
SEE ACCREDITATION, PAGE 5
hijab amid international protests
Mahsa Amini's death triggered protests By Zarin Ismail Alligator Staff Writer
In her sophomore year at UF, Iman Zawahry stepped into a Walmart with her friends sporting a hijab for the first time as they shopped for groceries. Now a UF media production, management and technology lecturer and filmmaker, Zawahry was thrilled to wear the Muslim head covering and even sent a mass email to her loved ones announcing her decision to wear it. To her, the hijab was a way of standing out. “I’ve always been a big personality and outgoing — very American. I really wanted to portray that,” Zawahry said. “I’m going to wear a hijab to dispel these stereotypes.” The hijab, a head covering often worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, has been at
the forefront of global conversations regarding women’s rights since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died while in Iranian police custody Sept. 16. Three days prior, Amini had been arrested for not wearing her hijab properly. Iranian police claimed the cause of her death was heart failure from preexisting health conditions, but eyewitness reports and hospital scans suggest Amini had physical injuries to the head and body. Amini’s death led to worldwide anti-hijab protests in countries like France, Italy, Turkey and the United States. Decades-long protests primarily organized by Iranian women to abolish the 1983 hijab law developed into a nationwide movement in Iran against the Islamic Republic. The republic has been accused of suppressing freedom since its establishment in 1979. To
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT
Journalism dean and professor John Wright dies at 73
Tokac, Nirundorn ranked as No. 10 doubles pair in NCAA. Read more on pg. 11
EDITORIAL: Covering Rosewood 100 years later
UF tennis freshman duo comma, succeeds Story description finish with pg#
Wright pioneered early WUFT News properties, pg. 6
The Editorial Board reflects on the pitfalls of previous local coverage, pg. 7
prevent Iranians from spreading anti-government messages, it has restricted internet access, jailed over 18,000 individuals and sentenced at least 100 protestors to prison or execution. As of Dec. 27, according to Iran Human Rights, Iranian security forces have killed 476 people — including 64 children and 34 women — involved in the 2022 protests. Following Amini’s death, some like Zawahry are still steadfast in their commitment to wearing a hijab. Others like Nabiha Nur, a 21-year-old UF advertising senior, never enjoyed wearing it since her mother made her at age 10. Once she reached college, she stopped wearing it. “My relationship with the hijab has always been conflicted,” Nur said.
SEE HIJAB, PAGE 5
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