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VOLUME 118 - ISSUE 21 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

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Listening, learning and ‘laying the groundwork’: Sasse spent first year as UF president mostly behind the scenes SASSE REBOUNDED FROM A LESS-THANWELCOME RECEPTION WITH QUIET HARD WORK, COLLEAGUES SAY

By Zoey Thomas Alligator Staff Writer

Danaya Wright, the UF Faculty Senate chair, doesn’t think UF President Ben Sasse sleeps.

“He is working his little tail end off,” she said. “He’s up at four in the morning. Criticize him all you want, but you cannot say he’s not working hard.”

For the past year and a half, many have indeed criticized Sasse all they wanted.

After a search committee announced Sasse as the sole finalist for the presidency in October 2022, the campus erupted in protests that the former United States Republican senator would bring a conservative agenda to campus. In particular, Sasse’s past remarks condemning samesex marriage worried the university’s LGBTQ+ community.

Faculty members had good reason to be skeptical, Wright said. They had made clear to the search committee they wanted an academic as president, not a politician. Many worried Sasse would purge LGBTQ+ students and faculty or cut certain academic fields, she said.

One year later, most faculty are breathing a sigh of relief that no such purge has taken place, Wright said.

Instead, Sasse spent his first

year putting his head down to learn the workings of what Wright called the most complicated institution in the country.

UF rose in rankings in recent years, but many of its programs are hanging on “by their fingernails,” Wright said. Sasse took office in time to face the unglamorous task of pausing and ensuring the university has a strong foundation before moving forward.

Sasse’s main challenge isn’t his lack of ideas, but figuring out what to prioritize with limited resources, Wright said.

“He’s so funny. At the board retreat, he gave us a presentation of what he wants to accomplish, and it’s, like, 200 amazing things,” she said. “He just went on and on and on.”

Sasse identified three future areas of focus — creating a “dual core” curriculum, focusing on individual programs and expanding into artificial intelligence — in an email to The Alligator Jan. 30. In his first-ever one-on-one interview with The Alligator, Sasse also addressed concerns about post-tenure review, the Bright Futures scholarship and faculty retention.

A “dual core,” a 10x10x10 goal and AI expansion: what do Sasse’s ideas mean for UF?

At a faculty senate meeting in December, Sasse asked faculty to explore how the university can update its core curriculum. He hoped to see STEM

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

Volleyball Story description finish with comma, pg#

Kennedy Martin shines amid Gators’ injury struggles. Read more on pg. 11.

SEE SASSE, PAGE 4

Matthew Lewis // Alligator Staff

Students attending a STEAM Magnet Program open house event at Metcalfe Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024.

Gainesville community shares concerns about opportunity gaps in Alachua County schools Parents, educators, students see a divide in educational opportunities

By Nicole Beltrán Alligator Staff Writer

Xiomara Arroyo has gone through the schooling process in Alachua County with her three children, from experiencing their first day of kindergarten to making their way into UF and fulfilling their aspirations.

The 48-year-old mother has had a tumultuous relationship with Alachua County Public Schools.

Arroyo believes the programs offered at ACPS have been beneficial to the success of her children, but after moving from East to west Gainesville for her son’s education,

Residential development

Residents raise concerns about new construction, pg. 5

The Avenue: Melrose Studio

New gallery features local works, pg. 6

there was a noticeable difference between resource opportunities within schools, she said.

“He was receiving C's and D's in this older school, and when he went to the other schools, he improved to A's and B's,” she said.

Florida’s graduation rates for the 2022-2023 school year soared with a record high of 88%. Alachua County’s rates, which include both public and charter high schools, fell to 84.2%, lower than its rates the last five years.

Educators, students and parents wonder what contributes to underperformance and what is being done to address it.

Kevin Berry, ACPS director of curriculum, said he’s interested in analyzing the different data sets between public and charter schools with the county’s traditional public school graduation rate standing at 90.3%.

Berry said the school system is in the process of attributing the data to new initiatives being started, like new science material for grades K-12 and student-and-parent involvement programs, like Amplified Student Voice Coalition.

Berry said the school system’s goal is to collect data regularly

SEE ACHIEVEMENT, PAGE 5

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2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024

An insideToday’s look atWeather Gainesville crime: A prosecutor’s perspective EIGHTH CIRCUIT STATE ATTORNEY BRIAN KRAMER TALKS CRIME TRENDS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND MORE

By Daniel Bednar Alligator Staff Writer

Nestled inside a discreet former bank in downtown Gainesville, the State Attorney’s Office handles a wide range of cases, from high-profile murders to traffic tickets and everything in between.

The 8th Judicial Circuit covers an area of 3,700 square miles that includes Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union counties.

State Attorney Brian Kramer, Gainesville’s top law enforcement official, supervises a staff of 130 employees who collectively process 18,000 cases each year.

Kramer sat down with The Alligator to provide an inside look into the criminal justice system in Gainesville.

The job

Kramer wasn’t always involved in the prosecution side of the system. He started as an assistant public defender in 1993 after being turned down for an internship with the State Attorney’s Office. After nearly three years, one particular case drove Kramer to jump back into criminal prosecution.

A young woman with a 1-year-old child he represented faced a minimum 15-year sentence for a drug-related crime. He went to the prosecutor’s office to make a last-minute plea for a lenient sentence.

“I'm sitting outside of his office, waiting to go in and make my plea for this woman, and it just occurs to me how long I'm going to be in this business,” he said. “That I want to be the person who's making that decision. Not the person who's asking.”

Kramer believes working as a public defender helped him gain valuable life experience and a fresh perspective he can apply to the highstakes decisions a prosecutor naturally faces. It also guides his hiring decisions, he said.

“Wouldn't government be better if we had the most skilled, most ethical people with the best judgment working to make the decisions that affect people's lives? That's what I strive for when I'm hiring people,” Kramer said.

However, attracting new attorneys to the field of criminal prosecution, widely regarded as demanding, stressful and emotionally exhausting, is especially difficult.

Lawyers working at large transactional law firms can earn up to $245,000 in their first year out of law school. Prosecutors in Gainesville, who typically handle 150 cases at one time, only earn around $60,000.

Sarah Wolking, a senior legal skills professor and director of the prosecution clinic at UF Levin College of Law, has personally seen the effects of the profession’s low salary.

“The disparity is so huge that it makes it really difficult to retain prosecutors. It's hard to recruit people for half the pay,” she said.

Wolking manages the prosecution clinic at UF Law, which integrates classroom instruction with hands-on internship experience in Kramer’s office. One former student, who worked as a prosecutor in Jackson-

ville, handled 400 felony cases at one time. The workload, stress and low pay caused her to leave for private practice.

“What's happening when you have that many cases? You're working nights, you're working weekends, and many law students are like, ‘It's not worth it. It's not worth that time investment,’” Wolking said.

According to a study by the American Bar Association, 28% of lawyers struggle with depression, while nearly 12% reported having suicidal thoughts, much higher than the national average.

“I think anybody actually involved in the criminal justice system has probably, at some point or another, experienced vicarious trauma.

Now we're much more informed about the toll that vicarious trauma takes on people and we're much more trauma informed. We still have a long way to go,” Wolking said.

Last year, Kramer tried convincing the Florida Legislature to increase public sector starting salaries to $75,000, which he hoped would slow his office’s nearly 30% turnover rate. Both Kramer and 8th Circuit Public Defender Stacy Scott pitched their proposal to the Alachua County Legislative Delegation.

Although the pay is low, the UF Levin College of Law aids recruitment efforts as current students seek internships and recent graduates seek employment. This makes hiring in the 8th Circuit slightly less challenging than other rural areas of the state, Kramer said.

“The University of Florida is really a huge benefit to our office,” he said, “You want to prosecute? We're the only game in town.”

Although many enjoy the challenges of working in the criminal justice system, exposure to violence is part of the job description, Kramer said. In recent years, there’s been growing recognition of the job’s potential harmful effects.

“It can be very dehumanizing.

People shouldn't be okay with looking at the destruction of another human being, and just being like, ‘Okay, this is another day at work,’” he said.

Prosecutors nationwide are now using various strategies to better manage the emotional toll of their cases.

“We have an open line of communication with all of our lawyers to say, ‘Do you feel like you shouldn't be doing this kind of case anymore?

Or maybe you need a break?’” Kramer said. “There's no consequence for that. It's not a bad thing.”

Because Kramer is an elected official, his job is different from those of the attorneys under his command.

He manages a $12 million budget and a support staff that includes investigators, attorneys, victim advocates, accountants, electronic data processing and clerical staff, which he considers his “army.”

He still occasionally handles cases like a regular attorney, but with one important distinction: they’re all death penalty trials. Only Kramer himself is authorized to sign the notice of intent to seek the death penalty, making it the sole document exclusive to his signature.

“If I'm going to ask the citizens of this community to authorize the taking of another citizen's life, I need to do that myself. It will be done at the

VOLUME 118 - ISSUE 21

ISSN 0889-2423

Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications Inc., of Gainesville, Florida

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highest level of ethics,” he said.

Crime trends

A 2023 report by the Gainesville Police Department revealed an alarming 20% rise in overall crime compared to 2022, something Kramer acknowledges seeing firsthand since assuming office.

“We are seeing more violent crime in the city of Gainesville and the urban population of Gainesville,” he said.

Kramer attributes this to staffing shortages across the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and a historical lack of city commission support for police officers in Gainesville, which has affected officer morale and recruitment. At its peak, the sheriff's office had 250 vacant positions, approximately 26% of the workforce.

Less enforcement creates a situation where the costs of committing crime are low, while the benefits are high.

“Whole areas of enforcement went away: drug enforcement and gang enforcement. The people who commit the most serious crimes have recognized that enforcement is significantly down,” Kramer said.

ACSO Sheriff Emery Gainey has made progress in the attempt to retain deputies and support staff, said ACSO Spokesperson Arthur Forgey.

“Since taking office, Sheriff Gainey has been able to reduce those numbers, hiring around 100 people.

The office continues to have staffing shortages and Sheriff Gainey has instituted a recruiting team that is traveling and recruiting potential candidates,” Forgey said.

The sheriff’s office also disagrees that staffing issues are contributing to an overall rise in crime. Records obtained by The Alligator show jail bookings and calls for service have increased in recent years, but so has the county population.

“While staffing may or may not play a small part in the overall crime picture, there is no way to draw a direct correlation to staffing and crime.

There are many different factors to consider when looking at an increase in criminality, such as mental health, [the] economy, socioeconomic status, COVID-19, etc.,” Forgey said.

Overall, Kramer prides himself on seeing the people stuck within the criminal justice system through an empathetic lens.

“You need to always be aware of what you're doing to someone else and making sure that it is appropriate to the crime that you're dealing with,” Kramer said. “She stole diapers and grapes, and she should be punished, but should the punishment be that she loses custody of a child? And the answer, of course, for me, is no.” @Danielbednar5 dbednar@alligator.org

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 ALLIGATOR 3

‘Uncarcerated’: Giving a voice to those released from prison Leigh Scott, creator of the podcast, gives a voice to those once in jails, prisons

By Kairi Lowery Alligator Staff Writer

Incarcerated means to put or keep someone in jail or prison. With a switch of one letter, the word holds a completely different meaning. Through a new podcast, “Uncarcerated,” creator Leigh Scott helps once-incarcerated individuals reclaim their story.

“Uncarcerated” began with an onlineordered microphone, a tiny soundboard and a pursuit to find more meaning in life. Leigh Scott started his podcast to process the trauma he experienced within the criminal justice system, he said.

“I needed more in my life — more meaning, connection and service. Trauma was the springboard for a lot of this,” he said.

Leigh Scott had a mental health crisis during his incarceration, but was treated harshly, he said. The treatment he received inspired him to make sure others don’t go through the same thing.

“Uncarcerated” allows previously incarcerated individuals to tell a story they otherwise wouldn’t get to. When Leigh Scott reads about someone who committed a crime, all that comes up is the past crimes they’ve been in-

volved in, and he wants to change that narrative, he said.

“You don’t ever hear the narrative behind those crimes, like what childhood trauma led to that and what was the other side of the situation.” He said. “I wanted to give people a chance to tell their story and not have to do it in front of a judge or police officer.”

Alongside hosting his podcast, Leigh Scott is the Community Engagement Manager at GRACE Marketplace, a former fellow at Community Spring and a board member of Released Reentry.

The podcast provides a platform for people to tell their stories about their experience in the criminal justice system, said Kevin Scott, current co-host of “Uncarcerated,” and the program director of just income at Community Spring.

“I really appreciate Leigh’s demeanor,” Kevin Scott said. “His spirit, his humor, his passion is very inspiring, which helped me open up and think about the realities of my own life.”

While still incarcerated, Kevin Scott was told by a mental health professional working in the system not to think about the anxiety and fear concerning his release. The podcast, even five years after his release, allowed him to feel welcomed and embraced, he said.

“Uncarcerated” provides a platform for previously incarcerated individuals to share their different perspectives and experiences with the public.

“It’s not commonly advertised – the realities of what’s going on in there,” Kevin Scott said.

The podcast aims to destigmatize and humanize previously incarcerated people and the incarceration process.

“If I had heard somebody else sharing their experience, and feeling embraced in the process, it may have sped up my healing process as well,” Kevin Scott said about going on the podcast as a guest. “I may have been more likely to feel courageous enough to talk about my experience.”

Emily Westerholm, founder of the Released Reentry program, a Gainesville non-profit that provides resources and navigation for those returning home from prison, spoke on “Uncarcerated,” over a year ago after being released from prison.

“I found that it was very welcoming to be heard and valued for my experiences. I was also just really relieved that other people found it important to not just discuss, but also volunteer to take their time to produce and publish to get their voices out there.” Westerholm said.

Westerholm has ample experience both

Evelyn Miguel // Alligator Staff

Uncarcerated host Leigh Scott at GRACE Marketplace on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024.

working with those coming out of incarceration and being incarcerated herself through Released Reentry. With this knowledge, she described Alachua County as not having “a very good reputation for treating people who have been incarcerated with humanity.”

“Uncarcerated,” while not top of the charts, continues to make an impact on those out of prison, and helps give a voice to those who have had theirs stripped away. @kairiloweryy klowery@alligator.org

4 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024

Year one in office SASSE, from pg. 1 majors take more humanities classes and humanities majors be equipped for the digital revolution, he said.

Chair-elect Sarah Lynne, a UF family, youth and community sciences associate professor, took charge of a task force that will examine what the current core involves and how it can improve.

The task force will first consider a “dual core” model featuring one set of core requirements for STEM-aligned majors and a separate one for humanities — while also prioritizing crossover between the two, Lynne said.

Faculty were originally anxious about a mandated dual core system but soon realized Sasse was interested in communication, not commands, she said.

“One of the things I see that makes me optimistic is that President Sasse is engaging with the faculty senate on this,” she said.

“I think it's really great that we have a good example of shared governance and action here.”

Sasse also identified a 10x10x10 goal to have 10 of the university’s programs among the top 10 of their kind in the country within 10 years. He shares this goal with Scott Angle, whom Sasse appointed permanent UF provost in January.

Angle is glad Sasse spent his first nine months gathering input on goals like 10x10x10 before acting, he said.

“I think we should be happy that he's vetting his ideas before they just kind of fall out of the sky and hit us on the head,” he said.

Now, Sasse is moving from planning to sharing his plans, while still getting feedback every step of the way, Angle said. He and Sasse agree UF should benefit all students — even those who leave UF prematurely for financial reasons or to serve overseas — not just the traditional fouryear degree student, he said.

Expanding into AI will be key to educating all students, both in STEM or non-STEM fields, said former provost Joe Glover.

Glover overlapped with Sasse for the first six months of his presidency at the Board of Trustees’ request, he said. Glover announced his departure in January, but as senior advisor he will continue working on projects — many AI-related — with Sasse, he said.

Continuing the AI initiative was one of the first areas on which he and Sasse connected, Glover said. Glover led the 2019 installation of the university’s supercomputer, the HiPerGator.

“In having the AI initiative,

we really look unique as a university across the country,” he said. “That’s the wonderful foundation that the president gets to build on.”

“Those reports are nonsense”: Sasse denies political climate drives away faculty

Sasse took to X Dec. 3 to rebuke The New York Times’ article claiming Florida university faculty are leaving the state due to political concerns. His 12-part, 500-word thread started with “holy moly,” ended with “well, back to Sunday Night Ball,” and, in the middle, accused The Times of forcing an inaccurate political narrative for clickbait.

While the Times reported faculty turnover went from 7% in 2021 to 9.3% in 2023, Sasse pointed out the university is still below the national average of 10.6%. He also mentioned UF has hired more faculty than have left every year since 2017, omitting the pandemic’s impacts on 2021.

Sasse emphasized his position in his email interview to The Alligator.

“Faculty are fighting to come to UF: that’s the actual headline,” he wrote. “It’s wrong for national journalists to cherrypick and flatly ignore data in an effort to advance cookie-cutter narratives.”

But there are other metrics of faculty retention that don’t show up in HR databases, said Board of Governors member and UF business professor Amanda Phalin.

The university can see how many faculty are coming or going but not the people who drop out of a search, she said. It also can’t determine when someone at a conference tells a friend they were going to apply to UF but decided against it.

At the end of the day, Sasse is correct that more people are coming into UF than going out, Phalin said — but this is largely, she thinks, because of its high reputation.

“You can picture someone saying, ‘Oh my gosh, should I come to UF? Well, I know that the political environment might not be what I want, but it's UF, it's this really great program. I'm going to do it,’” she said.

Far from worrying about losing faculty to other states, Sasse is working to recruit out-of-state talent to UF, said UF Vice President for Human Resources Melissa Curry.

Sasse knows he must “steal” the best faculty from around the country for UF to climb national rankings, so both recruitment and retention are big causes for him right now, she said.

Armand Raichandani // Alligator Staff

Ben Sasse speaks at UF Hillel’s Spread Cream Cheese Not Hate event on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024.

Future of Bright Futures scholarship, post-tenure review unclear

Sasse alarmed UF students in his August State of the University address by predicting a reevaluation of the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which provides Florida Lottery-funded scholarships to in-state students meeting academic credentials. Six months later, he called himself a “fan” of the scholarship but re-emphasized its format could improve.

Families who could easily afford the university’s in-state tuition are still getting unneeded money from the scholarship, Sasse wrote. He would prefer a balance with need-based scholarships.

A change to the Bright Futures model must come from the legislature, not Sasse, said Florida Board of Education Chancellor Ray Rodrigues. He hasn’t personally discussed Bright Futures with Sasse, he said.

Rodrigues credits Florida’s low tuition for its universities’ steady enrollment and growth amid decreasing demands for — and increasing mistrust in — higher education nationwide.

Sasse agrees with the board that to be successful, universities must be able to show the public their tax money is well-spent, Rodrigues said. Sasse is highly respected in Tallahassee, he said.

“When President Sasse came to Tallahassee to meet with the legislature, as a former U.S. senator, he spoke their language,” he said.

Sasse’s good impression on lawmakers led to high funding from Tallahassee to UF in the most recent legislative session, Rodrigues said.

UF received over $126 million in performance-based funding from the Board of Governors in June for the 2023-2024 year.

The university received 19.5% of the Board’s performance funding budget for all state universities, an increase less than 1% from

2022-2023.

Sasse sees nothing political about lawmakers being interested in how the university is spending its resources, he wrote in his email to The Alligator. As far as the transition from politics to higher education, Sasse enjoys UF more than the U.S. Senate, he wrote.

“All ‘Swamps’ are not created equal,” he wrote. “Our new Swamp is a lot more fun.”

Another communication between Tallahassee and UF emerged in March, when the Board of Governors approved a post-tenure review regulation.

Under the regulation, faculty must undergo reviews every five years to “ensure high standards of quality and productivity.”

Amanda Phalin, as chair of the statewide group of faculty senate leaders, believes she and Sasse are moving closer together in their opinions on post-tenure review, she said. The review should be about honoring faculty as much as holding them accountable, and she trusts him to find the best way forward regardless of legislative pressure or fear of public reaction, she said.

“He's not the kind of guy who's going to lick his finger and stick it in the wind and see which way the wind is flowing,” she said. “He's going to do what he thinks is right.”

LGBTQ+ opinion remains mixed

Sasse’s lack of public interactions distinguishes him from former UF President Kent Fuchs, whose “way of being” was being one with the students, Phalin said.

But in the past months, Sasse has appeared more and more on campus, from selling Gatorades at UF football games in the fall to stepping into the classroom in the Spring to teach “The American Idea” to UF Honors students alongside two other professors.

Meghan Curry, a 20-yearold UF English student, jumped

at the chance to have Sasse as a professor even though she didn’t need the class requirement, she said. Three weeks into the course, she hasn’t met Sasse yet — she was absent during the only lecture he’s given thus far.

“He wanted to be here today, because he knows a lot about the topic that we talked about — Tocqueville, or something,” she said. “But then he had to go to Africa.”

Curry hasn’t met Sasse yet, nor has she heard much about what he’s been doing on campus, she said. As a gay student, Curry prioritizes LGBTQ+ issues and knows people were angry with Sasse for past comments.

But her mother, Melissa Curry, who works closely with Sasse, assured her he doesn’t plan to bring politics to UF, she said.

The president typically meets with the LGBTQ+ presidential council once per academic year, but the council has yet to ask Sasse for a meeting, said the council’s co-chair and UF anthropology Associate Instructional Professor Stephanie Bogart. Sasse did meet with a small group of the council’s leaders in May — a meeting for which Bogart was not present.

“The president does not really engage or support or anything like that with regards to the LGBTQ community,” Bogart said.

“So, I think people are kind of frustrated.”

As the Spring 2024 semester begins and the Florida legislative session ends, faculty and students will look to Sasse for guidance on new regulations limiting DEI funding.

If Sasse’s leadership pattern continues, his response will be to keep his head down and keep working, both in the university and the UF football concessions circuit. @zoeythomas39 zthomas@alligator.org

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 ALLIGATOR 5

Residents express concerns about increase in Gainesville residential development Over three thousand units created between 2020 and 2023

By Bailey Diem Alligator Staff Writer

To Laura Bittner, a 36-year-old Gainesville resident, the city no longer looks like it used to.

As more residential developments are constructed, Bittner is worried about how the city’s culture and social dynamics will change. Many recently constructed residential buildings do not fit the historical aesthetic of Gainesville, she wrote in an email.

“My friends and [I] liken their appearance to prison buildings most of the time,” she said.

“These buildings lack the character and local color that local-owned homes and businesses in the area have historically had.”

To Bittner, these physical differences embody a larger shift in Gainesville’s image, she said.

“The town’s character is changing,” she said.

Five residential projects were proposed in 2023, said Miranda Searing, the city of Gainesville’s development review coordinator. Four were proposed in 2022, 17 in 2021 and 15 in 2020; 78% of the projects were in approved status, according to the city of Gainesville.

On top of the physical environment changing in Gainesville, rent and the cost of living have increased in recent years, Bittner said.

This makes it even harder to afford to “have places to gather for artistic purposes,” which contribute to Gainesville’s existence as a place of music and art, she said.

As more residential developments are being constructed, Bittner is also concerned about adverse effects on the environment. She has witnessed spaces being cleared for various kinds of development, she said.

“Developers wantonly cut down old live oaks and other trees, because it’s cheaper to do that than preserve the trees,” she said. “I was utterly heartbroken to see all the live oaks get massacred behind El Indio, which the back of now looks like a wasteland.”

Bittner is concerned for the local environment in general and is surprised Gainesville is not taking more environmental precautions, especially with UF as a potential source of innovative ideas, she said.

“I ask myself all the time why the waterways here are so polluted, when we allegedly have the best science minds in our local university,” she said. “Or why no thought was put into protecting animals who would obviously frequent Depot Park since it is a huge, naturallooking body of water.”

With the city’s number of residential developments gradually increasing, Bittner believes

throughout the school year instead of waiting for rates to come out at the end of the year.

“That helps us to get more of an understanding of the story behind the students,” he said.

Berry said the school system is aware of the gap between Black students and other subgroups and is trying to build a consensus around optimal ways to address the problem.

The system is trying to get families involved through a new initiative called “family focus group sessions,” he said.

The next session will take place at Stephen Foster Elementary Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. It’s open to any parent from any school, Berry said. The sessions allow parents and students to interact with faculty and voice concerns, weak points and effective strategies.

Charter schools have flexibility in choosing their curriculum, Berry said. ACPS offers support to charters but doesn't directly impact the instruction, which is administered by a separate governing board.

“Here are some public schools that actually exceed the state, but that means we really need to change the way we support our other

Ashley C. Hicks // Alligator Staff

Construction taking place at The Marlow Gainesville on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.

Opportunity divide ACHIEVEMENT, from pg. 1

that even more action should be taken to conserve the local environment, she said.

“Local officials and organizations should protect the environment in terms of urbanization,” she said.

Searing said projects must pass certain criteria — including factors of environmental impact — to be approved for construction.

“Gainesville is committed to minimizing its environmental footprint by diligent oversight and regulation,” she wrote in an email.

“Proposed projects are required to be reviewed for environmental impacts on a federal, state, county and city level.”

While fewer total projects have been proposed in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of units, with approximately 3,265 units and 7,809 bedrooms created, Searing said.

Thomas Twitchell, a 70-year-old retired journalist, lives just outside of the Gainesville city limits in Longleaf Village off Archer Road.

The biggest indicator of recent residential development nearby has been the increased traffic he’s experienced, he said.

“It’s getting harder and harder to pull out on Archer Road and cars back up there in the late afternoon when people are coming home,” Twitchell said.

While Twitchell said he has no strong desire for Gainesville’s size to increase, he understands the growth is inevitable.

“Development just keeps coming and coming and coming,” he said. “I wish it wouldn’t happen, but I know it will.”

With more residential developments being constructed, Twitchell believes it is important to establish more efficient public transportation in and around the city, he said.

“I figure, as long as we’re going to have to live here, that we should do it in an orderly way,” he said. “To me, a big part of that is transportation.”

Twitchell occasionally visits Los Angeles and other large cities and has taken note of their modes of public transportation. One that stands out to him is light rail, he said.

“I’ve read that light rail can spur development in some areas,” he said. “I think that might be the case here, you know, put on light rail and then have a mix of new housing along the way.”

Although he recognizes Gainesville’s need for growth, Twitchell worries it is happening too quickly to keep up with.

“I wish the town wouldn’t grow so much,” he said. “It was so nice when I got here. It’s still nice, but it’s just growing too much, too fast.”

schools,” he said.

Berry said it’s crucial to find out what's happening with students and “dig a little bit deeper.”

Brooke Peterson, a 19-year-old UF geography junior and Buchholz High School alumna, didn't start school in Florida until ninth grade.

Peterson said after moving from upstate New York to Gainesville her freshman year of high school, she noticed differences between both school systems.

“A lot of things were definitely more lax than New York’s education system,” Peterson said. “There weren't as many standardized tests.”

Peterson felt lucky she was self-motivated and surrounded by ambitious friends who inspired her to achieve more, she said.

“I felt supported, but also, if you didn't put yourself out there and want certain opportunities, no one was going to help you,” she said.

Peterson said there was a clear difference between groups of students taking AP courses and students enrolled in honors courses or general education curriculum.

Peterson said she also felt she had knowledge gaps in topics like climate change. She kept up with New York’s efforts to implement climate change into its curriculum,

which led her to question efforts in Florida.

African American studies was another topic she wasn’t familiar with, she said.

“My education in that realm kind of just stops at the civil rights movement,” she said. “What happens next? How does the culture evolve?”

Chris Redding, a UF education associate professor, believes it's important to move away from framing around the achievement gap and instead focus on the opportunity gap, he said.

“Trying to drill down into what the differences are in broader opportunity structures that lead to those patterns in the first place,” he said.

Redding said early warning factors can be a way to create an understanding of signs likely leading to poor performance and dropping out.

Redding said it’s also important to question whether larger gaps are created from a college town population taking over the data; the gap data between college towns and other cities can vary by a lot.

A college town’s public schools receive enrollment from the children of university faculty and families who’ve moved to town for the university. It also receives enrollment from children who have grown up in under-resourced communities in the city, he said.

Chris Curran, a UF associate professor of educational leadership and policy and director of the Education Policy Research Center, believes in looking beyond schooling and into home life.

Curran said understanding these issues stem beyond schooling and can be attributed to socioeconomic factors. Rather than an achievement gap, which implies the success of some groups, it can be more helpful to use an opportunity gap, which implies unequal access to resources.

“That [opportunity gap] terminology gets used to sort of help emphasize that these differences aren't something that's inherent to the group or something that is the fault of the group, but rather, it is a reflection of differential opportunity,” he said.

Curran said before looking directly at school performance and effort, it’s important to look at socioeconomic differences and then relate it back to school to find patterns.

“Students are zoned to particular schools based on where they live,” he said. “The schools may have differential resources.”

Curran also agrees with Redding on Alachua County’s unique student body.

Wider disparities can be seen between people affiliated with the university and other people.

There are different opportunities or different supports outside of school that may not be quite the same if

@BaileyDiem bdiem@alligator.org

you were in a community that didn't have a university, he said.

These differences could be observed through the perspective of Ripley Sowers, a 19-year-old UF psychology junior and graduate from the IB Program at Eastside High School. Sowers pointed out distinct experiences between the peers in her program and the students enrolled in standardized curriculum.

She said she’s grateful for her experience with IB but felt it also had blurred the deep-rooted issues at Eastside.

Sowers said socioeconomic differences were clear, but she felt the issue was not addressed even though IB promoted ideas of inclusivity and unity.

“We were learning in an environment where other people were being underprivileged and not given the same opportunity to speak about their experiences, which was hard,” she said.

With the many causes of education gaps, Berry said he believes numbers can't tell a story without the picture.

“Kids aren't numbers,” he said. “Behind those numbers is a student and their experience with academics but also with things that are happening in their lives outside of curriculum and instruction.” @nicolebeltg nbeltran@alligator.org

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue

CULTURE

‘Rupaul’s Drag Race’ leaves impact on local LGBTQ+ community UNIVERSITY CLUB HOSTS WEEKLY WATCH PARTIES OF THE EMMY-WINNING REALITY COMPETITION SHOW

By Emilia Cardenas-Perez Avenue Staff Writer

Every Friday at 8 p.m., a crowd gathers at University Club’s downstairs bar to watch the weekly episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” For no cover charge, attendees join the club’s drag performers to revel in the excitement of the critically acclaimed show.

Rachel Boheme, a drag queen who regularly performs at UC, said drag is an important part of her identity.

“I’ve always been someone who likes to perform for people, and drag has let me express all aspects of myself,” Boheme said.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” is a reality competition series that pioneered televised drag entertainment since its debut in 2009 on the Logo TV network. Hosted by the legendary drag queen, RuPaul, the show has become a cultural phenomenon. The winner is crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar, receiving one of the most prestigious titles in the drag world, a cash prize and a year’s supply of cosmetics.

With spinoff seasons in Canada, Brazil and Mexico, to name a few, “Rupaul’s Drag Race” has also seemed to leave its mark in Downtown

Gainesville.

Boheme and fellow drag queen Inertia host the weekly premiere of each “Rupaul’s Drag Race” episode, including those from All-Star seasons as they air. Boheme said the two have been doing so since 2021, when Boheme replaced the previous co-host.

“It’s just way more fun to watch with other people,” Boheme said.

She compared the show to a sporting event for the drag community. She said UC has been a safe haven for her since 2009 and mentioned recent waves of anti-drag-show legislation proposals.

By providing a platform for performers and fostering a supportive community, Boheme said UC is a symbol of resilience, defying criticism to create spaces where self-expression and creativity thrive.

“I basically grew up here,” she said. “I love our community and want to give a shoutout to all of the entertainers we have here. Some of the most talented people I have ever met are from here.”

UC hosts drag shows with different themes every night of the week, such as Sinister Sunday and 4Play Friday.

Boheme said beside the community of performers, the crowd UC draws is an important part of the welcoming environment.

“We also have some of the best patrons, it’s been fun watching people come here as kids and grow up and become awesome successful

people,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Marisol Lords is another drag queen who regularly performs at UC. “Drag is an art of self expression and performing is an outlet of creativity,” she said. “It’s a very supportive community and UC is a safe space for queer individuals.”

Lords is a part of the Twitch Latin Unity Guild, which is a program started by the online live streaming platform, Twitch, that funds and promotes spaces dedicated to marginalized communities. Besides UC, she has performed at Twitchcon in San Diego.

Jayden Ellis is a UF costume design sophomore. He said he prefers UC to the other nightlife options in Gainesville.

“I’ve been to a few other clubs downtown, but none of them feel as welcoming or safe as UC,” he said. “As a male who presents very femininely, often going downtown to clubs can be stressful but UC offers a safe space.”

He said he’s watched “RuPaul’s Drag Race” since its tenth season. He said the show can be difficult to find on traditional streaming services, so the watch parties make it accessible.

Ellis seconded Boheme’s comment on the sense of camaraderie among the people of UC. “The community is incredibly supportive and includes some of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet,” he said. “To have a group I can party with while also having my back through the unique challenges posed by a queer life truly

Madilyn Gemme // Alligator Staff

Local drag queen Inertia talks to audience members at a RuPaul’s Drag Race viewing event at University Club on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

is what I define as a healthy, thriving community.”

As Gainesville’s own queer community attests, shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and places like UC are vital to visibility and acceptance. The watch parties are held every Friday for the remaining eleven episodes of the season. @emiliaandreaa ecardenas-perez@alligator.org

ART

The Melrose Center unveils new art gallery ‘Studios of Melrose’ featuring local works THE COMMUNITY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION OPENED THE GALLERY IN DECEMBER

By Molly Seghi Avenue Staff Writer

The pastel yellow exterior of the two-story building and the bright blue herons painted around the porch make Studios of Melrose a picturesque spot. But the colorful paintings lining the walls and the handmade creations filling the room make the gallery a spot worth stopping for.

The Melrose Center, a community nonprofit organization, opened Studios of Melrose in early December in Melrose, Florida. The new art gallery features local, vintage and fair trade art and works. The space also acts as a gift shop selling Haitian paintings, handmade pottery, woodblock prints, art supplies, greeting cards and more.

Anne Gilroy, the curator of the Studios of Melrose gallery and a Mel-

rose resident, aims to enhance artists’ experience through the exhibitions of the Studios of Melrose.

“What I would like to do … is to continue to honor and respect the artists who already have a presence in Melrose,” Gilroy said, “but also inspire them by bringing in work of people who aren’t necessarily a part of the community.”

Gilroy believes the Melrose Center is a hub for local artistic expression, she said. “[Melrose] is a place where a lot of art makers, writers, especially musicians, have chosen to live, and so it’s natural to have outlets for those different art forms,” she said. “The Melrose Center comes together very organically from the energy and the demographic of the area.”

Locally and regionally acclaimed artists have their works featured in the gallery, including Bill Paine and Pam Hobbs, Gilroy said.

Bill Paine, a local musician and artist, creates eccentric artisan lamps from found objects such as guitar necks and colorful glass. Paine said the gallery gives artists a platform, positively impacting them.

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“I like the fact that the gallery space is in a place that you can equate to, as it is your own place,” Paine said. “The gallery itself is doing a lot of work to promote the gallery and promote the artists.”

Community members who are regulars at the center, like 74-yearold Dr. Mark Lewis, find Studios of Melrose to be a great addition to its community. “[The gallery] is a very logical and welcomed extension of the kinds of services and offerings that are available at the Melrose Center,” Lewis said.

Bruce Waite, the executive director and co-founder of the Melrose Center, envisioned the Studios of Melrose as a mutually beneficial project for the center, artists and the community.

“Our goal was to create a means by which we could assist them in supporting themselves with their art and also benefit the activities of our non-profit,” Waite said.

Established in 2010 by Waite and his wife, Gwen, the Melrose Center has built a 50-seat restaurant and accumulated a clientele of hundreds,

Waite added.

In creating the center, Waite considered four pillars most important to him: health and nutrition, access to healthcare, social connectedness and economic sustainability. Food insecurity, health disparities, lack of healthcare access and chronic disease rates, he said, are on the rise.

“We are trying to build a focal point where people can come and get whatever services we can garner for them, so that they can continue to age gracefully without increased risk to their health and safety,” he said.

Pam Hobbs, an artist from Key West whose prints of tropical and funky views of Florida skies and scenes are displayed in the Studios of Melrose gallery, is a close friend of the Waites. Hobbs said she values the couple’s work and has come to live by one motto.

“Let’s be as diverse as we can,” she said. “Let’s bring in artwork from around the world.”

Catie Miller, a 74-year-old Melrose resident, is one of the thousands who frequent The Melrose Center to listen to music and make friends.

Miller has written songs about the

center, which she calls her “clubhouse.”

“If every town had a place like this, it would make the life of the people in that town a lot better,” Miller said. “As my song says, ‘good food, good friends and a place to sing.”’

Willow Murphy, a UF alumnus and the community engagement coordinator at the Melrose Center, witnesses how important the center is for peoples’ physical and mental health. The socialization and health services it offers are crucial for the community, Murphy said.

“Everybody that comes in tells me that it saved their life,” Murphy said. “[The Melrose Center] is a really great community symbol.”

The Melrose Center is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It hosts live local music performances two to three times a week on Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as the first and third Friday of every month. @molly_seghi mseghi@alligator.org

Community ID drive

Human Rights Coalition collaborates with UF students. Read more on pg. 7.

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El Caimán

LUNES, 5 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 www.alligator.org/section/elcaiman

La Coalición de Derechos Humanos organiza la primera campaña de identificación en el campus en el Reitz Union LA ORGANIZACIÓN SIN FINES DE LUCRO COLABORÓ CON ​​ MUCHOS CLUBES DE LA UF, ORGANIZACIONES PARA PROMOVER LA SOLIDARIDAD ENTRE ESTUDIANTES E INMIGRANTES Por Eluney Gonzalez Esritora de El Caimán

Un estudiante sonríe frente a un iluminador circular mientras le toman una foto para una segunda forma de identificación personal. Las estaciones a su alrededor están repletas de documentos que se intercambian, verifican y aprueban para la primera campaña de identificación comunitaria de la Coalición de Derechos Humanos [Human Rights Coalition] en el Reitz Union.

La organización sin fines de lucro generalmente opera su campañas de identificación comunitaria desde la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Westminster para una población inmigrante predominantemente hispana. Aunque continua haciéndolo, recientemente trajo el programa a un nuevo grupo demográfico en la UF para traer solidaridad entre los estudiantes y aquellos que más se benefician del programa.

"Esperamos que un buen número de

estudiantes de la UF obtengan su identificación comunitaria", dijo la directora del programa HRC, Verónica Robleto. "[Queremos] ayudar a normalizar y ampliar el programa y crear conciencia sobre las razones por las que surgió y las cosas que enfrentan las personas en la comunidad y que a veces los estudiantes están un poco alejados".

La campaña de identificación en la UF también informó a los estudiantes sobre un desarrollo en las sesiones legislativas de Florida como parte del Proyecto de ley del Senado 1718 paquete de inmigración firmado en mayo 2023. Los hospitales de Florida que aceptan Medicaid están obligados a preguntar a los pacientes sobre su estatus migratorio.

Sin embargo, Robleto dijo que la ley también establece el derecho de negarse a responder esa pregunta en lo que llaman una campaña para negarse a responder [Decline to Answer Campaign].

“Alentamos a todos, sin importar su estatus, incluso si son estadounidenses, a negarse a responder esa pregunta”, dijo Robleto.

"Creemos que la pregunta en sí es dañina y ya está provocando que las personas no busquen atención médica por temor a que eso signifique que los entregarán a ICE o a las autoridades de inmigración".

Robleto dijo que había recibido muchas llamadas de inmigrantes preocupados por cómo su estatus migratorio podría afectar su capacidad para recibir atención médica.

Mantente al día con El Caimán en Twitter.

Envíanos un tweet @ElCaimanGNV.

AFTER DARK

Thursday, February 8 6 - 9 pm

Grab your passport and travel the museum to experience art, dance and drumming by Agbedidi Ensemble, a community art project, photo-booth, art tours and more...

FREE ADMISSION + refreshments.

harn.ufl.edu/artafterdark

Co-sponsored by the UF Center for African Studies

@Eluney_G egonzalez@alligator.org

Para obtener actualizaciones de El Caimán, síganos en línea en www.alligator.org/section/elcaiman.

Florida looks to find footing in second halves. Read more on pg. 12.

VIBRANT AFRICA

Read the rest onlline at alligator.org/section/elcaiman

Síganos para actualizaciones

Men’s basketball

Museum Nights

próxima vez.

Estelle Erwich, un estudiante de ciencia política y estudios internacionales de la UF de cuarto año y presidente de UF Caimanes para Asistencia Médica para Refugiados [Gators for Refugee Medical Relief], estaba de acuerdo.

Erwich incluso pasó por el proceso de recibir una identificación ella misma. Si bien ella, como muchos estudiantes, inicialmente pensó que el proceso sería complicado, resultó ser todo lo contrario.

"Solo tengo mi licencia de conducir y mi ONE.UF, los cuales siempre tengo disponibles, y me tomó como cinco minutos", dijo Erwich.

“Y ahora tengo una identificación, de segundo tipo. Entonces es asombroso. Súper, súper simple”.

Los esfuerzos de GRMR fueron más allá de proporcionar voluntarios para la campaña de identificación en el Reitz. En una de las campañas de identificación habituales de HRC en la iglesia presbiteriana de Westminster [Westminster Presbyterian Church], GRMR proporcionó una clínica de salud móvil gratuita para aquellos que de otro modo no habrían tenido acceso.

TICK.TOCK.

ART

“Por lo tanto, no se le puede negar atención médica debido a su estatus migratorio”, dijo Robleto. "Sin embargo, definitivamente mejora la situación existente de gente temerosa y desconfiada, desconfianza hacia las instituciones en general, que no es seguro para los inmigrantes".

El HRC planificó la campaña de identificación en el Reitz en colaboración con organizaciones de la UF incluyendo Path to Purpose, Gators for Refugee Medical Relief y Organización Latina Centroamericana.

Para Jacob Booeshaghi, un ingeniero biomédico de la UF estudiante de primer año quién está involucrado con el Camino al Propósito [Path to Purpose], la colaboración se produjo después de una presentación que Robleto hizo en el Centro Brown para el Liderazgo y el Servicio [Brown Center for Leadership and Service] sobre el programa.

“Mi grupo pensó que sería fantástico organizar una campaña de identificación comunitaria aquí en el campus porque la demografía de la comunidad es mayoritariamente similar a la de inmigrantes”, dijo Booeshaghi. “Creo que hay mucho estigma contra los inmigrantes. Quería hacer algo al respecto”.

Booeshaghi dijo que quería continuar con las campañas de identificación en el campus en el futuro, con la esperanza de que con una estrategia modificada pudieran lograr que más estudiantes participaran en la campaña la

REDUCE YOUR SHOWERTIME BY 2 MINUTES preserve water

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 www.alligator.org/section/opinions

Column

Plastic pollution in Florida is about to become easier

L

ocal governments such as Gainesville have made significant progress towards protecting our environment from pollution like single-use plastics. Bans exist all over Florida, so items like plastic water bottles don’t end up in our springs, rivers and oceans.

But all this progress may be reversed by the efforts of Florida House Rep. Brad Yeager, R-New Port Richey, who introduced a bill that will prohibit these bans.

Florida Senate/House Bill 1641, “Regulation of Auxiliary Containers,” fails to address the real target of the bill. It intends to have any regulation that has been produced regarding most types of containers be removed, including rules on plastics, bags and other containers that usually accumulate to be trash.

This should worry everyone, because Gainesville sits on one of Florida’s most precious resources: our springs. This bill just passed the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee this past month, paving the way for the bill’s future success.

If this bill passes, initiatives by local groups and governments to reduce plastic waste would become null and void. For example, plastic straw or plastic bag regulations are in effect in certain Florida cities. This bill would severely take away the powers of the local government and hand them to the state when it comes to local environmental regulations.

The more power the state has to regulate the various and

diverse areas of Florida, the more blanket measures will be produced when matters like this are not one size fits all.

For example, regulations in Orlando can differ from those in Gainesville because Orlando does not have the spring ecosystem running through it. The matter can be simplified down to this: banning single-use plastics and trash that cause pollution can benefit the entire state while prohibiting bans can harm it.

While “auxiliary containers” can refer to all types of containers, the effect on single-use plastic regulations will be significant. According to the Florida Springs Council Bill 1641, “The protections currently in place prohibiting single-use containers on the Rainbow River, Ichetucknee River, Weeki Wachee and Silver Rivers would be repealed.” This means the bill has a retroactive effect, so any progress made by local governments to eliminate pollution in springs or protected areas would no longer be protected.

Many local and state governments around the United States have recognized these items can harm our environment, as around 500 cities and 12 states have produced measures to regulate them. This holds true in Florida as local governments work to preserve a state with such natural beauty.

About 19 municipalities in Florida have bans on single-use plastics, showcasing the desire by many cities to have control over the pollution they cause. These laws produce tangible re-

sults in improving our environment.

The collective effect of plastic bag bans in many states was found to have cut about six billion bags each year.

Bills like HB 1641 are unnecessary when there are many other critical environmental issues to focus on. Issues Cayman Forbes like climate change, invasive species, opinions@alligator.org hydrologic disturbances — like in our local springs — and some of the most extensive development we have ever seen in Florida are challenging the state and community. Having regulations on “auxiliary containers” does not harm anyone; they help Florida’s environment and the delicate ecosystem.

Gainesville has many resources and organizations that work to help improve and protect the environment. A non-exhaustive list includes: Life Unplastic, the Florida Springs Council, UnlitterUF, Zero Waste Initiative Gainesville, Sunrise Movement, Beaten Path Compost and the Repurpose Project.

Cayman Forbes is a UF political science and international studies senior.

Column

Student Government spends unseen thousands. We need transparency now

A

re UF students really getting the bang for their buck? funded the attempt.

The purported mission of student government since the 1900s is that it is a voice and forum of inclusive leadership for students to their university administrations. To that end, students pay a portion of tuition to SG for certain events and services. Every UF student pays $19.06 per credit, as mandated under state law, to SG. This is paid as the activity and service fee, which collectively equates to SG’s current $23 million budget, though this amount has increased with time as the fee and UF enrollment increase.

The average student takes 120 credits, meaning they will pay $2,287.20 to SG. Engineering students like me, who take 131 credits, will pay $2,496.86. This money, with no public oversight, funds SG-run programs.

One of the largest single SG-run programs is the ACCENT Speaker’s Bureau, an agency of SG. No single part of SG has been more under the critical lens of students than this agency.

According to data, ACCENT has spent annual totals between $62,500 and $463,000 on speaking fees since 2007. Over that period, ACCENT spent nearly $4.6 million. Past reporting indicates hundreds more are spent on limos and dinners for guest speakers.

ACCENT is just one agency compared to the hundreds of student organizations that may only get a couple thousand for their events or travel.

The agency has existed for several decades, and its total expenditures are potentially in the tens of millions. Students are forced to speculate because no publicly accessible accounting exists.

It is remarkable how much is spent on talent as great as Maya Angelou or Giancarlo Esposito as compared to more questionable

guests like Josh Richards or Carly Fiorina.

Maya Angelou brought out 1,700 students. She was paid $33,000 by ACCENT in 2013, with the remainder by other organizations for a total of $45,000. That is about $59,000 in today’s dollars. Richards was paid $66,000 and garnered about 800 students.

ACCENT’s mission is “to educate the student body” on hot topics and controversies. Instead, it sparked new controversy and protests.

It also dropped having inclusivity of student clubs, another part of their mission statement.

None of the ACCENT events in recent years included co-sponsoring with student organizations.

From the early 2000s to the 2010s, SG spent between $500 and $15,000 to host multiple speakers. At the same time, a few big-name speakers like John Legend, Bill Nye and Arianna Huffington came at higher costs.

Now, SG regularly spends between $40,000 to $60,000 for speakers. Multiple speakers in recent years cost a hundred thousand or more.

At the same time, while ACCENT used to regularly host significant speakers in the O’Dome to allow for thousands of students, now it seems to host exclusively in the University Auditorium. It has a capacity of 843, though about 20 to 40 of those are reserved for members of SG. The one time SG used the O’Dome recently, with Rob Gronkowski, poor advertising led to only 300 turning out in a space for thousands.

What Gators get as a result of this is fewer students can see shows while it costs us more.

These tens or hundreds of thousands are agreed to outside of the public eye, unless you request the contract. No town hall nor any official meeting occurs where students can weigh in.

To learn how much is spent can be a lengthy process, waiting weeks to have the records returned by UF long after a guest speaker came.

There are many other unseen expenditures

by SG. According to public records, in 2021 SG spent $7,191.20 on rain ponchos; this increased to $7,239.65 in 2022.

For the SEC Exchange in 2022, SG spent $5,179.03 for student leaders and university staff to travel. In 2023, nearly $8,000 was spent on travel and hotels for that SEC Exchange. The event serves as a forum for SG leaders across the SEC, but it remains to be seen what benefits trickled down to students.

Funding should be focused on fixing student’s problems, not travel.

One student whose travel and lodging were paid for held no SG office at the time.

In a time when students are complaining about the quality of the RTS app, the Student Senate could have stepped in to fund a permanent new app. But that was vetoed. Instead, the SG Senate line of the budget is expended on pizza for the housing fair in years past and now on t-shirts. Are those expenditures really moving the needle forward on what students need?

For one final example, $15,750 was spent on the Guinness attempt for the most fistbumps with a mascot in 3 minutes. It was held in the football stadium, but I only saw a few dozen students watch it. Class Councils, an agency of SG, organized and funded the attempt.

SG spends thousands on programs without public input. No executive branch or cabinet meetings are public.

The student body operates under a disparity of information. Most students only know of such expenses because they place public record requests. SG and the four on-campus institutions it funds request tens of thousands with no publicly accessible spending accounting.

This disparity of information does not just affect students. When Senate crafts its budget every year, it does so with no event turnout data and zero idea of how much was spent. It is expected just to rubber-stamp the amounts

by the administration.

Students need transparency in expenditures by SG and of student funds. These documents are already maintained via Docutraq, so why can SG Ronin Lupien not modify the system opinions@alligator.org to make them readily available to all who want to see them?

Another question arises. If more of this money was given to student organizations, would it be more broadly beneficial to engage the arts, engineering and student flourishing?

Myself and others are not convinced that locking tens of thousands in tuition to a handful of students with the special designation as “leaders” in SG when the Gator nation has thousands more in student organizations is wise.

Let us see how money is spent to better inform all voters on whether their elected leaders are acting to their benefit. If students believe spending is wasteful, they can allow that to inform their choice in who next allocated money. Inclusive, pluralistic democracy starts with having everyone’s voice heard.

Accountability should not just come at the ballot box — it should play a role when options for spending our money are discussed until their adoption. Accountability through access to information is the spirit behind the concept of ‘government in the sunshine.’ It means a student should know immediately how their dollars are spent and get to make suggestions or criticisms. Greater transparency on my and your $19.06 means an SG whose impact is felt by all.

Ronin Lupien is a UF biomedical engineering senior.

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024 www.alligator.org/section/sports

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Kennedy Martin’s success fueled by support from family, teammates MARTIN FINISHED HER FRESHMAN SEASON WITH 492 KILLS

By Alyssa Britton-Harr Sports Writer

Freshman outside hitter Kennedy Martin strutted in orange and blue as she ran out onto the court for the Gators’ first home match of the season Sept. 3, 2023, against the then-No. 5 Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The 6-foot-6 freshman stepped out into the Stephen C. O'Connell Center with a loud and excited crowd ready to see its then-No. 8 Gators make an upset. While Martin no doubt felt the presence of Gator nation, she also felt the support from her parents, who cheered her on in the stands.

Martin's fired-up momentum sparked a run for the Gators on offense. Her aggressive desire to win showed out as she left everything on the court and fought hard to win the game. Martin sealed the victory in set one with three launched kills, one being match point.

Her ability to escape the ball across the court brought Florida back into the game in set three, when she sealed back-to-back kills to help her team close out the game in a three-set sweep.

As the crowd in the O'Dome rose to its feet and the Gators jumped and hugged each other with huge smiles, Martin's performance led to a continued season of historic moments.

Martin excelled in the regular season roster easily, but it was when the volleyball team was struck by season-ending injuries that Martin’s talents stood out.

Martin went on to have a standout freshman season despite injuries plaguing stars on the roster. She became the first Florida volleyball freshman to earn an SEC Honor in each of their first three weeks in the program.

She earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Division 1 Player of the Week honors in the first week of her collegiate career, Aug. 29, 2023.

"In the back of my head, I was like, ‘Oh no, there's some expectations on me now,’” Martin said. “I started off pretty high, and there is a lot of the season left. This is only the first week."

One of her best offensive performances was against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers Nov. 3, 2023, when she recorded 28 kills, contributing to her overall season total of

Gabriella Aulisio // Alligator Staff

Kennedy Martin - Freshman outside hitter Kennedy Martin tips the ball in the Gators' 3-0 win against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023.

492.

However, it was her teammates and the upperclassmen who guided her throughout the year. The injuries Martin and her team endured left them with a hole of diversity to pile through.

"I spent a lot of time with the upperclassmen throughout the season, [and] they were very welcoming coming in because I came in January," Martin said. "I got pretty close with them, so any time I had questions or [I] hit walls and sometimes saw some obstacles, they helped me navigate [those moments]."

The first test occurred when sophomore All-American setter Alexis Stucky fell to the floor off of a block. Stucky suffered a knee injury and tore her ACL and MCL against the then-No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers.

Just a few weeks later, outside hitter freshman Kira Hutson endured a shoulder injury, and graduate student Anna Dixon encountered an injury to both her elbow and wrist that forced them to remain out for the 2023 season.

“It was definitely tough, but we were provided with the resources to get through it,” Martin said.

If the girls on the team needed

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some space they had a sports psychologist on staff, Dr. Jenny Susser, whom they could talk to. Martin spoke with Susser before some of the more difficult games, she said.

Martin used her resources to help her persevere through the hardships of losing players early in the season.

Martin said leaning on her teammates throughout the remainder of the season helped her navigate the adversity.

The outside hitter’s teammates guided her through her journey in her first year. But her father, Ruvell Martin, a former professional athlete, worked to help set her mind apart when focusing on the mental side of the game.

Ruvell Martin is a former NFL wide receiver and the Green Bay Packers' wide receivers coach. With his experience competing at a high level, he helped Martin particularly with her mental health.

"He has been able to help me a lot on the mental side of sports because that is something that I think sets him apart from other athletes," Martin said. “In the professional league, he always thought of himself and told me to think of myself as a person not defined by

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my sport."

Martin started playing volleyball in third grade. She fell in love with the game and the supportive community on both sides of the net, she said.

One of Martin’s biggest takeaways from her father is her personal confidence in volleyball despite game outcomes. She’s her own person who is good at the sport, and she strives to get better every day, she said.

Additionally, Martin’s parents pushed her to prioritize being the best teammate on and off the court.

In her first year, Martin looked up to teammate Anna Dixon, who became one of her mentors throughout the season, she said.

"Kennedy was not only starting as a freshman but carrying a heavy load offensively,” Dixon said. “I tried to remind her to take every moment as a learning opportunity when she feels the pressure of performance rise and to give herself grace in those learning moments.”

As a freshman starter, the pressure can be overwhelming at times, and it can be difficult to try to keep your head up with multiple expectations, but she carries herself ma-

turely both on and off the court, Dixon said.

Martin has worked hard to be a better person and better player throughout her time at UF, she said.

She knew all the programs believed in her in the recruiting process, but Florida head coach Mary Wise and the staff made the process feel more like home.

"Kennedy first came to one of our clinics years ago [in eighth grade],” Wise said. “[We could tell] she's going to make opponents' [lives] tough in terms of how high she gets the ball and what her blocking will do to disrupt the other teams’ offense."

Martin and the team made it into the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating Florida Gulf Coast but then fell 3-2 to Georgia Tech to close out their appearance.

“We knew that we were different and we had some setbacks that we couldn't control,” Martin said.

“We're just going to prove to everybody that we were different and are different. Hopefully, finish a lot farther in the tournament.”

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

12 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2024

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Gators men’s basketball is a tournament team, but might be one-and-done UF’S STRUGGLES DOWN THE STRETCH RETURNED AGAINST TEXAS A&M IN COLLEGE STATION

By Bennett Solomon Sports Writer

On Jan. 31, the Gators men’s basketball team earned its most important win of the season and its biggest in the Todd Golden era. The team took on a hostile Rupp Arena environment and came back from a doubledigit deficit to defeat the then-No.10 Kentucky Wildcats in overtime.

The win most likely solidified the team a spot in the NCAA tournament and extended the Gators’ win streak to four games. Getting a road win in the SEC will only benefit Golden’s squad as Selection Sunday approaches.

“Heck of a win for us,” Golden said after the Kentucky game. “We’ve been knocking on the door for a win like this in our opportunities.”

But Feb. 3, Florida’s win streak came to an end in College Station, Texas, against the unranked Texas A&M Aggies. In a game where the Gators led for the majority of the contest, second-half struggles caused the team to blow a 13-point lead and lose by one point.

The team has had problems with closing games all year, and it showed in College Station. The Gators scored just 26 points in the second half, but there was minimal offensive flow, and UF struggled to get open shots.

In the half, the Aggies shot 20 free throws

compared to Florida’s two.

And although there was a free throw discrepancy in the second half, Florida struggled to handle the sharp defensive pressure from Texas A&M in the final 10 minutes.

“We did a great job, I thought going vertical both halves,” Golden said after the Texas A&M game. “Second half, those started becoming free throws and it allows them to set up their press, kind of change the pace of the game. Really, the biggest thing for me was that there were a total of 13 free throws taken by both teams in the first half, and then A&M took 20 in the second half to our two.”

There was a clear difference in the amount of fouls called, but the Gators scored 26 points in the second half after scoring 40 in the first. Additionally, the team shot over 50% from the field and were 7-for-16 from 3 in the first 20 minutes. They were in control.

In the second half, this dropped drastically. The team was just 11-for-29 from the field and made just three 3-pointers on 13 attempts.

If the Gators want to make a run in the tournament, they have to play more consistently for the full 40 minutes. Scoring droughts kill a team’s momentum, and especially in March Madness, a season could end because of it.

A complete game can get the Gators to the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight. Against Arkansas, Florida showed it’s capable of dominating in both halves. The team won by 22 and earned its first SEC win.

Moreover, the team played a complete game against Kentucky, and despite a rusty

latter part of the first half, they had an overall gutsy performance against a top-10 team.

Against the Wildcats, the team played its best basketball. It answered almost every Kentucky basket, and clutch shots down the stretch allowed UF to make a statement across the college basketball world.

However, this was nowhere to be found in the final 10 minutes in College Station.

The team struggled with turnovers down the stretch against the Aggies, coughing up three turnovers in the final 1:37.

Before the loss against Texas A&M, the Gators almost surrendered multiple doubledigit leads. Against Mississippi State and Georgia, both games could’ve ended in losses. The stronger teams stay consistent when it matters most, but UF has failed to do so.

The Gators, without a doubt, have shown they can make a run. Winning in the SEC is no easy task, and players know the potential of the team.

Earlier in the season, junior forward Alex Condon said the sky is the limit for the team, and believes they can be a late March team.

Though, UF shot better overall in its matchup with the Aggies. Texas A&M finished shooting just 40.7% from the field and 26.7% from three. The Gators shot 44.6% from the field and 34.5% from behind the arc. Not great stats, but enough to win.

“Playing one of the better teams in the SEC, it’s a game we feel like we should have won,” guard Zyon Pullin said Feb. 3.

“They just made more plays than we did.

We didn’t come out in the second half and execute well enough on both ends.”

Even though UF’s winning streak came to an end against the Aggies, it got the wins

Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff

Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. dribbles up the court in Florida’s 79-70 win against Mississippi State on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. it needed. And it’ll have another phenomenal opportunity to cement itself in the NCAA Tournament Feb. 10 when the No. 16 Auburn Tigers visit the Stephen C. O’ Connell Center. @B_Soly11 bsolomon@alligator.org