Monday, Feb. 20, 2023

Gainesville youth, medical professionals wary of gender-affirming care ban for minors

BAN FINALIZED FEB. 10

By Claire Grunewald Alligator Staff Writer

Growing up, Ruka Scarlett knew she was a girl but always thought she had to hide her gender identity out of fear for what her family would think.

“Denying who I was caused a lot of mental health issues, suicide attempts [and] drug addictions,” Scarlett said.

Over the past few years, Scarlett, a 33-year-old Gainesville resident, has witnessed more people openly come out as LGBTQ. The public has also become more educated on issues like gender dysphoria — the term for when someone feels uncomfortable because of a mismatch between their gender identity and their biological sex, according to Mayo Clinic.

“Finding out about what gender dysphoria is … I realized this has been me my entire life,” Scarlett said. “I finally had to admit it,

and that’s when I kind of started my transition journey.”

Though Scarlett, who identifies as transsexual, didn’t receive gender-affirming health care until she was in her 30s, she now worries for her transgender stepson and the effects of a Florida ban on care for trans youth in similar situations, she said.

Her stepson, a 14-year-old Dunnellon Middle School student whose parents requested he remain anonymous, doesn’t express concerns of severe gender dysphoria, but he is upset about the negativity directed at him and other trans children, Scarlett said.

“If we lose access to our care, I am worried that we will see a skyrocket in suicide rates because of us no longer being able to get the care we need to be who we really are,” her stepson said.

The Florida Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine voted Feb. 10 to finalize the ban on prohibiting doctors in Florida from

years after Marjory Stoneman Douglas tragedy, gun control legislation stalls

Florida’s newest proposal, on the other hand, would relax regulations — allowing people to carry concealed firearms without a permit.

By Amanda Friedman Alligator Staff Writer

Five years later, former Marjory Stoneman Douglas student Katrina White still shudders with every new headline alerting her of another mass shooting.

“I'm immediately brought back to that day,” she said. “I really think that my childhood did end on Feb. 14.”

Feb. 14 marked the fifth anniversary of the MSD High School shooting in Parkland in 2018, which left 17 people dead, including 14 students and three school faculty members.

Since that day, there have been over 900 mass shootings at K-12 schools in the U.S.

Some UF students, like White, who graduated from MSD are now reflecting on the lack of gun reform progress made in Florida amid the anniversary of the tragedy.

Since the 2018 shooting, Florida policymakers enacted The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which raised the legal age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21. National policymakers also enacted The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded background checks for those seeking to purchase guns under 21.

White, a 20-year-old UF public relations junior, survived the Parkland shooting when she was a sophomore in high school. On her first day back to school after the shooting, she said she recalls staring at the empty desk where her former classmate and victim of the shooting, Meadow Pollack, once sat.

“I remember looking over at that empty desk and being like, ‘Wow, this wasn't a nightmare, this is reality,’” she said.

After the shooting, White said she quickly channeled her sadness and frustration into activism.

She attended the first March for Our Lives

rally in Washington D.C. March 24, 2018, and partnered with Giffords, an organization aiming to pass gun reform legislation, to educate policymakers on her experience. She’s met with politicians like President Joe Biden and former U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch.

However, much of White’s advocacy has been met with false promises.

She’s heartbroken by how many policymakers have seemingly swept gun safety under the rug even though mass shootings have only increased in the U.S. in the past few years, she said.

“Gun violence and gun safety shouldn't be put on the backburner of politics,” she said. “It's an issue that affects everyone and can

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Honors director search committee selects semifinalists

10 applicants will move on to online interview stage

By Halima Attah Alligator Staff Writer

The committee responsible for finding a new UF Honors Program director met Feb. 17 to discuss plans for the final stages of their search process.

During its meeting in Tigert Hall, the search committee finalized its list of semifinalists and narrowed down Zoom interview questions — deciding whether to send interview questions in advance to director hopefuls.

A group of 10 applicants was selected from the committee’s initial talent pool to become semifinalists. Of this group, four individuals were chosen from the first batch of applicants, and six were chosen from the second batch during the meeting Feb. 17. Identifiable information about potential candidates will remain confidential until their formal acceptance as finalists in the campus interview stage, said Devan Brown, the committee’s search consultant.

“This will help us to ensure an equitable process the entire way through,” she said.

Keeping semifinalists’ personal information hidden until later interview stages will also allow

the entire search process to remain competitive, Brown said.

A parallel can be seen between the confidentiality of this search and that of UF’s most recent presidential search — in which finalists’ personal information remained hidden largely due to Florida’s Senate Bill 520, which became law last year.

Before narrowing down their potential list of questions for the Zoom interview portion of the selection process, committee members discussed whether they will send semifinalists the questions in advance.

Committee chair Kevin Knudson previously advocated for applicants to receive their online interview questions beforehand. Although he supported this position further Feb. 17, he was willing to compromise with opposing committee members by providing interviewees with the general topics of their interview questions beforehand, he said.

“I don’t see any sense in having that ‘gotcha’ sort of moment,” Knudson said.

The committee agreed to provide semifinalists with the central topics of the Zoom interview questions two days before the interviews take place.

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Doing so will add a level of fairness to the entire process, Knudson said.

“I want to make sure everyone has the same amount of time,” he said.

Finalized edits to the Zoom interview questions will be submitted by committee members on Feb. 20. All semifinalists will be interviewed by March 10. Committee members will submit their recommendations for which semifinalists will be moved to the final interview stage by March 20.

A little over half of the applications received came from the southern U.S. as of Feb.17. A significantly smaller 2% of applications were of international origin, according to the presentation shown at the committee meeting.

The committee is in the process of scheduling its final meeting as of Feb. 19.

@HalimaAttah hattah@alligator.org

UF, Alachua County Public Schools grant to improve mental health services

SUM TOTALS $4.8 MILLION

By Lauren Brensel

Alligator Staff Writer

Fifteen students won’t solve the mental health crisis in public schools, said Joni Splett, a UF school psychology associate professor.

But they’re a start.

A UF and Alachua County Public Schools grant will see 15 graduate student trainees through UF’s School Psychology, School Counseling and Mental Health Counseling programs over the next five years. The $4.8 million grant, called Gator Connect, is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and will place the trainees into elementary and middle schools that are in high need of mental health services.

In January, Florida had double the teacher vacancies it did in 2021. The same pattern follows for mental health counselors, but the Gator Connect grant could help, said Splett, a principal investigator on the project.

“We're training more people, more professionals, with a goal of keeping them around to stay in our community and reduce our vacancies,” she said.

To encourage the trainees to stay in Alachua County, she said, the program will connect them with opportunities both inside and outside UF. One way the supervisors intend to do this is through

providing paid internships.

Many of Alachua’s internship programs for students in the field of education are unpaid, Splett said.

The internship stipend also allows ACPS faculty to better know the students who could soon be employed in the district, said Toni Griffin, the ACPS supervisor of School Counseling and Student Services.

“By partnering with UF … putting it in the grant where they can be in our school, see what our school does,” she said. “There's a higher possibility of retention.”

During the five-year program, the supervisors plan to send trainees into Lake Forest Elementary, Metcalfe Elementary, Idylwild Elementary, Lincoln Middle School and Howard W. Bishop Middle School.

Trainees will undergo two years of coursework and a year interning in the school district, Splett said. Three students are currently part of the program, and the last cohort of trainees will start in Fall 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the topic of mental health in schools to light, Griffin said.

“If you don't have good mental health, then your academics suffer and everything else is [going to] suffer,” she said. “It's important to focus on the total child and that includes mental health.”

@LaurenBrensel

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DeSantis proposes university network ban on TikTok

By Peyton Harris & Sophia Bailly Alligator Staff Writers

Under TikTok’s UF hashtag, there are more than one billion videos featuring students’ day-in-the-life vlogs, Gators sports videos, club promotions and other videos about college life. Even UF’s official TikTok account has accumulated more than one million likes.

Despite the school’s growing presence on the app, the use of TikTok could be prohibited at UF starting in March after a proposal from Gov. Ron DeSantis. The bill will be heard in the March 2023 Legislative session.

DeSantis’ “Digital Bill of Rights” would ban social media platforms with ties to China — like TikTok — through internet services on colleges, universities and public schools. TikTok is owned by Chinese company Bytedance.

“Our Digital Bill of Rights will ensure Floridians are protected from the overreach and surveillance we have seen from Big Tech companies,” DeSantis said in a press release.

Becca Vosilla, a 19-year-old UF chemical engineering freshman, said she understands concerns surrounding TikTok’s use of data, but those concerns can be applied to any other social media app or international company.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher called for a national TikTok ban in November 2022.

The Digital Bill of Rights would go beyond that. It not only calls for a ban of TikTok, but any other social media platforms with ties to China, which could include apps like WeChat and QQ.

“I do think that it is a little bit of an overreaction, just because it’s China,” Vosilla said. “Nobody’s having these concerns about American-owned companies.”

If implemented, the bill would block TikTok and other services through UF’s Wi-Fi. It would also require search engines like Google to disclose whether they prioritize search results based on political ideology or monetary consideration. As described in a flier from

the governor’s office, the aim of the policy is to protect personal data, discourage online censorship and protect children from online harm.

Social media as a whole can be problematic based on its addictive nature, Vosilla said, but banning a platform for college students based on government relationships may need to be reevaluated.

“I do think that is something that we should look at more critically because that is kind of encroaching into a speech issue,” she said. “That does to me seem a little bit like a power grab.”

Jayda Killinger, a 19-year-old UF music and language sophomore, said she was initially relieved to hear about TikTok’s potential ban because she stayed clear of the app after realizing how addictive it can be.

But the privacy concerns that began this conversation are nothing new in the social media sphere, she said.

Another social media platform similar to TikTok would likely surface if the app were inaccessible through UF Wi-Fi, Killinger said. Students and creators will continue to find ways to broadcast their voices, ideas and art.

“What data is not being extracted from us already?” Killinger said. “I wasn’t panicking. I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh, the Chinese government has my data.’”

The bill comes after months of controversy with privacy concerns over TikTok. In November 2022, FBI director Christopher Wray told members of the House Homeland Security Committee there were concerns regarding data collection by the Chinese government.

Bella Scramoncin, a 19-year-old UF entomology sophomore, said banning TikTok on government devices or work phones has merit based on a company’s privacy decisions, but students should be able to decide for themselves if they will take the risk of having their online data used.

“A lot of people that have TikTok are aware that it’s a China-created app,” Scramoncin said. “So I think that we should have

the right to make that decision for ourselves on our personal devices.”

Chinese security laws allow for compulsory data sharing with the government. TikTok has acknowledged non-U.S. employees’ access to U.S. users’ data and said the company is working to safeguard user data and U.S. national security interests.

McKayla Keels, an 18-year-old UF natural resource conservation sophomore, said TikTok has an algorithm that is both intentional and malicious, and its data collection is concerning.

“I don’t know why they need access to your whole camera roll,” Keels said. “That to me is suspect.”

Although Keels doesn’t have TikTok downloaded and said the app is a distraction from real life, she doesn’t think it’s worth banning from university networks. Part of the issue is that the U.S. has developed a “mistrust of people from China,” which Keels said has only exacerbated American skepticism of the app.

“I think [DeSantis is] worried about the wrong stuff,” Keels said.

Ryan Maziarka, a 19-year-old UF business freshman, said he uses social media 2 to 3 hours a day, and it composes the majority of his screen time.

While the ban would still allow for use of social media platforms through external cellular data, Maziarka worries about the implications of the policy.

“What else are they going to control if they just start with social media?” he said.

Daniella Alfonso, a 19-year old UF public relations sophomore who manages social media for Strike Magazine, believes students who study communications would suffer if TikTok weren’t allowed on university networks.

“If we are discouraged from using TikTok,” she said, “how would that affect us from succeeding when we are in our careers and we have to evaluate these TikTok platforms?”

Ella Thompson contributed to this report.

@peytonlharris pharris@alligator.org

@sophia_bailly sbailly@alligator.org

Minca Davis // Alligator Staff

‘Digital Bill of Rights’ could limit social media use at UF

DeSantis signs bill to update name, image and likeness legislation

BILL WAS PASSED FEB. 16

By Krisha Sanghavi Alligator Staff Writer

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis eased coaching involvement restrictions on name, image and likeness legislation Feb. 16 with a bill that passed through the state legislature unanimously.

NIL rules from the NCAA allow college athletes to receive financial compensation through marketing and endorsements. Athletes can get paid without being considered professional athletes.

The new law fosters involvement from coaches in student-athlete NIL negotiations and works to provide more education for college athletes. Schools will still not be able to pay players directly, but teams and coaches can now facilitate player deals.

Six UF athletes traveled to Tallahassee for the signing. Florida football head coach Billy Napier, UF cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., Florida State football head coach Mike Norvell, FSU quarterback Jordan Travis and FSU defensive end Jared Verse were also in attendance, along with other Gators and Seminoles.

“We are also thankful for the invitation to travel to Tallahassee today to attend the signing of the bill,” Napier said. “It was

an educational experience for our six student-athletes who proudly represented their peers and university.”

DeSantis previously signed a bill in 2020 that allowed college student-athletes to profit from their NIL through a third-party vendor.

Florida was one of the first states to allow NIL deals, but the legislation was layered with protections for both schools and players from the NCAA rules.

“In 2020, we took a common-

sense approach to ensure that student-athletes could control their name, image and likeness and be paid daily for it,” DeSantis said at the signing, according to ESPN.

The bill no longer prohibits players from signing with agents as long as they are licensed to be involved in NIL contact creation.

“Now that the NCAA has taken necessary steps to ensure fairness for student-athletes, we can focus on making sure that those athletes are supported and protected under the law,” DeSantis said.

A goal of the bill is for agents to use their power and protect athletes from being taken advantage of in NIL deals through unauthorized use or publicity rights. However, coaches cannot be blamed for any choices that may hinder a player’s ability to earn NIL money.

“The NIL bill I signed today will further benefit student-athletes while ensuring they’re protected from commercial exploitation,” DeSantis tweeted Feb. 16.

The new bill comes one month after former quarterback signee Jaden Rashada parted ways with the Gators.

After flipping his commitment from Miami to UF, Florida’s Gator Collective reportedly offered Rashada a $13 million NIL deal to sign with Florida. Rashada later requested a release from his letter of intent, reportedly because the NIL deal fell through.

The Gator Collective is independent from UF, and Florida has no influence on who the collective chooses to endorse or sign. Collectives are typically funded through boosters and businesses and work to facilitate NIL athlete deals.

Sen. Travis Hutson, a sponsor of the bill, felt the bill leveled Florida with other states.

“This bill just says we’re going to follow the NCAA, but more importantly be on an even playing

field with the rest of the nation as it relates to what other states are doing,” Hutson said during a special-session committee meeting.

Lawmakers feel the bill can open the door for new opportunities and potentially improve success in Florida.

“For them not to be able to have any conversations about what opportunities are out there was limiting our athletes,” Florida Rep. Chip LaMarca, another sponsor of the bill, said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel when he filed for the bill.

The bill was introduced Feb. 6 and landed on DeSantis’ desk quickly with a complete agreement in committee meetings and the House and Senate.

UF athletic director Scott Stricklin expressed his gratitude for the updated NIL legislation.

“We continue to be appreciative of all opportunities that our athletes have to be compensated for their name, image and likeness. NIL is a key ingredient to the Gators’ current and future success,” Stricklin said at the signing.

Student-athletes will also be required to take life-skills coursework such as financial literacy and entrepreneurship workshops before graduation.

@krishasang ksanghavi@alligator.org

Alachua County slaughterhouse plan finds support in farmers, animal rights groups

$2.5 MILLION PROPOSAL ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS INDUSTRY PROBLEMS

By Jack Lemnus Alligator Staff Writer

In a time when political agreement has become more of an idea than a reality, Alachua County’s proposed meat processing facility has proven an unlikely unifier.

The main stakeholders are small, local ranchers who want to process their animal products to then sell to market; a slaughterhouse that is low cost, nearby and well-regulated is within their interests.

The facility would cost $2.5 million, part of $52.25 million allocated to Alachua County under the American Rescue Plan Act. While the decision isn’t finalized, the facility would be built in the Newberry Environmental Park near a planned wastewater treatment plant, which would also manage the facility’s waste.

John Trower, a small-scale farmer, is confident the new facility would benefit his ranch of 68 grass-fed cattle.

“I think it’s needed — there’s a lot of processors you can’t get to here,” Trower said. “I’ve got cattle on wait now for nine months to have them processed.”

The new facility would hopefully relieve that bottleneck, Trower said. But what’s most important is assurance that his product comes back clean.

With larger industrial slaughterhouses, Trower encountered a common problem: Anything could happen to their meat — from receiving unwanted antibiotics to getting a completely different animal.

Trower once endured the long lines to process 900-pounds of dressed beef, only to

receive a mass of soured beef. After he complained, he later learned the meat had sat at approximately 62 degrees for two days, which resulted in two slaughterhouse employees losing their jobs. He couldn’t sell it, let alone eat it.

“I had to pay to have it processed just to feed it to the dogs,” Trower said. “I hated to waste it.”

With four meat-packing plants controlling 85% of the beef market, small-scale ranchers like Trower often have no other option than to go through these few middlemen if they want to sell their product.

But support doesn’t stop at the ranchers.

Consumers, environmental groups and even animal rights advocates largely agree this is the right step forward.

Although morally opposed to meat consumption, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, issued a statement in support of the plan, but on the condition the facility is built with glass walls.

PETA reiterated its views using the Paul McCartney quote, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, no one would eat meat.”

But for small-scale ranchers, a local slaughterhouse is highly appealing for many reasons.

To process their animal products, most small ranchers must ship them long distances, often out of state. This requires high transportation costs, which results in greater greenhouse gas emissions and more stress on the animal.

Transportation was just one of the many problems Bill Bryson faced before he had to downsize his cattle ranch in 2020. When he started Aquilla Farms in Waldo, he had around 100 head of cattle, which had to be processed before being sold to market.

“You’d never even be guaranteed you were getting back the animal you gave them,” Bryson said. “It was a sloppy operation and so it just was unreliable and costly as well.”

When consumers seek local, grass-fed beef, it’s hard for ranchers like Bryson to provide when they don’t know what’s in the meat they get back.

These problems made it impossible for Bryson to do business.

“I lost money every year from 2014 to 2020,” he said. “ I gave it everything I had.”

Bryson eventually had to shut down his farm and rent out his land to another small rancher, but he’s still excited about the proposed slaughterhouse, he said.

“[Who] I think is going to most benefit locally from a local processing plant are the people like me,” he said, “and all the way down to potentially even people who might just raise one or two cows for their own family.”

Large facilities tend to process hundreds and sometimes thousands of animals daily; the facility proposed by Alachua County commissioners would process a maximum of 25 animals per day, according to Commissioner Anna Prizzia, who spearheaded the proposal.

Since her press release Feb. 9, Prizzia has fielded questions from concerned citizens about the facility, often responding in detail.

Because the small-scale slaughterhouse is expected to directly employ 8-12 people, there will be more accountability, Prizzia wrote in an email. The jobs created would be highly skilled and more emphasis would be placed on safety as compared to industrial facilities.

Prizzia also plans to partner with Santa Fe College and UF/IFAS researchers to offer teaching opportunities on waste reduction in the meat-packing industry.

As an opportunity for public comment, the County Commission will discuss the proposal in detail at a meeting March 28.

So far, the most common complaints among residents have concerned animal welfare and the cruelty of eating meat altogether. For Prizzia, the meat-processing facility is a necessary evil.

“I sincerely hope that people do reduce their meat consumption,” Prizzia wrote in an email to a constituent. “Regardless of any shrinking meat consumption, the scale and quantity that this facility would generate will never exceed demand for meat in our region.”

It’s a matter of human equity as well, said Betsy Riley, the Alachua County sustainability manager. A local, cheaper slaughterhouse would benefit small-scale farmers of color, who are disproportionately affected by swings in the market, she said.

Alachua County is committed to keeping Black farmers on their land, Riley said.

But when the market does swing, as it did in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the food supply can be negatively affected for everyone.

County officials hope the new facility would add more support, so that if one part of the system fails, others are there to back it up. The market is more susceptible to shocks with only a few large companies keeping it afloat, Prizzia said.

Though the facility is still in the planning phase, voices from all sides have converged on the issue, making it clear Alachua County understands there’s serious room for change in the meat-processing industry. @JackLemnus

Wilfredo Lee // Associated Press Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announces a proposal for the Digital Bill of Rights at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023.

False promises

happen to you at any time.”

In the future, White said, she hopes to see speeches from politicians mourning the loss of victims of gun violence followed by the enactment of tangible legislation that prevents more senseless deaths.

Although White still supports organizations that rally for gun reform, she said she has chosen to step away from political advocacy to focus on healing and finding peace while still remembering those lost.

“School should not be a battle ground,” she said. “I hope the 17 angels are looking down on us and thinking, ‘OK, they're fighting for us.’”

March for Our Lives Gainesville, a local chapter of the gun reform advocacy organization, held its annual vigil Feb. 14 to honor the 17 victims of the shooting, along with the two MSD students who died by suicide one year later.

White decided not to go to the vigil because attending would resurface difficult emotions from various funerals and vigils after the shooting, she said. Instead, she spent the evening with other former MSD students. Everyone is entitled to cope in their own way, she said.

Raj Selvaraj, a 19-year-old UF political science freshman and former MSD student, was under lockdown as an eighth grader at Westglades Middle School, in Parkland, during the MSD shooting. He lost two friends in the tragedy: Alex Schachter and Gina Montalto.

He was motivated to get involved in the movement against gun violence because of his personal ties to the incident.

“I had to do it to protect their legacy,” he said. “How could I just sit around and do

nothing, while they lost their lives in one of the most horrific shootings in our country?”

Like White, Selvaraj rallied with March for Our Lives in D.C. in March 2018.

He also visited the Florida House of Representatives in high school to speak with legislators about gun reform and lobbied with Brady, a lobbying collective fighting to implement gun safety legislation nationwide, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Selvaraj is proud to be a part of the generation leading the gun violence prevention movement, he said.

“It showcased the power of Gen Z on the national stage and it showcased as well that if enough of us come together and fight that we can actually make change,” he said.

However, Selvaraj is horrified by the introduction of the permitless carry bill, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Brannan, R-Lake City, who represents half of northern Alachua County.

Florida would be the 26th state to implement this type of legislation.

Anti-gun safety laws, like the permitless carry bill, suggest that Florida policymakers aren’t listening to the voices of students and young people — the primary victims of these mass shootings, he said.

“As more Gen Z people come of age to vote, we are going to have the power to stop them,” he said. “If they choose not to listen to us, then they're going to have to face the consequences.”

Selvaraj also supports Biden’s recent pro-

posal to Congress to ban assault weapons, which the president discussed during his State of the Union speech Feb. 7.

“Assault weapons are designed to kill a lot of humans quickly,” he said. “They are literally weapons of war and have no place on the streets of a civil society.”

Alyssa Ackbar, a 21-year-old national organizer in Florida for March for Our Lives, described the Parkland shooting as a coming-ofage point for Gen Z that pushed her and others to get involved with gun violence prevention.

While Florida lawmakers seemed onboard with implementing legislation after the MSD shooting, Ackbar said momentum has slowed. Over the last few legislative sessions, she said, gun safety legislation hasn’t received hearings and committees.

"Legislators aren't prioritizing our communities, and I mean that across the board," she said. "Republicans, Democrats — there are folks on both sides who are failing us continuously."

Recently, March for Our Lives has primarily focused on lobbying against legislation like the permitless carry bill, instead of advocating for new gun safety legislation.

“There's no wiggle room to be on the offensive and promote any good legislation because we're seeing so much bad legislation,” she said.

March for Our Lives will organize nationwide rallies toward the end of March, with one planned for March 22 in Tallahassee. The protests will rally for an end to gun violence.

Ackbar encourages all young people to participate.

"Sometimes moments happen, but they don't turn into movements," she said. “I think this is definitely a movement that will continue to be active across our nation, but especially here in Florida, for many years to come."

@afriedmanuf afriedman@alligator.org

Enforcement date unclear

HEALTH CARE, from pg. 1

providing gender-affirming care to trans minors. Gender-affirming care, which helps treat people who suffer from gender dysphoria, can include sexual reassignment surgeries, the use of puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy.

Minors in Florida who are already prescribed puberty blockers prior to the ban taking effect can continue to take them, according to Southern Legal Counsel.

As of Feb. 19, it’s unclear when the ban will go into effect.

The Board of Osteopathic Medicine also voted to remove an exemption for research on genderaffirming care, which at the time the Board of Medicine had already removed.

This means trans minors will be unable to receive nonsurgical gender-affirming care in clinical trials. Research institutions, such as UF, will also not be able to conduct clinical trials on gender-affirming care.

The boards establish standards of care for medical practices in the state and have the power to revoke medical licenses. Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints members of the boards, who serve four-year terms.

Although the ban hasn’t yet gone into effect, some clinics that provide gender-affirming care for trans

youth across the state are feeling the chill from the legislation, no longer taking new clients and shutting down services.

Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami stopped taking patients for its gender program that offers pediatric gender-affirming care in August, the Tampa Bay Times reported. In St. Petersburg, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital stopped taking new youth patients for hormone therapy at the end of 2022.

In Gainesville, the UF Division of Endocrinology is still seeing patients for its Youth Gender Program that offers services such as consultation, psychotherapy and assessment of medical readiness for cross-sex hormone therapy for youth patients.

Although the UF clinic is still providing care, it takes about three or four months to be seen for a new patient appointment, said Brittany Bruggeman, an assistant professor of UF pediatric endocrinology who works in the Youth Gender Program.

Bruggeman has worked in the program for a few years and is concerned about how the ban will impact the clinic’s patients and potentially other fields, she said.

“I’ve had multiple patients reach out to me who are worried about their existing care,” Bruggeman said.

However, new patients who have scheduled appointments that are months away won’t be prescribed any new medication if it’s needed, she said.

Michael Haller, a professor and chief of UF pediatric endocrinology, believes the ban will create challenges for new patients, he said.

“The harder issue will be for younger kids who are coming of age and becoming pubertal who have significant gender dysphoria and who would be new to treatment,” Haller said.

Residents can travel to states that offer gender-affirming care to new patients and then come back to Florida and be able to receive care, he said.

“It’s fairly restrictive, but even with current restrictions there are ways to ensure people have access,” Haller said. “We don’t want people to think that there is no way forward.”

Simone Chriss, a civil rights attorney and director of the Transgender Rights Initiative at Southern Legal Counsel located in Gainesville, serves as the medical legal partner with the Youth Gender Program. At the hospital, she meets with patients to screen for health-harming legal needs. At the legal firm, she represents trans residents of all ages.

Over the years, Chriss has advocated for LGBTQ rights and is shocked she now has to fight for children to have access to basic medical care, she said.

“I didn’t think that in the year 2023 I would be getting death threats constantly for protecting trans kids,” Chriss said.

Chriss wants to assure worried patients that the ban isn’t in effect yet and patients who have already started receiving blockers can continue to receive that care, she said.

“I’m getting calls 20 or 30 times a day from parents who are desperate to know what’s going on and afraid,” Chriss said.

Once the ban goes into effect, the law firm plans to sue the boards, she said.

Health care for trans residents above the age of 18 is still an option in the state.

Monica Rodriguez-Fernandez, a 27-year-old UF medical student who identifies as a lesbian, works at UF’s Equal Access Clinic as the LGBTQ clinic coordinator. The free LGBTQ health clinic is student-run and offers services such as gender-affirming medical therapy and screening for other health care needs every first and third Tuesday of the month.

Only patients over 18 can be seen, as the doctors and volunteers cannot provide pediatric care.

Still, she was frustrated to hear about the news of the ban as a medical provider and a member of the LGBTQ community, she said.

“It's frustrating as someone who's going to be a medical provider who works with medical providers, because I actually know a lot about gender-affirming care, a lot

about the effects and the benefits and how it can really benefit somebody's mental health,” RodriguezFernandez said.

The clinic hasn’t faced any issues similar to health care practitioners who work with trans youth patients but is still concerned about the future of health care for all trans patients, she said.

“All of us experience the concern that comes with the targeting toward LGBTQ health care,” Rodriguez-Fernandez said. “Patients tell me that they're worried about what their health care is going to look like.”

Some local high school students are concerned about the impact from the ban, while most are unaware or unaffected by it.

Bailey Diem, an 18-year-old Gainesville High School senior who identifies as nonbinary, said they were upset after hearing about the news of the ban.

Unlike Diem, who is the vice president of the Gender Sexuality Alliance at GHS, many of Diem’s fellow students don’t know or talk about the ban, they said.

“When I first heard about it, I was horrified,” Diem said. “I have trans friends who have either gotten gender-affirming care or wish to in the future, and the idea of them or anyone else being denied it is very upsetting.” @grunewaldclaire

Alex Winn // Alligator Staff

Rachel Taylor (left) and Will Marshall (right) honor the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting at the five year anniversary remembrance vigil at UF's Plaza of the Americas Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023.

Thornebrook Gallery closes after 4 decades in business

ART GALLERY CLOSED FEB. 18

By Lauren Whiddon Avenue Staff Writer

As customers walked into the Thornebrook Gallery, they were surrounded with sounds of windchimes and laughter. The owner, David Arrighi, joked with clients with familiarity and comfort.

He knew which painting would look good in their homes, which earrings their daughter would like and just the right frame to accentuate their favorite piece. His passion was contagious, and it quickly spread throughout the gallery.

Arrighi opened the Thornebrook Gallery in 1981, three weeks after he graduated from UF with a degree in printmaking. He considers himself lucky because he’s been able to do what he loves every day for the past 40 years.

To him, art is what makes us human.

“Everything else we do, we do because we have to,” he said. “Art we do because we can.”

After 41 years of business in Gainesville, the gallery, located at 2441 NW 43rd St., closed Feb. 18. The gallery will continue to sell work online.

Arrighi bought the unit before it was fully constructed, which allowed him to have it built to complement the artwork inside. When he opened up the shop, he asked a school friend, Margaret Ross Tolbert, if he could buy some of her artwork to put on the walls. He still sells her

work today, 41 years later.

When Arrighi opened the shop, he didn’t think it would make it five years, as other galleries had closed in Gainesville after a short time open. However, Arrighi’s passion for the work and relationships with artists and customers set his gallery apart.

Paintings, jewelry, sculptures and picture framing are some of the forms of art sold in the gallery. Whenever Arrighi goes over to a customer’s house and sees work that came from the gallery, he sees that it’s had an impact on elevating that person’s life.

“Having beautiful things around you makes you feel better,” he said.

He has impacted more than just the lives of his customers. Part of what makes Arrighi unique is his partnership with artists.

Unlike a typical gallery, which takes 50% of artists’ profits, Thornebrook Gallery only takes 40%.

Trish Beckham, a lifelong artist, met Arrighi 20 years ago. When she showed him her watercolor paintings for the first time, he said “Where have you been all my life?”

He’s carried her work ever since.

“All the artists who have been with him that live locally have received that same kind of support,” Beckham said. “It’s been great.”

That support has not only helped Beckham grow financially but as an artist. After showing him paintings, he would tell her what he liked about it, and it would help her improve and keep painting. His positivity and excitement

propelled her to paint even more, she said.

“He supported me beyond what he was doing for his gallery,” she said. “He supported my whole career.”

She also sees the impact that his gallery has had on the Gainesville art community. During the 2008 recession, her work was selling out at a time when many artists struggled. Gainesville was the hot spot for art in Florida, and Arrighi was the leader of that, she said.

“Every artist would have loved to have been represented by him,” Beckham said.

Another artist, Laura Adams Wilson, has also worked with Arrighi for the past seven years.

While she recognizes that this is a business for Arrighi, she can see he’s truly an art lover and he takes pride in the artists he represents.

To her, Arrighi has never sold out. He doesn’t follow the trends of the times. He has stayed true to what he knows and likes, which has helped him create a loyal base of customers and artists in Gainesville.

“Gainesville has always been an artist enclave in some way or another,” Adams Wilson said. “[It’s] this old hippie town at its heart, and for the locals that usually generates good art and music, good food.”

The artistic environment thrives when artists and collectors can come together in person to see, sell and buy great work.

When Arrighi showed art, he talked about the artist’s process and inspiration. When someone buys art online, they don’t get that experience with the gallery owner and the artist, she said.

Although she’s sad to see the gallery close, Adams Wilson thinks Arrighi has earned his rest. After working six days a week for over 40 years, Arrighi is looking forward to retiring and spending time with his wife, who retired a year and a half ago and has been waiting for him since.

@LaurenWhid lwhiddon@alligator.org

North Dakotan writer, environmentalist Taylor Brorby to visit UF

EVENT WILL BE HELD TUESDAY IN SMATHERS LIBRARY

By Zarin Ismail Avenue Staff Writer

Taylor Brorby always felt trapped growing up gay in Center, North Dakota. He looked to the vastness and vibrance of Center’s hilly plains for solace — only for mining and fracking to fracture whatever comfort he had left in that town.

The 35-year-old writer, environmentalist and University of Utah instructor will visit the UF Smathers Library Tuesday at 7 p.m. to talk about his 2022 memoir, “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land,” which explores issues regarding queerness, the environment and extractive economies through his own experiences.

The memoir follows what it was like for Brorby to come to terms with his sexuality and see the environment around him be drained of its vitality in a small, conservative town that revolved around the American coal industry.

“Even though people would call it God’s country when I was growing up,” Brorby said, “they made their money by destroying it.”

Jack Davis, a 66-year-old UF history profes-

sor, said he and environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett invited Brorby because the writer is closer in age to UF students than other public speakers who have visited. Brorby has also grown up during significant cultural and environmental changes with which college students can identify, Davis said.

Students will learn about a new perspective not often talked about in American literature at the author’s talk, Davis said.

Davis is the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities, where he oversees a fund that provides visiting lectures like Brorby’s.

Luke Rodewald, a 30-year-old fourth-year English graduate student, also co-organized the visit with Davis and Barnett. He knew Brorby from their time as graduate students at Iowa State University, he said.

Brorby’s work is important for students in this period of legislative developments in Florida that put queer people at risk, Rodewald said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his plans to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Florida universities Jan. 31. He also backed his administration’s ban on the Advanced Placement African American Studies

course Jan. 23, nearly a year after the Florida legislature signed the Parental Rights in Education — or “Don’t Say Gay” — bill into law.

“[Brorby’s] story is a way of centering those voices that are being silenced and a way of announcing that they’re here,” Rodewald said. “And they’re here to stay.”

In “Boys and Oil,” Brorby parallels the trauma inflicted on him by his peers for being gay with the trauma inflicted on his homeland — such as air pollution, water contamination and oil spills — by coal industry operations.

Brorby’s memoir reinforced the intersections of LGBTQ issues and environmental justice, Rodewald said, by showing how the same logic that leads to environmental ruin is interlinked with hatred toward queer people.

DeSantis said the banned AP course violated House Bill 7, or Stop W.O.K.E. Act, for its discussion of queer theory and intersectionality, two prominent aspects of the North Dakotan author’s work.

People may have their own positions, Brorby said, but students should be able to learn anything without regulation and apply that knowledge however they want.

This rhetoric following DeSantis and his administration’s proposals focuses on the issue of indoctrination, Davis said, which Davis believes is something UF doesn’t do.

The Gators were blown out by Arkansas after Castleton broke his hand Feb. 15. Read more on pg. 11.

“It’s inspiring our students to be lifelong learners,” he said. “I’m proud to be guilty of that.”

Brorby wrote his memoir with hopes that he can reach out to people like him who’ve felt alone, he said. He once received an email from a man now in his 80s who read the book and came out in his early 70s.

“‘He said, ‘Oh, Taylor, reading your book, there were so many moments where I thought — if only I had come out sooner,’” Brorby said. “Just heartbreaking.”

The American Midwest is a place to which no one pays attention, Rodewald said, and it’s important to show how hostile overlooked spaces like North Dakota can be toward queer people.

Brorby’s talk, which is free and open to the public, includes discussing rural America in a way that anyone can relate to, he said, and will largely cover topics like sexuality, environment and class.

“If speaking from that space empowers people to feel less scared and less alone and more fired up,” Brorby said, “that’s what I’m hoping to bring — a little fire to the University of Florida.”

@zarintismail zismail@alligator.org

Florida loses first game without Colin Castleton

Gabriella Aulisio // Alligator Staff The last day to walk through the Thornebrook Gallery was Feb. 18, 2023

Taylor Brorby

Serpentine Plants + Provisions combines plants with home design

Store sells plants, homeware, while also hosting wine club

By Amanda Rubio Avenue Staff Writer

For Katie Spargo, Serpentine Plants + Provisions’ peaceful environment makes for her ideal form of self-care. As a self-described plant lover, the 26-year-old UF doctoral student and mental health counselor — and her dog, Sammie — have made visiting the shop part of their weekly routine.

“It really does brighten my day to go in,” Spargo said. “The whole atmosphere of the place is warm, welcoming [and] inviting, and it’s just a light, happy place to be.”

The shop, located at 209 NW 10th Ave., sells a variety of plants as well as curated homeware and gift products from local, independent retailers.

Serpentine’s brick-andmortar location opened its doors to the Gainesville community in 2020, but the company’s inception dates back to 2018, when 37-year-old owner Keri Guynn and her husband, Tom, originated the business as a popup, predominantly selling vintage homeware.

Plants entered their product mix soon after the couple began to incorporate their own greenery into their market setups and noticed customers were interested in purchasing them.

However, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused Guynn and her husband to lose their day jobs, the couple realized it was time to pivot.

Soon enough, Serpentine’s official website was live. For much of the COVID-19 lockdown, the business offered local delivery to its loyal Gainesville customers.

“That was really kind of a great time because it was super special that we were able to brighten people’s days when they really needed it,” said Guynn.

As avid travelers and small business fanatics, Guynn and her husband decided Gainesville was the perfect place for Serpentine.

Having visited various independent retailers during their travels and witnessed the impact those businesses had on communities, the couple felt they could create that sense of unity in Gainesville with Serpentine.

Following the success of the shop’s online sales, Guynn and

her husband eventually set down roots and opened the brick-andmortar location that exists today.

Jillian Dinius, a 33-yearold Gainesville resident, said she remembers how impressed she was when she first visited Serpentine’s permanent location.

“The vibes and the energy when you walk in the store are not just inviting because of all the

plants, but there’s also so many unique, artistic trinkets,” Dinius said.

Serpentine’s focus is home design and creating a space for plants and other items that consumers bring into their homes, Guynn said.

“What we wanted to do is just support other small independent makers and artists and just really

cultivate conscious consumerism — only offering things that we really think are going to bring joy into people’s lives,” Guynn added.

Aside from plants, homeware and gift products, Serpentine also hosts monthly wine tastings and offers a subscription-based wine club.

In collaboration with nearby breakfast and brunch spot Afternoon, the restaurant’s owner curates a selection of natural wines for the shop.

Wine club members get first dibs on a new collection each month and free entry into Serpentine’s monthly wine tastings hosted every first and third Thursday of the month Centrally located in the shop is yet another one of Serpentine’s unique features: a potting bar.

Offering a range of potting services, Serpentine’s potting bar is where customers can bring in a plant of their own to be potted or receive guidance on a struggling plant. Potting services are free of charge for those who purchase a plant and pot in-store.

After being in business for the last two years, Guynn said the response Serpentine has received from the Gainesville community has been more than she could have anticipated.

For her, what sets Serpentine apart from other local businesses is the experience customers get when they visit the shop.

“We want you to come into the shop and feel inspired of new ways that you can bring plants into your space,” Guynn said.

@amandacrubio

Gabriella Aulisio // Alligator Staff

The Serpentine Plants + Provisions shop provides a large selection of house plants for the community, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

Gabriella Aulisio // Alligator Staff

Customers browse the vast plant selection at Serpentine Plants + Provisions Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

When did diversity become a bad word?

Both of my parents were immigrants to the U.S. My father immigrated from Germany and my mother from Taiwan.

As a child, I was surrounded by all sorts of people.

My parents used to own a four-star gourmet restaurant in Port Richey, Florida. Thus, as a child, I was surrounded by their employees and customers. At that time, I never realized how diverse our clientele and employees were at that old restaurant.

We had people coming to us from all walks of life, both domestic and international.

I just thought, “That’s what America is, right?” We used to use the old term “melting pot.”

Fast-forward nearly 30 years, and I now have the pleasure of serving students at UF as a professor in the College of Education.

I look in our classrooms, and I’m reminded about what diversity meant to me as a kid, being surrounded by people from all types of backgrounds, political affiliations, cultures, religions, sexual orientations and more.

My understanding of diversity wasn’t just about skin color or political affiliation; it was about cherishing our differences and learning to respect each other based on our unique identities and experiences.

Recently, an article posted in the Alachua Chronicle titled “Insider report details how DEI is embedded into every department at UF” singled out my academic unit’s website for posting our values of diversity and equity on our website.

Aside from the fact that the article made some claims about our school that were outright factually incorrect, the article didn’t acknowledge the other four values posted in our website: quality, collaboration/teamwork, respect/professionalism and transparency.

Journalism isn’t what it once was in the 21st century, and several news sources aren’t living up to the ethical codes of the great field of journalism.

However, this is another conversation.

My major concern about the use of the word diversity as a so-called “bad word” is that we seem to have forgotten what the word really means.

Albeit, a word like diversity is polysemous in that it means different things to different people. But as a first-generation American, I was taught to value our differences and to respect each other for our character — not our political affiliation or skin color.

I truly hope that this culture war brewing in the U.S. settles with more people being reminded that our differences are what build our experience, identity and character.

This is our strength.

We should always cherish diversity, especially in the U.S. I’m proud to serve at an institution that values diversity.

Albert Ritzhaupt is a UF professor of educational technology and computer science education.

As members of Gen Z, many of us were disappointed when one of the imagineers of our childhoods, J.K. Rowling, made transphobic comments.

As journalists, it was just as bad to hear that activists, public figures and members of the transgender community were unhappy with the coverage of one of the most credible news organizations in the world: the New York Times.

In response, the NYT published a so-called defense of Rowling one day later, painting her as the victim of cancel culture, instead of highlighting how her comments hurt the 1.6% of U.S. adults who identify as transgender or nonbinary.

This past week, tens of thousands of NYT readers and hundreds of NYT contributors including trans actress Angelica Ross and trans whistleblower Chelsea Manning decided to say something.

In an open letter addressed to one of the paper’s editors, Philip B. Corbett, individuals criticized recent coverage related to trans, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people.

Primarily, complaints in the letter ask that this level of ignorance stops immediately, with the hiring of new trans writers and editors being called upon. Furthering this issue, NYT decided not to renew the contract of Jennifer Finney Boylan, an opinions writer who is trans.

The letter references “over 15,000 words of front⁠-⁠page Times coverage debating the propriety of medical care for trans children” in the past eight months.

Shortly after news broke that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration requested an audit of gender-affirming care provided by facilities on Florida university campuses, activists and readers took issue with NYT’s front-page story.

The article, titled “When Students Change Gender Identity, and Parents Don’t Know,” addressed the question of whether parents should be informed when their children identify differently at school versus at home. The reporter described school districts as “wrenching new tensions over how to accommodate transgender children,” leaving parents “unsettled” or feeling “villainized.”

Parents’ rights — something DeSantis has championed in his tenure as governor — are framed in the story as more important than the wishes of a trans child.

That same day, Jan. 23, we published a front-page story centering transgender voices, platforming the community that could be

most affected by the gender-affirming care audit.

Shortly after the first letter, a second letter coordinated by more than 100 LGBTQ and civil rights organizations — including Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation — was released in support of contributors’ complaints, asserting NYT’s coverage is irresponsible and dangerous toward the trans community. Two prominent trans celebrities, “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider and TikTok creator Dylan Mulvaney, signed on as well.

In response to this letter, a NYT spokesperson pointed to what the news organization sees as a difference between advocacy and independent journalism.

“We understand how GLAAD and the co-signers of the letter see our coverage,” he wrote in an email. “But at the same time, we recognize that GLAAD’s advocacy mission and The Times’s journalistic mission are different.”

But we at The Alligator fail to see the difference in this scenario.

If anything, this response represents what we feel is a shift in values from older generations of journalists to now. Rather than spending time debating the existence of groups of people or the validity of their identities, we’d much rather see coverage that accepts them as truth.

Within the past few months, we have been committed to bringing attention to issues such as the gender-affirming care audit demanded by DeSantis’ office, a Florida ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth and a case of discrimination against LGBTQ Micanopy residents.

With every story, we aren’t making attempts at advocacy. Rather, we’re exposing the real impact of bigotry on our community. As active members of the Gainesville community, we have taken on the role to understand the outspoken issues within it.

Consistently, our peers and fellow residents have called upon us to stand up, despite the outcries surrounding these decisions. Here, we choose to be intentional when framing issues that concern the identities of minority groups.

We have made it a priority to fairly cover issues affecting LGBTQ members of our community and remain committed to this mission. As journalists about to enter the professional workforce, we’re hopeful that the brave decision to stand up to powerful, well-established newsroom editors will effect change within the NYT. Advocacy isn’t our prerogative. Fair, honest coverage is.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Veronica Nocera ENGAGEMENT MANAGING EDITOR

Aurora Martínez DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR

Ciltas OPINIONS EDITOR

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

Selin

Alan Halaly

Albert Ritizhaupt UF Professor

Gabriella Aulisio // Alligator Staff

Two attendees of a rule hearing involving gender-affirming care wear the transgender flag and raise their fists in support of a speaker at the end of their public comment inside the Burns Building in Tallahassee Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.

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BASEBALL

Florida’s dynamic starting rotation, loud bats, power sweep of Charleston Southern

NO. 7 GATORS BEGIN 2023 CAMPAIGN

By Ethan Eibe Sports Writer

Florida Gators baseball christened its 2023 campaign with an emphatic sweep of the Charleston Southern Buccaneers this past weekend, including a pair of mercy-rule victories.

UF’s starting rotation stifled a stagnant CSU offense, and the offense provided more than enough run support to wash away any firstseries jitters.

Junior right-hander Brandon Sproat set the tone for opening night Friday. He recorded 5.2 innings of three-run ball and kept the Bucs out of the hit column in a 13-3 victory.

Southern Mississippi transfer Hurston Waldrep followed Sproat’s effort with a five-inning, two-run performance in a 16-2 slaughter

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday.

Sunday’s 8-0 finale saw sophomore Jac Caglianone step up as pitcher for the first time in his Gator career. The hard-throwing left-hander lived up to the hype and mowed Charleston Southern down through 6.2 shutout innings.

Caglianone, a two-way player, spent his freshman year recovering from Tommy John surgery and was limited to a designated hitter role, where he slugged seven home runs.

Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan was more than pleased with his team’s starting rotation and all-around performance.

“We got three really good starts from our starters,” O’Sullivan said. “All phases, I thought, were pretty good.”

Sophomore right fielder Ty Evans and senior catcher BT Riopelle were the focal points of Florida’s offense. Evans finished the series with 10 runs batted in, including four on both Saturday and Sunday,

thanks to key hits with runners in scoring position.

Riopelle smashed UF’s first home run of the season, a threerun bomb to right-center field in the first inning of Friday’s season opener.

Junior infielder Tyler Shelnut, who transferred in from Santa Fe College, was another bright spot. The Lake City, Florida, native hit his first Gators home run Saturday — a long ball to left field.

“I think we're pretty happy with the way that we swung it,” Shelnut said. “Pretty much trying to attack balls up in the zone and be aggressive, and I think we did a good job of that.”

Florida’s defense shined throughout the series — not committing a single error — and was particularly noticeable in the finale. The program has made extensive strides to improve its glove work over the last few seasons, cutting

SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 12

Florida men's basketball limps toward finish line as Castleton suffers injury

CASLETON SUSTAINED BROKEN HAND AGAINST OLE MISS FEB. 15

By Jackson Reyes

Sports Writer

Gators men’s basketball began its week with a 79-64 win against the Ole Miss Rebels Feb. 15.

The win ended a three-game losing streak, but Florida was dealt a major blow. Graduate student forward Colin Castleton broke his hand and will likely miss the remainder of the regular season.

The rest of the roster will get a chance to play more with the loss of Castleton, UF head coach Todd Golden said. His goal is to capitalize on the players the team already has.

“It’s an opportunity for a lot of guys to step up,” Golden said. “We’re going to see what they’ve got.”

The Gators traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks Feb. 18. Florida held its own early on, but the loss of its key man was too much to overcome as the Razorbacks ran UF, 84-65.

Florida (14-13, 7-7 SEC) has lost four of its last five games and has slid off the bubble of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators' chance to dance took a major blow after Castleton went down, and Florida will crawl its way to the finish line with four games left in the season.

UF sits just one game above .500 and will

look to avoid its second losing season this century — the first came in the 2014-15 season.

Castleton averaged 31.2 minutes per game. The biggest challenge will be trying to fill those missing minutes at the five position, Golden said.

“That's going to be really where we need multiple guys, and Jason's going to be the main one, but multiple are going to need to step up and shoulder that load,” Golden said.

Adjustments this late in the season are difficult to make but will be necessary, he said.

Castleton averaged 16 points, 7.7 rebounds and three blocks per game, which all led the team. The only other player on the roster who averages double-digit points is sophomore guard Will Richard; he scores 10.3 points per game.

The Gators will need to make tweaks offensively, Golden said, but he believes players like senior center Jason Jitoboh and freshman forward Aleks Szymczyk can fill the hole left by Castleton’s absence.

“We'll have to adjust some things in order for our guys to be successful, but we're not going to reinvent the wheel,” Golden said. “Our base is very solid.”

The Gators floundered in their first game without the graduate student forward against the Razorbacks. Florida shot just 37.3% from the field and finished 4-21 from deep in a 19-point loss.

Jitoboh started the game, but Szymczyk split time with him. Jitoboh finished with four

points on 2-5 shooting and two rebounds in 24 minutes.

Szymczyk tallied eight points on 3-7 shooting and connected on two 3-pointers. The German forward also collected six boards and four steals and played 20 minutes — his previous career-high in minutes was three.

Golden applauded Szymczyk’s play, and while he thought there was room for improvement, the freshman proved his potential, he said.

“Didn’t like his rotation early in the second half, but he came back and hit two threes and kind of showed what he’s capable of from an offensive standpoint,” Golden said. “I thought there were some positives there.”

The frontcourt pair combined for only eight rebounds, so UF was dominated on the glass. The Razorbacks outrebounded Florida 40-25, which also led to 15 second-chance points for Arkansas.

Castleton was tied for first in the Southeastern Conference in blocks per game before his injury. The Gators missed his presence in the paint against Arkansas. The Razorbacks relentlessly attacked the rim and finished with 52 points in the paint.

Arkansas shot 57.6% from the field, with five Razorbacks finishing in double-figure scoring. Senior forward Jalen Graham shredded the Gators with 26 points on 12-15 shooting.

Golden believes Jitoboh can be effective at protecting the paint if he can stay out of foul trouble, he said. The senior center committed

two fouls in the Arkansas game. Although he managed to play more than half the game, Jitoboh failed to be a defensive presence.

“I thought Jason competed hard — didn’t have his best game, but competed hard,” Golden said.

Freshman guard Riley Kugel led the Gators in scoring with 17 points on a 5-12 clip. The Orlando native embraced the next-man-up mentality and is confident Jitoboh and Szymczyk can fill Castleton’s role going forward, Kugel said.

“We believe in Jason and Shimmy [Szymczyk] and believe they can step up and make plays in the long run,” Kugel said.

Florida’s next game will be against rival Kentucky Wildcats Wednesday. The added time between games gives the team a chance to make more adjustments, Golden said.

The Gators held the Wildcats’ leading scorer, senior forward Oscar Tshiebwe, to just four points when the two teams met earlier this season Feb. 4. The game ended in a 72-67 UF defeat, but it could be more difficult to slow Tshiebwe down again without Castleton available to guard him.

Florida will head back to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to take on Kentucky on Wednesday. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on either ESPN or ESPN 2.

@JacksnReyes jacksonreyes@alligator.org

Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff Florida pitcher Brandon Sproat pitches the ball in the Gators’ 13-3 win against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers Friday, Feb. 17, 2023.

Florida starts 2023 season

BASEBALL, from pg. 11

its errors from 70 in 2021 to 45 last year.

UF benefitted from junior shortstop Josh Rivera’s range, junior third baseman Colby Halter’s athleticism and the strong arm of Riopelle behind the plate.

“In the infield you’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays that are needed, always make the routine plays and also making spectacular plays when needed,” Rivera said.

Rivera’s bat also came through, something the Gators will need to see consistently. He posted four RBIs on three hits and said he spent the weekend adjusting to the NCAA’s

new pitch clock, which gives pitchers 20 seconds to deliver a pitch with a runner on base.

The most challenging thing as a hitter is slowing yourself down, he said.

“Since you’ve got to get back in the box in a hurry, you can fall into the trap of speeding yourself up,” Rivera said. “Once the game speeds up too fast, things start going wrong.”

The lopsided nature of the first two games led to the first usage of the NCAA’s new mercy rule, which stipulates a contest ends when the deficit is 10 runs after seven complete innings.

The rule is intended for SEC play but can be employed in non-conference action if the

head coach of the non-conference team wishes. O’Sullivan is not a fan of the mercy rule, he said.

“For me, personally, baseball is a nineinning game,” O’Sullivan said. “It takes away from opportunities to get other guys some atbats.”

Despite playing four fewer innings of baseball throughout the weekend than expected, Florida used a variety of players off the bench to showcase its depth.

Freshmen left-hander Cade Fisher and righty Yoel Tejeda Jr. impressed in their bullpen outings Saturday.

UF started freshmen Luke Heyman at catcher Sunday and freshman Cade Kurland at second base for the latter two games. Both delivered in big moments, with Heyman

knocking an RBI triple and Kurland driving in two on four hits.

Kurland is a name to keep an eye on, O’Sullivan said.

“Here's a guy that's supposed to be in high school right now,” O’Sullivan said. “He's got a great demeanor about him. He kind of just slows down the game. He's different.”

The Gators look to continue their hot start to the season in a pair of midweek tilts against the South Florida Bulls on the road Tuesday and at home Wednesday. Looking to the upcoming weekend, the Gators are scheduled to host the Cincinnati Bearcats Friday through Sunday.

@EthanEibe

eeibe@alligator.org