Monday, April 15, 2024

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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024

VOLUME 118 - ISSUE 30 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

Proposed RTS cuts could impact future Gainesville, UF climate action plans BOTH CLIMATE ACTION PLANS IDENTIFY SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION AS A FUTURE GOAL

By Kylie Williams Alligator Staff Writer

Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff

Florida freshman quarterback DJ Lagway scrambles during the Gators’ annual Orange and Blue game on Saturday, April 13, 2024. Read more in Sports on pg. 12.

As the city celebrated its 50th anniversary of the Regional Transit System, the future of Gainesville’s sustainable transportation was called into question.

The city announced April 9 UF is considering a significant reduction in funding for the city’s Regional Transit System. The potential cuts have raised questions about the future of transportation in Gainesville and what that could mean for a city impacted by climate change.

The RTS system was established in 1974, and much of its history has been entwined with UF. For the 2024 fiscal year, UF

contributed $13.7 million out of the total $28.5 million in RTS funding — making up about half of the program’s total revenue.

Under the newly proposed plan, UF would switch to a contract of monthly payments and reduce its total funding to $6.8 million annually. This reduction of more than 50% would be detrimental to the RTS system, the city said.

In response to the proposed changes, the Gainesville City Commission held a special meeting April 11. The city’s chief operating officer, Andrew Persons, outlined potential impacts of the funding cuts during the meeting.

If the changes were to occur, 11 of the 39 current RTS routes would be eliminated as of July 1. This would include all five on-campus routes, as well as the route to the Gainesville Regional Airport. Services for an additional

SEE RTS, PAGE 5

New amendment to change civic literacy Alachua County’s vision impairment resources expand requirement for Florida university students into North Central Florida regions New exam, history course scheduled for Board of approval May 8 PARTNERSHIPS, BONDS, INDIVIDUALIZED AID AND CREATIVITY ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT, DISABILITY ADVOCATES SAY

By Nicole Beltran Alligator Staff Writer

Max Daugherty is a 36-year-old Gainesville resident who was de-

SGymnastics PORTS/SPECIAL/ CUTOUT Leanne Wong inspires with business.

Story“Bowtique” description finish with Read more comma, pg# on pg. 11.

clared blind on his 16th birthday.

“It was the worst birthday of my life,” he said.

Daugherty was diagnosed with rod-cone-dystrophy, a degenerative disorder, at 2 years old. The condition is usually passed down genetically and the signs are seen in late childhood. He said he was the youngest person to be diagnosed

SEE RESOURCES, PAGE 5

By Zoey Thomas Alligator Staff Writer

A regulation amendment traveling through the Florida Board of Governors will increase students’ options to complete the civic literacy requirement added in 2017 to state education statutes.

Contrary to original confusion, the regulation will not remove the option for immigrant students to

Birdie Box Sando

Local chicken shop closes doors, pg. 3

The Avenue: Fashion Show

UF student to debut collection at How Bazar, pg. 7

use naturalization test scores to meet the requirement. That option never existed.

The civic literacy requirement in its current form requires students entering universities during or after the 2021-2022 school year to complete both an exam and a course to prove knowledge of American democracy, the United States Constitution and landmark Supreme Court cases.

Course options currently include American Federal Government (POS2041) and U.S. History Since 1877 (AMH2020). Assessment options include two AP exams, one College Board exam and a test based on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test but with supplemental questions.

The amended Regulation 8.006

SEE CITIZEN, PAGE 4

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2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024

Students investigate murders over meals Today’s Weather in new UF mystery club ‘A Private Inn'

VOLUME 118 - ISSUE 30

The club’s murder mystery dinners provide pizza, puzzle-solving and camaraderie

By Zoey Thomas Alligator Staff Writer

Heavyweight boxing champion Sid Foreman was murdered the night of the party at 6:48 p.m. At 6:52 p.m., partygoers ran out of napkins to go with their pizza.

Both catastrophes were treated with similar levels of concern by the group of 30 UF students who gathered in a lecture hall classroom for a Great Gatsby-themed murder mystery dinner.

A Private Inn, a UF club dedicated to “unraveling mysteries one clue at a time,” hosted the sleuthing soiree.

“Somebody in the room is the murderer, and somebody is a victim,” said the club’s president, 19-year-old UF nursing sophomore Neriah Cabral Duarte. “Every single person has their own role, their own objectives, and has to socialize with each other to figure out what happened.”

Murder at Gatsby’s Gala was the “grand finale” of the semester for A Private Inn, which became a UF organization in January. Cabral Duarte started the club after wondering how to find people who shared her love of mystery movies, like “Knives Out,” she said.

Cabral Duarte and her hometown friend Brenda Franklin posted flyers around campus promoting a group chat to discuss mysteries and true crime shows. The interest they received inspired the first unofficial murder dinner — “Til Death Do Us Part,” a wedding-themed mystery.

“The response was amazing,” Cabral Duarte said. “Seeing how everybody was able to, they didn’t know each other, but was able to communicate and laugh and even yell at each other — of course, in character — that’s what made me want to start the club.”

The club’s recognition goes beyond student popularity. At this semester’s UF Involvement Awards, A Private Inn won “New Student Organization of the Year.”

Cabral Duarte applied for the award for fun, but after arriving at the ceremony and seeing the other clubs she faced, she didn’t think A Private Inn had a chance of taking home the plaque.

“When they said our name, we were like, ‘There’s no way.’ We were giddy, we were so happy on stage,” she said. “That’s a memory that I won’t ever forget.”

Gatsby Gala attendees might have looked out of place walking across campus in floor-length ball gowns and feathered headdresses, but they fit in upon arriving at Matherly Hall. Cabral Duarte spent two hours decorating the basement lecture room with walls of golden streamers, balloons and cards with

bloody handprints.

Planning a mystery dinner takes weeks of coordination. The club’s officers come up with a murder storyline from a mix of original ideas and Internet-sourced scripts. They then make RSVPs, assign roles and buy supplies.

Gili Omer doesn’t mind the work.

The 20-year-old UF biochemistry junior and A Private Inn ambassador sees the club as a break from stressful academic-focused organizations, she said.

“It’s one of the only clubs that I actually look forward to,” she said.

Omer joined A Private Inn on a whim after seeing a Snapchat casting call for a Disney-themed murder mystery dinner, she said. After watching Minnie Mouse get exposed as a drug-dealing mastermind for murdering Prince Charming, she was hooked.

Before each dinner, attendees choose roles from a list sent via text.

They must study a “background” page of their character’s clothing, quirks and accents before arriving.

“Mine was like, ‘Your character should have a floor-length sweeping gown, with the most extravagant beading and jewelry,’” said 18-yearold UF chemistry freshman Sophia Santiago. “I was like, ‘I have a black dress.’”

The Gatsby dinner was Santiago’s first A Private Inn event. Her love of murder mysteries — and lack of plans for the night — drew her to attend despite never having read “The Great Gatsby,” she said.

Santiago felt confident in her Poker face going into the night’s events but less confident about another requirement of her role. To play the aristocrat Chappy, Santiago would have to summon a British accent.

“It says very specifically that my character needs to say, ‘chuffed,’ when I’m proud and, ‘bloody hell,’ when I’m excited,” she said.

Yuan Tian, a 21-year-old UF accounting senior, adopted a looser interpretation of her character’s traits. To play Police Chief Curtis, she donned a flowy white dress with capped sleeves.

“I actually have a gun underneath my dress,” she joked.

Tian showed up to the dinner at the request of her friend Karen Zhang, a fellow 21-year-old UF accounting senior. Zhang decided on Tian’s behalf that they would both be attending, Tian said. The dinner was the first and last murder mystery party for the soon-to-be-graduating seniors.

Zhang convinced Tian to attend after she saw a flier in a group chat and thought it looked fun, she said.

“I used to be really into mystery books and solving crimes and stuff,” Zhang said. “I don’t think

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I’m that great at it. But I love escape rooms and little puzzles.”

The night began with each player receiving objectives ranging from, “Get to know everyone and their affiliations to Jay Gatsby” to, “When asked about the investment money, insist you plan to have some by the end of the night.”

The guests then chatted, picked fights and attempted blackmail.

Some hovered near the table at the front of the room, which boasted traditional 1920s gala fare — five large Domino’s pizzas with Coke and Sprite. Others sought empty adjacent classrooms for shadier dealings.

About every 30 minutes, the club’s officers gathered attention to announce a new development — or new victim. Guests scanned a QR code to submit accusations throughout the night. At the end, everyone made their final guesses.

Only one Great Gatsby guest guessed the killer correctly. It’s a typical ending to an A Private Inn murder mystery. Only one of the club’s mystery dinners has ever ended in victory for the partygoers: at “Murder in Margaritaville,” attendees identified Life-Saving Sam as the culprit over Cabana Bob. For A Private Inn Officers like Caroline Kwara, a 19-year-old UF English sophomore, watching people puzzle out the mystery together is the most satisfying part of each event.

Kwara and other officers huddled on chairs in a corner of the room throughout the dinner. They surveyed ongoings with the air of masterminds watching a carefully arranged domino tower fall in a chaotic — but entertaining — cacophony.

“You get to see your work pay off and see that they actually enjoyed what you came up with,” Kwara said. “It’s pretty nice.”

Next year, Kwara hopes to help the club host bigger events, like a murder mystery ball. She acknowledged that would be “super expensive.” But with the club’s increased funding next semester, a masquerade murder may not be entirely off the table.

Great Gatsby may have been the last event of the semester for A Private Inn. But unlike the night’s poor victim Sid Foreman, the club has a bright, albeit bloody, future. @zoeythomas39 zthomas@alligator.org

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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024 ALLIGATOR 3

Gainesville mourns closure of gourmet chicken shop Birdie Box Sando THE RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED ITS DOORS AFTER THREE YEARS IN GAINESVILLE

By Alexandra Burns Alligator Staff Writer

The opportunity to eat a dripping hot chicken sandwich in a light pink double-decker bus has come to an end.

After three years in Gainesville, Birdie Box Sando, located at 2216 SW 13th St., announced April 2 it is permanently closing its doors in Gainesville. The closure was effective immediately following the announcement.

The restaurant said in a statement on Instagram it decided to sell the brand, and the new owners will be taking the business to a new location.

“This was not an easy decision,” Birdie Box Sando staff wrote on Instagram. “Knowing the new owners will be taking the brand elsewhere made the decision even that much more difficult.”

Ash Free, the co-owner of Birdie Box, said he was offered the opportunity to sell the business to an individual from Food Network. The new owners decided to take the brand out of state.

Free said his decision to sell was partly in-

fluenced by the understanding that, as a business owner, to scale a brand one must look for more opportunities. The business had maxed out what it was capable of doing in the simple and small town of Gainesville, he said.

“They’re taking the brand elsewhere because they believe in the brand and that it can grow,” he said. “They’re not saying they wouldn’t ever come back to Gainesville with it, but they have their own ideas of what they would like to do with it and grow it on the West coast.”

Birdie Box has become a Gainesville staple known for its eye-catching display and crispy chicken sandos with toppings like applewood bacon, fried egg, shredded brussels, pickles, pimento cheese and house-made sauces.

The brand has grown quickly since its start in Free’s backyard during the COVID-19 pandemic. After working tirelessly with co-owner Brian Cook, they eventually opened as a popup at Gainesville Country Club, 7300 SW 35th Way, and a food truck before opening a permanent location at Southwest 13th Street in 2022.

Sarah Jenni has been making the trip from Clearwater to Birdie Box for about a year for the Nashville hot sando with pimento cheese.

She said it has become a regular stop for her and her friends and they were upset to hear about its closure.

“It’s a whole experience from eating in the

double decker bus,” Jenni said. “I’ve brought so many people to Gainesville to try it, and I pray we can keep this concept open.”

Gainesville resident Quil Darling and his friends have been fans of Birdie Box since they discovered it when it operated out of the Gainesville Country Club in 2021. Darling said he could tell it was something special from the beginning, describing himself as an “occasional guinea pig” for the restaurant’s new recipes.

“Even when they got bigger and moved to their new location, they always made a point to say hello,” he said. “The food was incredible and the atmosphere was fun and cool.”

The brand did not celebrate a formal sendoff because of the timeline of the closure. Darling said he wished he could have given the restaurant a real goodbye.

“I think the thing I’ll remember about Birdie Box was that feeling of community,” he said.

“I don’t even eat meat anymore, but I wish I could go one last time and get a Nashville tofu sando.”

Co-owner Ash Free said he is currently working on plans for a new business, but he is not able to share his plans yet. He credits Birdie Box’s success to the student community in Gainesville.

“We had no idea it was going to turn into what it turned it through [COVID-19],” Free said. “Without the amazing students we would

Armand Raichandani // Alligator Staff

Birdie Box pictured on Sunday, April 14, 2024.

never have been able to prove this concept ...

They kept us young and alive and full of creativity.”

Santa Fe College hosts 52nd annual Spring Arts Festival THE TWO-DAY EVENT FEATURED LOCAL MUSIC, ARTISTS, KID ZONES AND VENDORS

By Sara-James Ranta & Annie Wang Alligator Staff Writers

Couples walked hand in hand and children sat on their parents’ shoulders as gusts of wind blew past, lending a reprieve from the hot

sun. While they strolled past the art festival booths, wind chimes rang and live music played.

Santa Fe College hosted its 52nd annual Spring Arts Festival April 13 and 14, which featured planetarium shows, a zoo booth and works from local artists.

The Spring Arts Festival began in 1970 and grew into an annual tradition where community members gather to celebrate artistic expression and emerging talent, said Kyle Novak, a co-organizer of the festival.

When SF’s Northwest campus opened in 1972, the festival began on campus grounds in 1973. It also featured a petting zoo, according to the college’s festival history.

Novak continues the zoo tradition. Many festival activities incorporate on-campus programs already available to students, he said.

“It’s really cool to have the opportunity to highlight some of the unique things about Santa Fe’s campus,” he said. “Not many schools have a planetarium and a zoo.”

Following 1973, attendance grew

to around 90,000 by 1989. Popularity peaked in 2007, when the festival attracted about 130,000 visitors, becoming Gainesville’s largest annual cultural arts event.

Brynna Palmer, a co-organizer of the festival, said she hopes attendees realize a career in the arts is possible through participating in the festival.

“I hope that people come to our art festival and have a new insight on what an art festival is,” she said.

“I hope that we show our student artists in a way that will be exciting

@alexaburnsuf aburns@alligator.org for the public to see.”

Every year, SF selects an artist to create an annual festival poster, a tradition that began in 1981.

Molly Kempson, a 37-year-old Gainesville artist, was asked to create this year’s poster. Her design featured a male anhinga bird in breeding plumage and was inspired by the time she had spent kayaking on the Santa Fe River, she said.

Read the rest online at alligator.org. @sarajamesranta sranta@alligator.org @wynwg awang@alligator.org

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4 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024

UF student held without bond after stabbing mother 70 times Emmanuel Espinoza was charged with first degree murder, destroying or tampering evidence

By Megan Howard Alligator Staff Writer

UF pre-med student Emmanuel Espinoza, 21, was charged with first-degree murder and destroying or tampering with physical evidence April 6 after stabbing his mother over 70 times.

Emmanuel Espinoza first appeared in court April 7 for the charges. His bond for destroying or tampering with evidence is set to $5,000, and he received no bond for first degree murder.

His mother, 46-year-old Elvia Espinoza, agreed to host her youngest child, Emmanuel Espinoza, so he could visit his grandfather that weekend.

Elvia Espinoza worked as a second-grade teacher at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary School in Polk County and was a mother of three children.

“I want you to understand she re-

ally was the perfect mom,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

Elvia Espinoza’s daughter Marisol Longo told WTSP she was a supportive mother who taught inside and outside of the classroom.

“She was always full of life,” Longo said. “She was always encouraging. She was our biggest supporter.”

When Emannuel Espinoza arrived in Frostproof, Florida, at 2 p.m., he put on headphones and played “No Church in the Wild” by Jay-Z and Kanye West as he stabbed Elvia Espinoza with his pocket knife after she opened the door, according to Judd.

Elvia Espinoza was on the phone with a family member at the time of the stabbing, and she ran from Emmanuel Espinoza as he continued to stab her until she fell to the floor.

When he saw Elvia Espinoza was still moving, he continued to stab her. While washing the pocket knife

New requirements CITIZEN, from pg. 1

would add U.S. History Since 1877 (AMH2010) to classes, remove the Citizenship Test-based exam and replace the latter with the Florida Civic Literacy Exam.

The test change, explained

The amendment’s text states it will “replace the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Test” as an option for meeting civic literacy assessment.

Immigrant rights groups said this creates barriers to first-generation college students who have already taken the citizenship test to become naturalized and now have an extra step.

But despite the potentially confusing amendment language, passing the U.S. Citizenship test for naturalization purposes has never been an option for Florida students to demonstrate civic literacy. The reason dates to the statute’s creation.

Florida lawmakers passed a 2017 bill requiring students to demonstrate civic knowledge at the request of Florida history faculty like Frank Baglione, a Tallahassee Community College history and legal professor.

“You don’t have to watch TV commentators stopping people on the street and asking why we celebrate the Fourth of July to realize that a lot of Americans don’t understand some of the basic basics of our system,” Baglione said.

The bill requires students, beginning in 2018-2019, to demonstrate civic literacy through a course or already-existing test. At the time, the only existing tests were from AP and College Board. When the Florida College System tried to add the U.S. Citizenship Test, Baglione and other faculty objected.

The “fairly basic” citizenship test doesn’t adequately measure government knowledge, Baglione said.

To pass the U.S. Citizenship Test, naturalization candidates must orally answer six out of 10 randomly selected questions from a bank of 100. Just 36% of Americans could pass, according to an Institute for Citizens & Scholars report.

The Florida College System pulled the U.S. Citizenship Test. But in March 2020, it tried to add it again.

This time, colleges proposed an updated version of the original U.S. Citizenship Test, which had supplemental questions devised

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

and the cut on his hand, Emmanuel Espinoza went to ask his mom for neosporin when he realized she was dead.

He then called 911 and confessed.

“I killed someone,” Emmanuel Espinoza said.

in partnership with the University of Central Florida Lou Frey Institute.

The new exam’s 100 written questions included topics missing from the original U.S. Citizenship Test — in particular, U.S. Supreme Court cases, said Steve Masyada, the institute’s director.

“The naturalization test … it’s really rote learning, rather than asking students to really think,” he said. “The new exam goes a little deeper.”

Baglione and others weren’t impressed. In June 2020, a group of history faculty and parents levied a petition against the U.S. Citizenship Test with supplemental questions.

The Florida College System, which coordinates Florida’s 28 public community and state colleges, removed the test again. But the State University System of Florida, which oversees the state’s 12 public universities, didn’t receive equivalent pushback and kept the modified citizenship test.

The colleges and UCF Lou Frey Institute, meanwhile, created a brand-new test to satisfy college faculty and Board members — the Florida Civic Literacy Exam.

Instead of taking the Citizenship Test and adding a few multiple choice answers, the subject matter experts who created the FCLE made it statute-aligned, understandable and unbiased, said Carrie Henderson, an adviser at TSG Advisors who served as Florida College System executive vice chancellor from 2018 to 2023.

“It evolved from this original idea, which is, ‘Let's just use the citizenship test,’ into a much more rigorous exam,” she said. “And it's really hard to pass. I was a history major, and I struggled.”

The Florida Civic Literacy Exam became the first test colleges successfully added to civic literacy in November 2021. The ruling also specified students will have to take both an assessment and a course to clear the requirement, beginning 2021-2022.

State universities are “catching up” to state colleges with the new regulation by replacing the modified citizenship test, Henderson said.

Immigrant students unaffected

Henderson doesn’t think objections to students using the U.S. Citizenship Test to demonstrate civic knowledge were anti-immigrant, she said.

“From my experience, that wasn’t the case,” she said. “I think the chief concerns, one was just content that didn’t cover the competencies. The second concern was that it was an oral test, and that’s different than a

When asked how the event happened, Emmanuel Espinoza said, “I went in the door, and I stabbed my mom.”

Polk County Sheriff’s Office spoke with Emmanuel Espinoza he told them he had wanted to kill his mother for years because she “got on my nerves,” Judd said.

Emmanuel Espinoza said he loved his mother and rated their relationship an “eight out of 10,” but decided he would murder her on his drive home from Gainesville, Judd said.

Throughout his time in school, Elvia Espinoza sent money to Emmanuel Espinoza to allow him to live comfortably and focus on school.

He told police he knew where to stab his mother with “maximum effect” due to his education in biology classes.

Judd said Emmanuel Espinoza had no history of mental health is-

written test.”

Many international students couldn’t have used the citizenship test even if sanctioned.

The majority have student visas, which don’t afford a path to long term residency, said Juan Caballero, UF Levin College of Law Immigration Law Clinic director.

Students in the U.S. for college may never take the naturalization test, which requires applicants to have been living domestically for five years with a green card.

“You’re talking about several steps removed for these individuals who might or might not be planning to stay here afterwards,” Caballero said.

Others may have immigrated as children and had parents who took the exam on their behalf, he said.

The only students who could’ve used the U.S. Citizenship Test for civic literacy are those like Rousemary Estrada, a 20-year-old UF information systems junior from Mexico who applied for citizenship after immigrating to finish high school.

Estrada became a citizen last year, and thanks to high school history classes, she passed the U.S. Citizenship exam with nine out of 10 correct answers, she said.

“There’s PDFs and practice questions of what specific tests they have, and it’s a pamphlet of almost 10 pages,” she said. “I just needed to study a few that I had forgotten in high school.”

Estrada lived in the U.S. from infanthood until age 8. But even so, civics tests are harder for someone with her background, and civics courses can make her anxious, she said.

“Professors here expect their students to be naturalized in English, when even Americanborn people have struggled with their own language,” she said. “When someone expects that kind of level of you and you can’t fully perform that because you have prior knowledge … it kind of gives that anxiety and frustration.”

Existing course to meet new requisite

In addition to the Florida Civic Literacy Exam, the regulation amendment will add U.S. History to 1877 to civic literacy courses.

“I think it makes perfect sense, a lot of sense, to put it in as a civics requirement,” said Nina Caputo, UF history professor and associate chair of the history department. “It’s all built into [AMH] 2010, because that’s from the colonies through the Civil War.” The history department offers about 35 seats in History to 1877 classes per semester, Caputo said. She’ll add a class of 62 seats

sues and drug or alcohol abuse.

“No problems at all,” Judd said.

“He was known as kind of being an introvert. Kind of a quiet guy. Zero issues.”

Emmanuel Espinoza’s only court appearance has been for his arraignment April 7. Future court dates have yet to be set as of April 14.

He moved to have an attorney appointed by the Public Defender’s Office. Emmanuel Espinoza is currently being held at the South County Jail in Polk County.

Steve Orlando, UF vice president of communications, confirmed Emmanuel Espinoza is still enrolled as a student at UF but declined a university comment on the situation.

He has been trespassed from all UF campuses within Alachua County until 2027. @meganmhxward mhoward@alligator.org

to Fall 2024 in anticipation of more students signing up to clear civic literacy.

When Florida added U.S. History Since 1877 to civic literacy requirement statutes in 2018, the explosion in demand for the class was “shocking,” and the history department had to add hundreds of seats, said Joseph Angelillo, a UF history Ph.D. student and History to 1877 instructor.

“It has been weird for the graduates,” he said. “Because now we have lots of grad students who don’t study U.S. history that have to T.A. [for] U.S. history now, just because we’ve been a little short on [U.S. history] grad students.”

His associate department chair Nina Caputo doesn’t expect the same wave to sign up for History to 1877 as did for History Since 1877 when it underwent the same change, she said.

Students tend to prefer the latter, and many of them come in with the AP credits required to skip the former, she said.

Ethan Wang, a 20-year-old UF economics junior, is now taking History Since 1877 to clear his civic literacy course requirement.

Wang was worried because he’s “not super good” at history and has less background knowledge about U.S. history as a transfer student from China.

But Wang’s instructor, UF Ph.D. student Kevin Bird, has made the class fun rather than stressful, he said. Wang especially enjoyed learning about the Vietnam War, he added.

“It’s pretty fun,” he said. “And the exams are pretty general. It’s not super targeted, specific questions, so as long as you know the general idea, and I think the way they’re setting it is pretty good.”

The amendment adding History Since 1877 to course options and replacing the U.S. Citizenship Test with supplemental questions with the Florida Civic Literacy Exam received unanimous approval of Public Notice of Intent at the Board of Governors meeting March 27.

After its 14-day public comment period received no objections, the regulation will go before the Board of Governors for final approval at its next meeting, which is set for May 8 via an online conference.

Board of Governors Director of Communications Cassandra Edwards said the Board did not have a staff member available to discuss the regulation. She emphasized the Florida Civic Literacy Exam is a “completely different assessment” from the U.S. Citizenship Test in an email to The Alligator April 9. @zoeythomas39 zthomas@alligator.org

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024 ALLIGATOR 5

Climate action RTS, from pg. 1

11 routes would be reduced, with a decrease in service hours and weekend run-times.

The RTS fleet would be reduced by 36 buses, which would eliminate more than 50 staffed positions, the city said. The proposed plan would also violate the RTS contract with the Amalgamated Transit Unit and threaten the city’s eligibility for federal and state transportation grants.

UF stated there had been a “major misunderstanding” on the city’s part. Dave Kratzer, the senior vice president for construction, facilities and auxiliary, sent a letter to Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward April 11, calling for a release of RTS data on operating costs. Non-UF riders are charged $1.50 per ride, Kratzer wrote, while UF students pay an average of $2.86 per ride.

“Press conferences and threats of closures are unnecessary and unhelpful,” Kratzer wrote. “We would welcome you back to the table and hope that you will direct your team to provide this crucial data that we have not yet received.”

When asked about the letter, City Commissioner Casey Willits said the RTS system is not merely based on the fare box. The difference in fares doesn’t reflect the true cost of the whole system, he said, which is something UF is purposely choosing not to understand.

“When they fully grasp how

transit is funded… I think we’ll come to an understanding that it is a great relationship, and any cut is going to have far worse impacts than they imagined,” Willits added.

Willits also expressed concerns for the future of the city’s climate action plan, which is expected to have a completed first draft by the end of 2024. Part of that climate action plan involved a commitment to sustainable transportation.

Out of the current RTS fleet, four buses are electric. That was expected to expand over the coming years, with the eventual goal of an 80% electric fleet by 2045.

The city estimates that, under the proposed funding cuts, more than 9,000 additional daily car trips will be created, leading to more carbon emissions and traffic congestion.

“In order to get to our goals, we need to be consistently moving people towards zero carbon transportation,” Willits said. “A big portion of that has got to be public transportation, and changing some of that public transportation to electric vehicles.”

Gainesville Chief Climate Officer Dan Zhu declined to comment on how the proposed funding cuts would impact the city’s climate action plan.

UF is also developing a new climate action plan, or CAP 2.0.

The first climate action plan, developed in 2009, set a goal for the university to be carbon neutral by 2025. Currently, a release date for CAP 2.0 hasn’t been set.

CAP 2.0 has several central

Visually impaired RESOURCES, from pg. 1

with the condition after participating in a study in the late 80s.

He felt neglected in many ways while growing up in Alabama like not participating in sports and not being permitted to drive, Daugherty said.

After moving to Florida in 2006 and attending Santa Fe College, Daugherty felt more included due to North Central Florida’s available initiatives, yet work still needs to be done, he said.

North Central Florida’s disability resources are scattered across the region and are becoming more accessible to underserved communities through outreach and partnerships. Despite a majority of counties carrying low numbers of visually impaired children in comparison to their populations, counties like Putnam, Bradford and Levy are seeing larger numbers.

One active foundation is the Lions Club, an international foundation that has several branches in North Central Florida. The Turkey Creek Lions Club is a branch that serves the city of Alachua.

The Lions, founded in 1917, is best known for helping visually impaired communities, but offers its services to other disabilities as well. Through fundraisers and partnerships, the club is trying to provide more accessible initiatives for underserved, disabled commu-

goals, one of which is sustainable transportation. Yet the current draft of CAP 2.0 doesn’t address the fundamental causes of climate change, UF biology professor Stephen Mulkey said.

Mulkey teaches multiple classes based around climate change and sustainability, and said real action needs to be taken on the university’s part in order to neutralize the impacts of climate change.

“Most people fail to grasp the sweep and the scope of the changes that need to be made to truly address climate change,” he said. “If we want to actually walk the talk instead of paying lip service to sustainability, we’ve got to invest in it.”

One of the most concerning impacts of not investing in sustainable transportation is the potential for adverse health effects, Mulkey said. Gas-burning vehicles produce tiny, inhalable particles that can cause heart attacks, strokes and respiratory infections. Fossil fuel air pollution is responsible for one in five deaths worldwide, according to research from Harvard University.

Diesel-burning buses still contribute to this issue, Mulkey said, which means they’re not a perfect solution. Yet they do reduce the amount of cars on the road, he said, which is a step in the right direction.

“Public transport is at the heart of a sustainable community,” he said.

Nathaniel Pelton, an off-campus UF student senator for UF student government and the chair

nities.

Turkey Creek Lions Club President Mark Paletti was a founding member of the branch in 2004. He said there was already a Lions Club in Alachua, High Springs and Newberry, but he wanted to initiate a new one for more resources, which took its name after the Turkey Creek neighborhood in Alachua.

Paletti said having many accessible branches in the area is necessary because there is always someone who needs help, especially in rural areas.

“I’d say it's worldwide,” Paletti said. “[In] every place there’s poverty and low income.”

A large resource has been the KidSight Vision Screening program, a nationwide initiative that administers free eye exams to children.

“A lot of times, parents don’t realize that the kids have problems,” he said. “A lot of times the lower class ethnic groups don't have access to doctors or tests.”

Paletti said the Turkey Creek Lions Club has partnered with the Florida Center for the Blind, Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs and Alliance of Therapy Dogs to assist rural, visually impaired communities.

Alliance of Therapy Dogs of Alachua tester and observer Patricia Bellis works alongside therapy dogs to observe how dogs positively or negatively pair with the routines of disabled individuals.

Bellis believes cultivating a relationship with an animal can be an effective way to build an identity beyond an individual's disability.

Julia Cooper // Alligator Staf

Lillie Rooney sits on RTS Bus 35 on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. of the Senate Transportation Caucus, said he’s against the proposed funding cuts to RTS. RTS connects many students to their way of life, Pelton said, making it vital for accessibility.

Pelton also helped introduce the UF Green New Deal, and said the proposed cuts are in direct defiance of its goals. The deal showed students want a greener community, he said, and reducing RTS services would be debilitating for that vision.

Much of the UF funding to

“The first thing that the dog does is it gives the person confidence,” she said. “The second thing is the dog and the owner have a distinctive bond.”

North Central Florida has also benefited from UF’s medical outreach.

UF’s visually impaired resources have extended across other regions. The institution’s Florida and Virgin Islands Deaf-Blind Collaborative has developed training and resources benefiting Florida’s children, young adults and families affected not only by visual impairment but deafness.

FAVI’s Family Engagement Coordinator Pam Kissoondyal said the team of five relies on collaboration from other organizations to then individualize treatment and care for children and young adults. There is also collaboration in Spanish to secure more language accessibility.

Kissoondyal said individualized treatment is crucial because the spectrum of blind and deafness can be too specific.

“It's so individualized, and there's so many syndromes,” she said. “Sometimes syndromes can really be a camouflage sort for the actual secondary diagnosis.”

UF Federal Office of Special Education Program Principal Investigator Ann-Marie Orlando believes language accessibility can be an obstacle and needs to be a priority when dealing with patients across different communities.

“Certainly a challenge is making sure that our information is disseminated in multiple languages so that we can reach people for whom English is a second language or even

RTS comes from students’ pockets, Pelton said. During its public meeting April 16, Pelton said the student Senate plans to discuss the potential funding cuts and what it would mean for students.

“This is going so many decades backward in progress for the climate advocates that have made this campus better,” he said. @kyliewilliams99 kyliewilliams@alligator.org

a third language,” she said.

Max Daugherty said he has familiarized himself with different resources offered in the region, but he believes initiatives and information can be overly complicated to navigate at times, and discourage visually impaired people from interacting with one another.

But he wanted to create his own solution, so he started his YouTube channel Blind_ Prime in 2020 where he raises awareness for the disability through a more recreational, entertaining way, he said.

Being someone who has always enjoyed Transformers and Legos, Daugherty said he also felt frustrated that the instructions could be difficult for blind people.

“If I'm a blind person having trouble with Transformers, what if there's another blind person having trouble with Transformers, so let me make this,” he said.

Daugherty said the channel has helped him overcome difficult emotions from eye surgeries and daily challenges.

“I took the emotions and actually applied them [to the channel],” he said.

He said he’s found a larger passion in helping others in his own creative way.

“I try to make sure the individuals who are visually impaired in the future have an easier time of it,” Daugherty said. “We have to look out for the next generation.” @nicolebeltg nbeltran@alligator.org

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024 www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue

RESTAURANT

PrimoHoagies opened a Gainesville location in March, now hopes to attract college students THE NEW ITALIAN SPECIALTY SANDWICH SHOP STRUGGLES TO REACH STUDENTS

By Molly Seghi Avenue Staff Writer

Gainesville has a rich culinary scene from around the world.

Amid the international staples downtown, an aroma of a dish from closer to home envelopes a brown-brick building: PrimoHoagies.

PrimoHoagies, specializing in Philadelphia-style Italian sub sandwiches, hosted a grand opening of its Gainesville location at 211 S Main St. March 21. The event attracted hundreds of people with its opening day special where more than 250 customers indulged in a free hoagie.

Beginning in south Philadelphia in 1992, PrimoHoagies has expanded to more than 100 locations across the United States, including five in Florida: Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Stuart and Gainesville. William Kulick became a franchisee, inspired by his visits to Philadelphia, where he fell in love with the city’s traditional hoagies.

“There’s nothing [like] that authentic Philly hoagie with the fresh bread and all the meats and cheeses,” Kulick said. “I know how good this stuff was for me as a customer, and I knew if we found the right spot… we could do well with it.”

As a native of Ponte Vedra, Florida, Kulick was determined to open a location in his home state, and Gainesville was ideal for its large student population, he said.

“Gainesville is just a nice place to be,” Kulick said. “We were looking to expand into that area at some point.”

Although the opening was met with a large turnout, PrimoHoagies has still yet to see regular business from one of its intended

audiences: UF and Santa Fe College students.

“We have a good lunch crowd from all the businesses downtown,” Kulick said. “The next step is to figure out how to get ourselves involved more with campus and have some of those kids coming out to the area.”

Kulick said he’s experimenting with different strategies to reach students. He’s considering the creation of a Gator-inspired sandwich, as well as giveaway events.

Lise Love, the manager’s assistant, has spearheaded some marketing tactics, using ideas influenced by her time working as the manager of a Dunkin’ Donuts on University Avenue.

Love brought Mr. Bone, a plastic skeleton for Halloween decor, from Dunkin’ Donuts to PrimoHoagies. The mascot, who can be found sitting at the restaurant’s table sporting PrimoHoagies merchandise, has an Instagram account with more than 1,200 followers.

She is also working on making sample trays for various groups across Gainesville such as the athletes in football training and the Gainesville Police Department.

“I’m trying to get the students that know [Mr. Bones] to come here,” Love said. “[The goal is to] let people know that we’re here.”

Based in Westville, New Jersey, PrimoHoagies was recognized as the No.1 Best Sandwich or Sub Shop in the 2023 USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Before its grand opening last month, PrimoHoagies faced permit and construction challenges, Kulick said.

PrimoHoagies has maximized its proximity to the Alachua County Criminal Courthouse. A large portion of its regular customers are jurors and judges, Kulick said.

Jake Crown, a 44-year-old food distribution sales representative, has frequented PrimoHoagies since he noticed signs promot-

Ben Nielsen // Alligator Staff

PrimoHoagies stands on Main Street on Sunday, April 14, 2024.

ing the opening.

“We were in desperate need of more sandwiches downtown, so I was excited,” Crown said. “[It offers] a higher quality sandwich and [there are] super nice people that work here.”

The PrimoHoagies staff anticipates a slow summer and hopes to kickstart marketing initiatives geared toward students during the Fall semester. @molly_seghi mseghi@alligator.org

FASHION

UF psychology senior set to debut How Bazar’s first interactive runway NOAH SAMS’ ‘SUPERNOVA RUNWAY EXTRAVAGANZA’ WILL OCCUR AT 60 SW 2ND ST. APRIL 27

By Tanya Fedak Avenue Staff Writer

Noah Sams has decided it’s finally time to transform the Gainesville fashion scene. Since his freshman year at UF, he has slowly curated a collection that transcends anything he’s ever seen on the city’s catwalks.

On April 27, a year-in-the-making vision will come to life in front of local fashionistas and art enthusiasts alike.

The “Noah Aaron Sams Supernova Runway Extravaganza” is an interactive runway event hosted

by Sams, a 21-year-old UF psychology senior and aspiring clothing designer, at How Bazar. Inspired by his time in Gainesville, the event will feature a culmination of Sams’ fashion creations he made during his time studying at UF. Sams said he distinguished his “extravaganza” from typical fashion

shows by incorporating an interactive element, which includes the event’s showcase of a DJ, two live bands and several Gainesville vendors.

“With usual runways, it’s very quiet, very poised,” Sams said. “But with this, it’s a celebration.”

Sams said he’s also working to foster the interactive experience by encouraging the audience to engage with the models as they walk the runway.

“The audience can be loud, the audience can dance, the audience can get up close,” he said. “This is the part that makes it, for me, an interactive runway experience: It’s not just, ‘Come and observe.’ It’s ‘Come and be a part of this.’”

The supernova runway extravaganza has been a work in progress for quite some time, with Sams first getting the idea to execute the event last year.

After previously working at How Bazar as a model and, later, an independent designer for runway shows, Sams approached Laila Fakhoury — a co-owner at the downtown clothing business — with the idea for his

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unusual runway event. “Noah Aaron Sams Supernova Runway Extravaganza” will be the first immersive runway the venue will host.

“This is gonna be the first time that happens in the shop, and I’ve been wanting it to happen,” Fakhoury said. “I’m really glad Noah’s the one that’s doing it, because there’s no other best person for that.”

Once the initial stages of the event were established, Sams posted a casting call for models on his Instagram story, which received more than 100 applicants.

Jeff Carmichael, a 20-year-old UF economics and psychology junior, is set to be a model at the event. Carmichael said he began modeling last Fall, and it was Sams who inspired him to do so after meeting in a class the Spring prior.

“I just saw him, and I was like, ‘That dude looks cool as hell, let me go talk to him,’” Carmichael said.

“We became friends and I learned he’d modeled, and I realized just how much I wanted to do that.”

Carmichael will be wearing one of the pieces Sams created during his time in Gainesville, which total to

more than 30 designs.

After having been involved in the fashion scene since his senior year of high school, Sams started creating his own clothing after being inspired by a Polaroid dress he saw on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” “[The Polaroid outfit] helped me to open my scope of the realm of, ‘Anything is possible as long as you try,’” he said. “Who says Polaroids can’t be an outfit? Who says I can’t make stuffed animals into a big coat?

Fashion is fun.”

When creating these avant-gardestyle pieces, Sams has one rule: Tthere are no rules.

“The worst that can happen is that it doesn’t go quite as planned,” he said. “But sometimes, the product of something that you don’t expect is even cooler than what you originally expected.”

Sams said one of the elements that makes fashion enjoyable for him is the ability to connect with his inner child, back before he understood the concept of judgment. One significant source of inspiration for him, he said, lies in early-2000s anime cartoons.

“It’s going back before I knew what self- analysis was, and going back to those inner joys,” he said. “I love Pokemon, so I made a Pokemon outfit. It’s stuff like that.”

With his interactive runway, Sam said he sees it as a “final hurrah” of his time in Gainesville as he prepares to graduate next month. The Gainesville community, he said, is a community that has “poured so much into [him].”

“I’m really, really excited to bring aspects of my culture — whether that be through my Taiwanese culture, whether that be through my queer culture, or whether that be through the Gainesville local art scene culture,” he said. “I’m excited to bring those designs to the runway. It’s a reflection of me and my excitement and my passions and who I am.”

The event will start at 6:30 p.m. at 60 SW 2nd St. with free admission. @ttanyafedak tfedak@alligator.org

El Caimn: Election

Latino voters resist Democrats’ appeals. Read more on pg. 7 Scan to follow the Avenue on Spotify

El Caimán

LUNES, 15 DE ABRIL DE 2024 www.alligator.org/section/elcaiman

‘Los Republicanos han tenido la ventaja’: los votantes latinos de Florida no responden a las apelaciones de los demócratas LA FALTA DE MOVILIZACIÓN PODRÍA LLEVAR A UN SEGMENTO PROGRESISTA HACIA LA DERECHA

Por Eluney Gonzalez Escritora de El Caimán

Traducido por Eluney Gonzalez Escritora de El Caimán

Señalado por la elección de Jair Bolsonaro de Brasil en 2018, una serie de populistas de derecha han asumido la presidencia en América Latina.

Javier Milei en Argentina en 2023 y Nayib Bukele en El Salvador son las incorporaciones más recientes a esta tendencia, mientras que la popularidad de José Antonio Kasta en Chile solo aumenta para las elecciones en 2025. En toda

Latinoamérica, parece que los partidos de izquierda han sido incapaces de captar la atención popular en la manera que Milei, Bukele y Bolsonaro han hecho.

La razón por tanto apoyo ha sido, sobre todo, la seguridad, dijo María de la Cruz, una estudiante de maestría en estudios latinoamericanos de UF de 25 años. Ella dijo que su familia en Michoacán, México, está más preocupada por la seguridad y la estabilidad económica.

“Siento que a veces las personas no entienden completamente cómo funcionan los mercados o cómo se impulsa la economía, no estamos teniendo en cuenta que hay más en la conversación sobre impuestos e inflación”, de la Cruz dijo. “Mucho de esto tiende a ser principalmente en la esperanza de manejar mejor o gestionar la violencia actual que está ocurriendo también”.

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Los efectos de estos desarrollos en América Latina repercuten en los EE.UU. Tanto Milei como Bukele hablaron en CPAC 2024 para movilizar a los Latinos estadounidense en apoyo al partido Republicano. Parte de este impulso se debe a que los republicanos intentan aprovechar la ambivalencia general de los votantes Latinos hacia ambos partidos.

“Al interactuar con otros estudiantes que son latinoamericanos, parece que todavía hay una división en términos de no saber a quién votar”, dijo de la Cruz.

“Simplemente llegan a no estar satisfechos con la administración actual, pero no saben a dónde más ir”.

Para de la Cruz, los problemas más importantes para la comunidad Latina son proteger los derechos de los inmigrantes y mejorar su ac-

ceso a la atención médica.

“Esta visión negativa sobre los inmigrantes continúa con un efecto dominó, creando más propuestas de ley similar a lo que pasó el año anterior que están contribuyendo al perfilamiento racial de la gente”, dijo de la Cruz. “Y también informando sobre las disparidades médicas que están impactando a muchos de nuestros miembros de la comunidad también”.

Daniel Smith, profesor de ciencias políticas de la UF e investigador de política institucional y electoral, dijo que los latinos a veces tienen actitudes sesgadas sobre este tema.

Si bien los latinos generalmente votan a favor de políticas que acogen y apoyan a los inmigrantes, a largo plazo los latinos tienden a votar con una mentalidad de “cerrar la puerta después de mí”. Smith

Florida drops SEC series to South Carolina. Read more on pg. 11.

harn.ufl.edu/artafterdark

Lea el resto en línea en alligator.org/section/elcaiman. @Eluney_G egonzalez@alligator.org

Síganos para actualizaciones

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señala el actual flujo de migrantes haitianos como ilustrativo de la dinámica racial que separa a las antiguas y nuevas olas de migrantes.

“Los republicanos han tenido la ventaja en jugar esa carta de cerrar la frontera de manera muy efectiva, incluso entre los estadounidenses que han sido naturalizados”, dijo Smith. “Ha sido una estrategia efectiva hasta ahora, y ciertamente no está generando reacciones adversas entre la población de ciudadanos naturalizados aquí en Florida”.

Parte de la fortaleza republicana en este sentido proviene de su falta de poder existente en el gobierno estatal, dijo Smith.

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

ART AFTER DARK

Open until 9 pm every Thursday!

SPECIAL EVENT

NIGHTS

Museum Nights April 11, 6 – 9 pm

Express Ourselves

Celebrate creativity with UF student-written poetry inspired by art, spoken word with Bard & Broadside, a fashion show by UF Fluidity, live painting with Yvonne Ferguson, UF student dance performances and more. View our exhibitions and enjoy free refreshments.

Wine Down April 25, 6 – 9 pm

Take in a jazz performance by The Smooth Operatives while enjoying wine and light bites by Blue Gill Quality Food.

image: Brittanny Taylor, Ericka in Soho, 2020, Museum purchase, funds provided by the Caroline Julier and James G. Richardson Acquisition Fund

MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024 www.alligator.org/section/opinions

Column

Imposter syndrome: Why we never feel enough

“I

do not deserve this.”

A constant thought, five words. Repeated again and again, like a song on a never ending, infuriating loop. You never know when you are going to think “it,” the unwanted words, always popping up at the most inconvenient times. Whether it be at the peak of excitement after placing at a Speech tournament or during the roar of a crowd after kicking a goal winning shot — “I do not deserve this” — a phrase that pollutes the elation of any victory.

Imposter syndrome.

Defined as the psychological phenomenon of not feeling success internally despite being high-performing externally, the syndrome is characterized by a constant anxiety and dread that those around you will believe you are a “fraud.” It can develop from a plethora of different situations — achieving top grades, getting first place, obtaining a summer internship, being worthy of your friendships — no matter the cause, the symptoms present in the same way. Basically, anywhere someone can succeed means they are equally able to become a victim of imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is a feeling I find very familiar.

I feel it when I look at the admissions statistics of this year’s incoming freshman class and realize my test scores were outside the median accepted. Or when I grapple with the reality that there are people more qualified than

me, and yet I hold officer positions in clubs on campus.

Even when I get hired for an assignment, I often tell myself it’s only because I was unopposed, even when I know I am most certainly not. It feels like everything I achieve is silenced under the weight of my own mind.

There is this disparity between what I know and how I feel. I know the accolades I have won are justified. I have earned the positions I hold. The organizations I call home I know need me. Yet, no matter what I do there is a disconnect omnipresent, I know I have earned these things but I do not feel like I am deserving. I am not enough.

And these thoughts are not exclusively mine, it’s a common consensus among everyone I call my friends, some of the most qualified and dedicated individuals I have ever met never let themselves feel like they are “good enough” for their achievements.

Around 70% of people report feeling imposter syndrome at some point in their life, and honestly how can you not? On a campus of over 50,000 students it feels like an impossible task to not compare yourself to everyone around you. Constantly wondering what you can do to be better. Whatever you can do to best take advantage of the numerous opportunities in front of you, because you tell yourself if you do not take advantage you are wasting your potential. You force yourself to obsess over doing whatever it takes to cultivate a better future for yourself out of fear that if you do not you will end up a failure.

We, as students, get told over and over again that these four years of undergrad are supposed to be the “best years of your life,” so why do I spend so much time comparing my “best years” to all those who surround me? When did spending Morgan breaks in between classes laughing with friends become the only time to Vanderlaan cram for the next interview? Nights opinions@alligator.org in Marston spent until three in the morning pushing ourselves to submit to every possible application available in our discipline, and if we get awarded one? We think of every possible excuse for why we did not deserve it in the first place.

No matter who you are or how much you do, imposter syndrome can affect anyone. The pressure to compare yourself to your peers is, at times, overwhelming.

If you are anything like me when I get into an “imposter syndrome” mindset I have the tendency to be disheartened, knowing that there will always be someone better than me. But there will also always be someone worse. In these moments it’s important to take a step back, take a deep breath, and reassure yourself that the only person you can truly strive to surpass is the person you were yesterday. And at the end of the day, that’s all that truly matters.

Morgan Vanderlaan is a UF political science and English freshman.

Column

Uncovering my generation’s silent addiction

O

ne of the most prominent addictions among my generation these days isn’t one of the things my parents warned me about becoming addicted to before coming to college: drugs, alcohol or sex. It is something normalized by friends and peers at all hours of the day, in public, during class and on holidays.

It’s the first thing most of us are guilty of doing when we wake up in the morning, and the last thing before we go to bed. It’s something so unnatural that has yet become vital to our generation’s social ecosystem. It’s the use of social media.

I’ve always known that I used social media too much, with my daily screen time reaching anywhere from nine to 12 hours a day, but I only became acutely aware of this problem between myself and my peers when two of my professors this semester deemed our classes “technology free.”

Over the semester, I’ve seen students (candidly, including myself) who have been unable to put their phones and computers away for the entirety of the 50-minute block.

I’ve found that my excessive social media usage has shortened my attention span, making me itch for the dopamine rush that comes from using social media.

It’s no secret technology has effectively shaped the system of our education but when I look at the sea of laptop screens in any big lecture hall, I see anything from social media, to online shopping, to New York Times games.

The discussion of social media addiction was brought up during one of my ironically “technology-free” classes this semester called ethics, data and technology. One student said social media can be thought of as a slot machine where the money being played is equivalent to the amount of time spent online, and the money being won is equivalent to the dopamine rush we get when we receive social validation on social media. The ringing of that winning slot machine, or the hit of social dopamine, is what keeps us coming back for more.

This model can be attributed to the attention economy or the idea that social media companies are fighting for our attention in the digital world as a means of currency.

This is because the longer they can hold our attention, the more opportunities they have to monetize through advertising or other means.

Most of us are guilty of getting lost in our social media feeds because these platforms are designed to be addictive, using algorithmic systems to understand what gets our attention and continuing to feed us content that keeps us hooked based on our user history. Social media has progressed from an outlet to keep up with friends and family

to a never-ending echo chamber, personalized for you.

For how much time we spend absorbed in social media, our retention rate of what we actually consume is extremely low. Out of the hundreds of posts I scroll past a day, I can only actively recall maybe one.

I can’t help but wonder if the generation who grew up with unrestricted internet access is suffering from becoming social media sleepwalkers. If we all spent less time consumed by our screens, would the result yield more blossoming humanities? More real-life interaction? Higher attention spans? Better sense of self-esteem?

Sabrina Castro opinions@alligator.org

Sabrina Castro is a UF journalism junior.

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

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MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024 www.alligator.org/section/sports

GYMNASTICS

Off the gymnastics mat, Leanne Wong inspires gymnasts with ‘Bowtique’ business SHE STARTED HER ENTREPRENEURIAL CAREER AT 18 YEARS OLD

By Alyssa Britton-Harr Sports Writer

Heading to the U.S. Championships at 15 years old in 2018 to compete against some of the best gymnasts in the world, UF senior gymnast Leanne Wong discovered her newest fashion accessory: a bow.

When she began to match her bows with her competition leotards, the outcomes were similar to what she’s finding with UF gymnastics: success.

However, it wasn't until her fashion and interior design class that the accessory turned into a hobby. One of her projects required her to design her own outfit on paper and make one of the items. She chose a bow.

“I started wearing [the bow] every day with all the different outfits,” Wong said. “Then I realized, I [could] make a lot more colors.”

Despite her newfound interests, her passion for design came unexpectedly when she endured strict measures in high school, which forced her to find new outlets if she wanted to be successful in balancing both her academic and athletic careers.

Wong’s problem stemmed from struggling to earn enough credits in high school. She usually only attended half of the day due to gymnastics training, mostly taking online

classes. Wong took all of the online elective credits at her school, and it still wasn't enough to make up for her time missing physical education.

Since there were no eligible elective classes left in her district, she branched out to a neighboring district and found her fashion and interior design class.

As Wong competed in meets, she wore her bow tucked behind her bun. This not only extended her fruitful personality but also built her character as young girls admired her success.

“Seeing so many young girls wear my bows now, I realize how much of an inspiration I am to them as a role model, " Wong said. “It’s amazing to be in this position because I was once in their shoes looking up to other gymnasts.”

In 2021, Wong wanted to engage in an entrepreneurial career making bows.

She didn’t start selling her bows until winter break of her freshman year in December of 2021, she said, after she had won her first two world medals at the World Championships.

Wong spent the entire winter break getting her store set up and worked to launch her website from there, she said. This was the first time she sold any bows in person.

As a profound student athlete and the CEO of her business, Leanne Wong Bowtique, Wong has a huge load to balance. While she is the face of her company, her mom Bee Ding didn’t hesitate to help and provide

support. Her father and two younger brothers help to ensure everything operates smoothly while making the bows.

Wong’s driven work ethic shows to have been determined by her parents who were both scientists. Her father was also a medical doctor following his scientific aspirations.

“The amount of work we put in is a lot if you think about the whole process, " Ding said. “Somebody has to make the initial, which is individually hand-placed so the two brothers are behind those and my husband when [he] has time.”

Little girls and other gymnasts started asking about her bows and if she could make them. Wong is smart at marketing herself, and she started wearing them to elite meets where large crowds would see them, Ding said.

Reaching for the stars and working to compete at the next level all dwell down to trusting the process.

Wong co-wrote “My Journey: Trust the Process” with her mom that showcases her journey as a gymnast with the hopes of inspiring others.

“We talk about how I reached the highest level of the sport and some background on how I started gymnastics,” Wong said. “All the ups and downs I went through to reach the highest level, how I chose the University of Florida … how I started my business and the life lessons I learned from the time I started gymnastics to right before college.”

Wong’s journey at UF has led her

Courtesy of Gator Vision

Leanne Wong poses with fans holding her bow after the NCAA Gainesville Regional Championship on Sunday, April 7, 2024. to a tremendous career as a gymnast.

She’s earned a 10 in every apparatus through her three seasons as a Gator.

In the 2024 season, she earned a 10 during her floor performance against LSU Feb. 23. Her performance marked the final routine of the meet and clinched the victory over the Tigers.

“To see Leanne truly carve a new path for future gymnasts behind her is really inspiring,” said Florida head coach Jenny Rowland. “I am extremely in awe and truly have a lot of respect for what she does and how she does it.”

It’s not easy being a student-athlete at a No. 1 academic university at a top-tier athletic program, Rowland

said.

As the junior continues her success and paves a path for young girls who look up to her and future gymnasts, she remains on humble ground.

“I’m just super grateful for the coaches and my teammates who have been helpful in helping me balance both elite and college gymnastics and bouncing back and forth between the two,” Wong said.

Next, the Gators will head to Fort Worth, Texas, April 18-20 for the NCAA Championships. @abrittonharr abritton-harr@alligator.org

BASEBALL

Despite snapping six-game losing streak, Florida baseball’s season hanging by a thread The Gators defeated South Carolina April 14 for their first win since April 3

By Luke Adragna Sports Writer

As each word left the mouth of Florida Gators baseball head coach Kevin O’Sullivan April 13, his disappointment became ever more apparent.

Just after the Gators (18-17, 7-8 SEC) lost their sixth game in a row, O’Sullivan recounted the handful of mistakes his team made during its 9-8 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks April 13. His dismay grew as he listed them off.

Florida’s pitchers missed two pitches over the plate to Gamecocks right fielder Ethan Petry and catcher Cole Messina, leading to three runs. It walked in a run with the bases loaded. There were two separate times when UF surrendered two avoidable walks, once when a hitter was attempting to bunt and another after starting with an 0-2 count.

O’Sullivan said he didn’t want to get any further into detail but wanted to make one thing clear.

“When you start adding all this stuff up, it’s the difference between winning and losing one-run games,” he said. “This thing, it did not sneak up on us overnight.”

These issues have been a problem for the Gators for more than a month. O’Sullivan revealed there was a team meeting to go over the mistakes March 6. Since then, nothing has changed.

“The very things that I talked about on March 6 are the very things that are still going on now,” he said. “Everything from the hitting, down to the pitching, down to everything.”

O’Sullivan even mentioned there was an instance his pitchers were “messing around” in the bullpen when the Gators trailed by four runs to Florida State.

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“We’re trying everything to motivate them and get them going,” the 17-year head coach said. “But we haven’t found that thing yet.”

All of Florida’s issues culminated during its last week of play, resulting in a six-game losing streak, which was snapped when it defeated the Gamecocks (25-11, 8-7 SEC) 11-9 April 14 at Condron Family Ballpark.

The skid began when the Gators were swept by the Missouri Tigers April 5-7 who were 1-8 in the SEC when the series began.

It continued with a midweek, 19-4 loss to the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles and finally came to an end when Florida defeated the Gamecocks in the third game of its series.

However, South Carolina had already won the series by that point.

There was a sigh of relief when the Gators broke their longest losing streak since 2013.

But, there were still plenty of imperfections

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in their performance.

For starters, Florida’s bullpen surrendered six runs across four innings. It increased their staggering 6.49 ERA, which ranked worst in the SEC as of April 14.

Gators sophomore reliever Cade Fisher came in and couldn’t record an out before allowing all three batters he faced to get on base. Two eventually scored.

“Obviously, we still have work to do,” said Gators senior right fielder Ty Evans. “I felt like today was just a team-win for sure, and it was just something that all the players and the coaches just needed.”

Evans has been one of the lone positives in Florida’s struggling offense, which ranks nearly last in almost every hitting category in its conference.

The senior hit leadoff in the final two games of the weekend and finished the series 6-for-12 with two home runs and five RBI. “I felt more like myself,” Evans said. “We

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SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 12

OF

12 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2024

FOOTBALL

Lagway, Mertz and Tre Wilson III highlight Florida football’s 2024 Orange and Blue Game JUNIOR KICKER TREY SMACK MADE ALL FOUR OF HIS FIELD GOALS FOR THE BLUE TEAM, INCLUDING A GAME-WINNING ATTEMPT AS TIME EXPIRED

By Max Tucker Sports Writer

With two seconds remaining on the clock, junior kicker Trey Smack took the field in a similar position as last year’s Orange and Blue Game with an opportunity to deliver a gamewinning field goal as time expired.

Redshirt senior quarterback Graham Mertz mustered a drive with under one minute left in the matchup to keep his team’s head above water. Smack then showed tremendous poise as he struck a kick from 37 yards out as the clock hit triple-zeros, allowing the Blue Team to secure the victory.

The Blue Team defeated the Orange Team 19-17 in a tightly contested Spring Game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium April 13.

“We're deeper,” said Florida head coach Billy Napier.

“We've got more height and length. We've got more veteran players, and I think the

young talent, the freshmen and the portal players, are going to help us. That to go along with the changes that we made after evaluating the season, I feel good about where we're at.”

Florida will have to wait until Aug. 31 to play a meaningful game on their schedule. However, the Gators had their first opportunity in 2024 to put their talents on display in front of over 48,000 fans at the Orange and Blue Game.

For the first time in his collegiate career, the 2023 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year took the field in front of the home crowd in Gainesville.

However, it wasn’t the start that Florida fans were expecting from freshman quarterback DJ Lagway.

On the opening drive of the game, the former five-star recruit threw two incompletions on deep routes and was sacked once as the Orange Team’s offense went three-and-out. After perhaps showing some jitters in his first start in The Swamp, Lagway settled into a groove.

Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/sports. @Max_Tuckr1 mtucker@alligator.org

Gators take finale BASEBALL, from pg. 11

had a rough go for a few weeks offensively… I feel like everyone was just trying to do so much in one swing, just trying to make stuff happen every single pitch instead of just battling and having good atbats.”

There was a sense Florida connected all the pieces on offense in its final game of the weekend. It was a drastic change from the mistakes O’Sullivan said did not sneak up on his team.

“At some point we were going to snap the losing streak, and today was obviously the day we did it,” he said. “We had some really good approaches at the plate... Things are starting to piece together for us.”

The sense of urgency in the locker room is at its highest now that the Gators are in the middle of the season, according to O’Sullivan.

Florida is about to enter its toughest stretch in its schedule.

The Gators head to Nashville to play the No. 6 Vanderbilt Commodores April 18-20. Then, Florida will continue its road schedule with a weekend series against No. 1 Arkansas April 26-28.

“We knew that the tough times won’t last,” UF two-way player Jac Caglianone said. “I'm just glad that our offense stayed the course and trusted what we've been working on to get the results we wanted today. And hopefully, we'll take that

into this week and head to Nashville.”

Before then, the Gators will face the Jacksonville Dolphins at 6:30 p.m. April 16 at Condron Family Ballpark. The two teams competed against one another March 19, and

Jacksonville won 7-6.

“We lost, but at the same time, we know we’re 10 times better than them,” Caglianone said. “So that’s just how we’re going to go about it.”

The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Matthew Lewis // Alligator Staff

Florida baseball head coach Kevin O'Sullivan talks to his team during a mound visit in the Gators' loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday, April 12, 2024

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