Tuesday, July 5, 2022

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VOLUME 116 ISSUE 39

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022

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Marston Library begins renovations

Florida judge blocks 15-week abortion ban

Top 2 floors will sport student study spots

State remains haven, Gainesville could see out-of-state patients

By Anushka Dakshit Alligator Staff Writer

Marston Science Library’s fourth and fifth floors are trading out furniture from the library’s 1987 opening to adapt to students’ ever-evolving needs.

Marston closed its two top floors and began renovations Wednesday.

Librarians and faculty from the Department of Interior Design did a formal study for the Association for Research Libraries from 2020 to May 2022 to plan out what resources students wanted on the highest floors.

The data collection included three phases: an online survey of UF students, a spatial analysis of all five floors and three focus groups of undergraduates, graduate students and library employees. The spatial analysis provided documentation of the way students used the library space before the renovation and prior to COVID-19.

More than 90% percent of the project consists of adding furniture to repurpose the spaces for current students, Smathers Libraries Senior Associate Dean Patrick Reakes said.

“The [furniture] was old and raggedy.

People want to sit at a table and plug in two or three devices — until we upgrade, we don't have that.”

- Dean Patrick Reakes, Libraries Senior Associate

Faculty thought the Summer semester, with fewer students roaming the library, was the ideal time to renovate.

Shehzad Shah, a 19-year-old UF computer science junior, went to Marston’s highest floors three times a week during the Fall and Spring semesters to work on assignments and internship applications.

Shah said every other seat was taken during finals week in Spring semester and slanted desks made it difficult for him to put his laptop down.

“The desks are kind of wonky,” he said.

“And it was kind of hard to reach an outlet a lot of the time.”

Valrie Minson, Marston’s 47-year-old assistant dean of assessment and student engagement and chairperson, said the renovation will add a variety of furniture and outlets to the spaces.

SEE MARSTON, PAGE 3

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT Trinity Thomas to return

Story description finish with comma, pg# The star Florida gymnast, after an individual all-around title, announced she would spend one final season in Gainesville, pg. 11

By Carissa Allen Alligator Staff Writer

Head coach Samantha Bohon spoke at her introductory press conference Monday, May 16, 2022. She took over the soccer program after former Gators manager Tony Amato parted ways with UF April 27. Current and former players said Amato made comments about their bodies and eating habits during his tenure. Bohon aims to restore the program. Find this story on pg. 11.

Chloe Hyde // University Athletic Association

Gainesville police arrests alleged serial indecent exposure suspect John Mosley pleaded no contest to a 2017 indecent exposure charge

By Omar Ateyah Alligator Staff Writer

Gainesville police arrested a man last week they said was involved in 15 cases of indecent exposure this year.

The arrest came after plain-clothed Gainesville Police Department detectives followed John Mosley, a 28-year-old Gainesville resident, around southwest Gainesville apartment complexes last Tuesday evening, according to a GPD press release.

The pursuit led detectives to Lexington Crossing, located about three miles southwest of campus at 3700 SW 27th St,

where detectives approached Mosley and pretended to be students. While he did not expose himself to the detectives, he fled the scene after he exposed himself to two people entering an apartment. Patrol was then called in to pursue him.

Mosley faces two felony charges.

He has a 2017 misdemeanor conviction for indecent exposure, when he was sentenced to 12 months of probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and undergo a psychosexual evaluation and treatment.

A Florida judge announced plans to block a GOP-backed 15-week statewide abortion ban one day before it and other controversial conservative laws, like the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” and “Stop WOKE Act,” went into effect Friday.

Florida Judicial Circuit Court Judge John Cooper will sign a temporary statewide injunction blocking the new state law and maintaining Florida’s status as a haven for women in the Southeast seeking abortions.

Less than a week after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Cooper ruled the ban — which still granted exceptions for pregnancies threatening the mother’s or fetus’ life, but did not grant exceptions for rape or incest — violated state privacy protections. Florida’s constitution declares “every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life.”

The earliest Cooper could sign the injunction is Tuesday, communications and marketing director of Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida Christina Noce said. This would reinstate the existing 24-week ban, which would still be more gracious than Texas and Mississippi’s trigger laws.

The state legislature will challenge Cooper’s decision in the District Court of Appeals and try slowly eliminating the right to an abortion through provisions like a 14-week abortion ban or a fetal ultrasound mandate, UF Levin College of Law professor Danaya Wright said.

“They chip the right away to the point where it's really not meaningful for a lot of people. No matter how much the Supreme Court of Florida whittles away at the doctrine, I don't think they can legitimately say abortion is not included as a matter of privacy.”

- Danaya Wright, UF Levin College of Law

With much of the South settling into @OAteyah oateyah@alligator.org

We’ve been here before

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last week, The Alligator reflects on independence… and how we secured ours, pg. 4

SEE ABORTION, PAGE 5

FOLLOW US ONLINE FOR UPDATES

Animal shelter director steps down

After he testified in favor of an Alachua County resident on trial for animal abuse, Ed Williams resigned as shelter director, pg. 6

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2 ALLIGATOR TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022

Today’s Weather Abortion ban halts, other state education, school safety, car music laws take effect NEARLY 150 FLORIDA LAWS TOOK EFFECT FRIDAY

By Mickenzie Hannon Alligator Staff Writer

Alachua County residents saw nearly 150 state laws take effect Friday with changes to education, school safety and music.

Abortion ban

Florida Circuit Judge John Cooper stated Thursday he will halt the 15-week abortion ban Gov. Ron DeSantis approved April 14, after ruling it an unconstitutional violation of privacy. Cooper’s ruling comes a week after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that established abortion rights.

The state law, which went into effect Friday, will remain in effect until Cooper signs the written order officiating the temporary halt, an action expected to follow the Independence Day holiday.

The law restricts physicians from offering abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions made for fatal fetus abnormalities and mothers who would face serious injury or death if carried to term. It made no exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

While Cooper’s blockage would only be temporary, Rachel Wolfrey, the president of Planned Parenthood Generation Action and a director at UF College Democrats and Florida Forward, hopes it serves as one step closer to ending the bill entirely.

The 21-year-old UF political science senior anticipates Republicans, including DeSantis, will combat the decision as quickly as possible.

Loud Music in Vehicles

Police officers are now permitted ticket drivers who play music audible from a distance of 25 feet or more from the vehicle and in areas near churches, schools or hospitals.

Deborah Rodriguez, a 20-year-old UF biochemistry junior, said the new law ensures safety; drivers blasting music disturbs other drivers’ ability to hear emergency vehicles.

“It's not that you can't listen to music,” she said. “It's to not listen to music at a volume that will impair

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your driving.”

Being in a college town, Rodriguez said it is common to hear loud music at 3 a.m., and she thinks this bill will make people think twice before blasting music.

“Stop WOKE Act”

Desantis’ “Stop WOKE Act” prevents critical race theory — a framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is a culturally invented phenomenon used to oppress people of color — from existing within school curriculum and workplace training.

Steven Noll, an instructional professor in UF’s history department, said he refuses to change the books he uses to teach or the way he teaches regardless of the bill.

Alachua County school board members unanimously approved four of the 11 textbook submissions for the upcoming school year April 19.

“Don’t Say Gay Bill”

The “Don’t Say Gay Bill,” or the Parental Rights in Education law, restricts teachers from discussing gender identity and sexuality with students in kindergarten through third grade or “when not ageappropriate.”

The bill sparked protests nationwide, including high school walk-outs across Gainesville.

School safety

The state Board of Education implemented post-evacuation emergency drills and family reunification plans after a school evacuation, extending school safety policies influenced by the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.

The bill would increase safety measures in Alachua County schools after a Fort Clarke middle school student brought a loaded gun to campus in May and more than 18 bomb threats targeted Alachua County Public Schools last fall.

It also authorizes school safety officers to make arrests on charter school property.

School safety officers must complete crisis intervention and training, police officers must be present and involved during relevant

CORRECTION: IN “VOTING FOR DUMMIES, EXCEPT YOU’RE A TOP FIVE STUDENT,” AN ARTICLE IN LAST WEEK’S EDITION, TERESA CORNACCHIONE, THE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR FOR THE BOB GRAHAM CENTER FOR PUBLIC SERVICE, SPOKE WITH THE ALLIGATOR, NOT DOROTHY ZIMMERMAN. THE ALLIGATOR PREVIOUSLY REPORTED OTHERWISE.

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drills and school districts must certify at least 80% of school personnel received youth mental health awareness training annually.

FSA testing

Florida Standards Assessments, FSA testing, will be replaced with progress monitoring. Instead of one test at the end of the year, students will test three times throughout the year under the new program.

Even though the new testing system technically took effect Friday, school districts will implement it during the upcoming 2022-23 school year.

DeSantis also approved amendments to the Bright Futures Scholarship nearly one week ago, authorizing students to satisfy service requirements through paid work rather than volunteer service. @MickenzieHannon mhannon@alligator.org

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TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022 ALLIGATOR 3

UF presidential search navigates changing climate since other state schools’ searches

FSU faced similar problems with confidentiality and political interference under more relaxed public record laws

By Anushka Dakshit Alligator Staff Writer

UF’s presidential search follows last year’s search at Florida State University.

UF’s Board of Trustees chose SP&A Executive Search, a search firm specializing in serving higher education sectors, because of its experience conducting FSU’s and the University of South Florida’s presidential searches, UF Board of Trustees member Tom Kuntz said. It also brought the University of Central Florida its president, Alexander Cartwright, from the University of Missouri in 2020, UF faculty senate chair Amanda Phalin said in a video June 1.

But the UF search remains a secret as it enters its fourth month.

Public record bills passed in March permit the names of Florida schools’ presidential candidates to remain private.

“I know we’re all anxious as this process moves forward, and I know that after the last two-anda-half years and everything we’ve endured, it can be difficult to feel like we can make a difference in the hiring of our next president,”

Phalin said. “I'm here to tell you that we can."

Phalin said UF presidential suggestions and nominations can be submitted directly to the firm through its official email.

The FSU presidential search followed the Sunshine Law, which gives people the right to access governmental proceedings at state and local levels; candidates’ names became public record after they applied for the position.

Keeping candidates’ identities concealed is in the best interest for them and universities, said Giovanni Piedimonte, one of FSU’s three presidential search finalists and the vice president for research at Tulane University.

“Typically, if you’re a candidate in a presidential search, you have a very important position somewhere else and [being named] can damage it,” Piedimonte said.

Many candidates during FSU’s presidential search were afraid to declare their candidacy because of the Sunshine Law, according to Alberto Pimentel, a SP&A Executive Search managing partner.

UF may be able to expect a

timeline similar to its rival schools.

FSU released a list of 22 applicants May 10, 2021. Five days later, the school narrowed its search to three finalists: Piedimonte, Robert Blouin, the executive vicechancellor of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and Richard McCullough, the vice provost of research at Harvard University.

McCullough was named FSU’s president May 24.

A member of the Florida Board of Governors also entered his name in the Florida State race, which raised political interference concerns.

Candidate Richard Corcoran, who serves on the Florida Board of Governors as state education commissioner, concerned FSU faculty with his lack of academic experience.

His candidacy threatened FSU’s accreditation ranking and raised questions about conflicts of interest; the board, which manages Florida’s university system, holds the final vote in the appointment of university presidents. He was out of the race by May 15.

There was no political

interference in FSU’s presidential search, Piedimonte said.

“If they were interested in political influences, those three would not have been the finalists. We were three top academicians again with cover letters that were speaking for themselves.

When you have a politically driven search, you don’t pick the people like that.”

- Giovanni Piedimonte, Tulane University

Members of a governing board appointed by a legislative body must remain independent from other institutions in their work, and not doing so risks the accreditation of the institution they govern, wrote Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Similar questions may follow Gainesville’s search.

An accreditation committee recently cleared UF’s name after a monthslong investigation following academic freedom scandals; the university barred

UF Health receives state support, national recognition UF Health received funding and high rankings

By Kyle Bumpers Alligator Staff Writer

Reghan Dukes, an 18-year-old incoming Florida Gateway College student, was diagnosed with Turner Syndrome in 2020. She received treatment at the UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital for the disorder, which results from a female being born with only one X chromosome.

She quickly bonded with Dr. Laura Jacobsen, her first specialized doctor.

After two years of treatment, she now calls Jacobsen ‘bestie’ in conversation.

Dukes visits the hospital about 30 times a year for complications with her ears, eyes, gastrointestinal tract, heart, hormones, kidneys and stomach.

“They’re always so helpful and always so sweet. I’ve really never had a bad interaction with any of them.”

- Reghan Dukes, UF student

Dukes is happy she met Jacobsen and the rest of the staff at UF Health, and she tries to show her support for the hospital by telling others about the care she received.

UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital received a $30 million grant from the state in May and was named the No. 1 children’s hospital in Florida June 14. UF’s College of Pharmacy’s research funding also earned its spot as the No. 3 program in the nation June 23.

“This kind of money from the state puts us in the range to compete with the Ivy Leagues and the other big universities,” said UF Health Cancer Center director

Jonathan Licht.

The grant, which was a portion of the state’s combined $100 million grant for cancer research and care, will make up about 60% of the cancer hospital’s 20222023 budget, Licht said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis distributed the remaining $70 million between the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A portion of the grant will be used to find clinical investigators and physicians from around the country, Licht said.

“We don't go around taking people from our friends at Moffitt or Miami,” he said. “We're bringing new blood into the state.”

The money will also bolster the hospital’s clinical research office. The center wants to expand in several areas, Licht said, including data and artificial intelligence fields.

The hospital, which UF Health Shands CEO Ed Jimenez described as a magnet for patients all around the state, doesn’t want to become stagnant. The children’s hospital’s No. 1 state ranking was possible because of the staff, who will continue to find ways to improve, he said.

“If it weren’t for all these thousands of people, we would not get the accolades.”

Jimenez said.

UF’s College of Pharmacy also hopes to expand its research opportunities and grow its team of students, faculty and researchers as a result of its new ranking.

Julie Johnson, the dean of the College of Pharmacy, said the college discovers new drugs and studies how select drugs function in the human body. The research

attests for the increase in funding, she said.

“The successes really helped facilitate more successes,” she said.

The college received $32.3 million in research grants — not including donor funding — for the 2021 fiscal year, the college’s highest annual total, according to a report by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Johnson said the funding supports projects unique to each PhD student as they progress in the program, which grew from around 80 students to 130 over the past two years. They use their projects to strengthen resumes and compete in the job market.

“It's really a relatively small percent of colleges that can offer those kinds of opportunities."

- Julie Johnson, Dean of College of Pharmacy

professors from testifying against the state.

The Gainesville community expressed concerns about political interference during the UF’s May listening sessions.

The closed nature of university presidential searches inherently raises eyebrows due to the lack of faculty and other constituent input, Jack Stripling, senior writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education, said, but nothing has suggested political interference in UF’s search so far.

Some people think having politically connected officials in a public university will help the institution, Stripling said, while others feel it’ll lead to bad outcomes.

“It would be silly to say that there's not politics involved in higher education,” Stripling said.

“There are inherent political elements to this, and these are public institutions and some level of political opinion about what a university ought to do should be expected.” @Anushkadak adakshit@alligator.org

Marston makeover MARSTON, from pg. 1 The Construction Project Planning and Approval Executive Committee approved the renovation in April, but Marston faculty began the plans for the fourth floor at the end of 2019 and fifth floor in January 2022, Reakes said. The first floor was renovated in 2014; the second and third saw upgrades the following four years.

Marston faculty hope to have the renovations completed prior to Fall semester, but supply issues may set back the project — furniture could arrive as late as November.

For now, a large whiteboard with a simple message now greets students as they enter.

Marston is getting an upgrade! @Anushkadak adakshit@alligator.org

PharmD students, who are pursuing a doctorate in pharmacy, can voluntarily pick up projects to work with experienced pharmaceutical leaders.

Daniela Luzardo, a third-year UF PharmD graduate student working alongside infectious diseases professor Anthony Casapao to research human and pet antibiotics, said students have bountiful opportunities to get involved in the pharmaceutical program. She thinks the college’s efforts to increase funding along with its No. 3 national ranking could pull in prospective graduate students.

“People are attracted to numbers,” she said. @BumpersKyle kbumpers@alligator.org

Alligator file photo

The ground floor of Marston Science Library Monday, June 28, 2021.

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022 www.alligator.org/section/opinions

Editorial

We’ve been here before: Newsroom reflects on independence

W

e’ve been thinking a lot about independence lately. The Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade came one week before the Fourth of July, but the choice also came more than 50 years after The Florida Alligator became The Independent Florida Alligator.

Amid the protests leading up to the high court’s landmark 1973 decision ruling the right to abortion is protected under the constitution, our 1971 editorin-chief, Ron Sachs, published headlines eerily similar to today’s.

“Archaic abortion law gets another test.” “Shevin seeks abortion law repeal.” “Sachs to challenge two laws about abortions next month.”

Sachs planned to publish a list of abortion clinics and counseling services in October

1971, violating a statute that not only banned the procedure but also made it illegal to “hint, print or advertise” where people could get abortions. That law, Sachs and staffers knew, violated the First Amendment.

He ran the list — along with a story about women who had legal and illegal abortions — in opposition to both the centuryold state law and Stephen C. O’Connell, the university’s thenpresident and a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

The Board of Student Publications, who selected Sachs as editor-in-chief, supported publishing the list, but O’Connell still had control — at least over our funding and our housing in the student union.

Even the publisher refused to print the column as a true part of

the paper. So The Alligator sent out the list via hand-inserted fliers.

Sachs turned himself in to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office the next day. A judge charged him with violating the law, and the trial — which would end in the separation of university and paper — was set for November.

Sachs and The Alligator staff knew what was right. We still do.

We know last week’s overturn of Roe v. Wade will be tumultuous for everyone with a uterus. We know reporting on abortion policies — even with Florida’s 15-week abortion ban tentatively ruled unconsitutional — will be intermittent for the forseeable futute.

We know the decisions lawmakers make will affect more than half the campus population, along with a majority of our own

newsroom and our readership: the students who hail from different states, the people of color who have disproportionately higher maternal mortality rates, trans people who don’t have access to the care they need, the uninsured, the alone.

We know our legacy, and we know the responsibility we have as the largest independent platform on campus.

The Alligator remains everdedicated to our readers — students, faculty and residents — even as attacks on the First Amendment are incessant. As the search for UF’s next president continues, proposed rules could further dwindle our ability to Julia Coin EDITOR-INCHIEF

Ryan Haley ENGAGEMENT MANAGING EDITOR

report information on the already private presidential search.

The Alligator cannot be shackled. It couldn’t under Sachs’ tenure, and it won’t under ours.

The pocketa-pocketa-pocketa sound of the mimeograph machines Sachs used to insert the lists of abortion services has long morphed into the clicks of our keyboards, but our commitment to independent journalism remains as strong as it did in 1972.

The sounds of the presses persist. It’s the sound our journalistic ancestors knew, and it’s the sound we hear every Sunday night. It’s the sound of independence.

Heather Bushman DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR

Namari Lock OPINIONS EDITOR

Joseph Henry // Alligator Staff

Joseph Henry // Alligator Staff

A photo of Ron Sachs hangs in The Independent Florida Alligator’s office.

It depicts the trial that led to the paper’s independence.

A photo of protests leading up to the Supreme Court’s original ruling on Roe v. Wade hangs in The Independent Florida Alligator’s office.

The Alligator encourages comments from readers. Letters to the editor should not exceed 600 words (about one letter-sized page). They must be typed, double-spaced and must include the author’s name, classification and phone number. Names will be withheld if the writer shows just cause. We reserve the right to edit for length, grammar, style and libel. Send letters to opinions@alligator.org, bring them to 2700 SW 13th St., or send them to P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32604-2257.

Columns of about 450 words about original topics and editorial cartoons are also welcome. Questions? Call 352-376-4458.

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022 ALLIGATOR 5

UF administration stagnant, SG blocks contraceptive legislation after Roe v. Wade overturn UF health official said the university is not responsible for student health decisions

By Lindsay Schindler & Sandra McDonald Alligator Staff Writers

In the weeks following The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade June 24, UF remains silent as campus leaders remain stagnant in policy change.

UF has not issued a statement addressing the Supreme Court’s decision as of July 4 and has

no intention of doing so, UF interim director of strategic communications Cynthia Roldan wrote in an email to The Alligator.

Other universities, like the University of Michigan and the University of California, officially commented on the ruling following the decision.

UF Student Government Senate Judiciary Committee also blocked a potential SG Senate bill that

proposed reimbursing students for contraceptive costs and other forms of reproductive healthcare.

Students should do their own research to see what form of contraception is best for them, Dr. John Smulian, UF college of medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynecology chair, said, and it’s not UF’s role to encroach on students’ health care decisions.

GatorWell, a UF service available to all students, provides condoms, lubricants, dental dams and counselors who can speak about sexual health.

UF should make its contraceptive resources more well-known, Emma Lotze, an 18-year-old UF biology and applied physiology and kinesiology sophomore, said.

“The U.S. sex education system is terrible. It’s interesting that the hospital [UF Health] hasn’t said anything because I feel like that would be something that’d be more likely.”

- Emma Lotze, UF student

Courtesy to The Alligator

About 1,000 protestors marched through Gainesville Saturday, June 25, 2022 after the official announcement of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

UF Health receives research funding from Governor DeSantis, who has backed anti-abortion legislature.

Some students believe UF administration will not speak on the overturn to avoid clear political affiliation.

The university may fear the loss of prospective students and applicants, Grayson Sweeney, an 18-year-old UF biology freshman, said.

“That [statement] can cause a lot of controversy for themselves,” she said. “They can lose students, especially if they go to one side.”

If UF were a private university, she said, it could afford to affiliate one way or the other, but it wouldn’t be in its best interest to speak out with its dependence on government funding.

A proposed UF SG Senate bill, postponed indefinitely by the Judiciary Committee Sunday, would have reimbursed students for 50% of contraceptives costs, emergency contraceptives,

Florida remains Southern safe haven ABORTION, from pg. 1 an abortion desert, Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union are prepared to contest the 15-week ban up to the Florida Supreme Court to preserve women’s right to an abortion.

“This is far from over,” Noce said.

“We’re just going to fight like hell in the state to do everything we can to ensure that we have access to abortion in Florida.”

Florida has already seen an increase in patients from Alabama, Louisiana and especially Texas, and Noce expects the number to continue to surge throughout the summer. The Center for Reproductive Rights created a map predicting Florida will be the only East Coast state south of Virginia where abortions will still be protected. It categorizes Georgia and the Carolinas as states “hostile” toward abortions, while Alabama has banned the procedure except in cases of life

endangerment.

Even if a woman has the resources to trek out of state for the procedure, it is difficult to find an appointment in the South and most clinics still offering care are very overrun, Noce said. Planned Parenthood hired additional physicians, she said, even flying out-of-state providers to Florida to accommodate patients seeking an abortion before the ban was enacted. Clinics also extended hours, added appointments and prioritized patients near or beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy, Noce said.

It is unclear how the influx of patients have affected Gainesville abortion clinics, though. After multiple phone calls, emails and a visit to Bread and Roses Women’s Health Center in Gainesville, the clinic declined to respond to The Alligator’s request for comment.

In 2021, 831 procedures were performed in Alachua County, and Florida’s 55 clinics provided more than 79,000 women abortions, according to a Florida Agency

for Health Care Administration report.

About 4,800 of those women resided outside Florida. Cooper’s ruling may attract even more out-of-state women seeking abortions this year.

“This is a win for privacy, this is a win for women and this is a win for bodily autonomy,” Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville, said in a press release, speaking for not only her constituents but all women in the South.

Republicans will continue to fight for anti-abortion legislation, she said.

The state anticipated Cooper’s ruling and will ask the Florida Supreme Court to reverse the 1989 Florida Supreme Court case, the governor’s deputy press secretary, Bryan Griffin, wrote in an email. DeSantis’ office rejected the court’s interpretation of Florida’s right to privacy in the precedent.

The ruling states unequivocally that abortion is protected under the privacy prong of the Florida Constitution, even “if

abortions, travel costs for abortion care in- and out-of-state and postabortion counseling.

The committee voted unanimously to block the bill from reaching the Senate floor. Judiciary Chairman John Brinkman (GatorCLAS) said the proposed bill was unconstitutional and illegal, and it violated the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.

It will fail at the next Judiciary meeting if it is not brought back into consideration. If a bill fails, it cannot be resubmitted for consideration until the first day of the Fall semester.

Brinkman brought up concerns about the documentation of sensitive personal and medical information; all information submitted by potentially reimbursed students could be subject to public records requests.

Students would have to choose between funding or privacy, Brinkman said.

Senator Oscar Santiago Perez (Change-District D) authored the bill in response to the Roe v. Wade overturn.

“This is the way I wanted to essentially show that the Student Senate can and should do something about this issue,” Santiago said.

The fund’s focus on methods of birth control and prevention were important, Leila Kline, an 18-yearold UF business sophomore, said.

“If you provide the necessary contraception to women,” she said, “we can decrease the chances for them to get pregnant.” @lindsschinlder lschindler@alligator.org @sn_mcdonald smcdonald@alligator.org

the United States Supreme Court were to subsequently recede from Roe v. Wade.”

Wright said she would be surprised if the appeals court removes Cooper’s injunction upon the state’s request, but once it reaches the Florida Supreme Court — which would likely take well over a year — the 15-week ban would be upheld, she predicted; it may be an infringement of privacy, she said, but it is not an outright denial.

If the state legislature continues to erode abortion protections, Noce said the most vulnerable women will continue to be disproportionately affected: survivors of rape or incest, people of color, lowincome women and youths who must stand before a judge for permission to access abortion care.

“The last thing they're thinking about is becoming pregnant or going to a doctor's office,” Noce said. “Those are the people that typically seek abortion after 15 weeks.” @carissaallenn callen@alligator.org

6 ALLIGATOR TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022

Stolen car accident Alachua County Commission introduces leads to driver’s death new District 1 commissioner The car’s passenger, a minor, was left in critical condition

By Omar Ateyah Alligator Staff Writer

One person was killed and a minor was in critical condition after a car accident last Tuesday morning.

First responders found a stolen 2015 Chrysler 200 flipped sideways along with two stolen firearms on 1400 NW 23rd Ave., near the Wawa on the corner of Northwest 13th Street and Northwest 23rd Avenue, according to a Gainesville Police Department press release.

Gainesville Fire Rescue removed two people from the car, and both were taken to UF Health Shands Hospital. Hospital staff announced the driver died and the passenger was left in critical condition. He is no longer in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon.

The car was reported stolen last Monday. GPD last saw the car heading westbound on Northeast 23rd Avenue before the accident, according to the statement, but an officer spotted the car at the Sweetwater Square apartment complex prior to the accident at

about 12:30 a.m. The car sped away from the complex as the officer tried to begin a traffic stop.

There have been about 50 more car accidents so far this year than were in the same time span last year, according to Gainesville Police Department data.

There were more than 2,000 accidents in Gainesville through June 9 of this year, a notable increase from the 2020 figure of less than 1,700 accidents, which was likely affected by less traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s accidents rank about 25% fewer than 2019’s pre-pandemic figure of more than 2,700 accidents during the first five months of the year.

Those with knowledge about the situation and other accidents should reach out to the GPD’s Traffic Safety Team at 352-393-7744.

This is a developing story.

Check back for updates. @OAteyah oateyah@alligator.org

Raemi Eagle-Glenn was sworn-in to fill Mary Alford’s county seat until the next election

By Mickenzie Hannon Alligator Staff Writer

District 1 County Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn discussed overcrowding at the county animal shelter in her first community meeting seven hours after she took the oath of office last Tuesday.

She asked if high school volunteers and a food bank might mitigate staffing and overcrowding issues at the shelter, which implemented a temporary closure Wednesday. The first conservative county commissioner to serve since 2014, she sat alongside the four other commissioners in the Jack Durrance Auditorium June 28.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed EagleGlenn to fill the vacated District 1 seat June 9.

“I am here with joy and love in my heart for this community,” she said. “But it also has been the fight that has gotten me here.”

The last time Eagle-Glenn was in the chamber, she said, she was asked to leave because she was not wearing a mask. She filed a civil rights complaint toward the Alachua County Commission for its face mask order in May 2020.

Honorary Judge Craig DeThomasis performed Tuesday’s swearing in ceremony.

“Even if there are some people here who don’t agree with me, I welcome you,” Eagle-Glenn said.

“Hopefully, you will find this commission actually does share some of the things that are important to you,” District 4 Commissioner Ken Cornell said.

Commissioners probably have a lot more they can agree on than disagree on, District 3 Commissioner Anna Prizzia said.

“I hope we can find those areas of common ground rather than areas of spite.”

- Anna Prizzia, District 3 Commissioner

Eagle-Glenn will occupy the seat until Nov. 15 — seven days after the next general election.

She has also filed to run for the seat against former commissioner Mary Alford, who resigned due to a residency violation May 16. @MickenzieHannon mhannon@alligator.org

Mickenzie Hannon // Alligator Staff

Raemi Eagle-Glenn, the newly appointed District 1 county commissioner, sits in special meeting to discuss overcrowding within the Alachua County Animal Resources and Care at the Jack Durrance Auditorium Tuesday, June 28, 2022.

Animal shelter temporarily shuts down after director’s resignation, investigation into pet owner’s abuse continues Community questions Animal Resources and Care’s future after Ed Williams steps down

By Namari Lock Alligator Staff Writer

The county-controlled animal shelter implemented a temporary closure Wednesday, 10 days after its director stepped down following his testimony in court as a witness for a Gainesville resident’s alleged animal abuse.

Ed Williams spent five years as Alachua County Animal Resources and Care director, and volunteers spoke out about the toxic environment he created for both animals and people. He turned in his letter of resignation May 13 — a day after he testified in defense of Loren Cava, a pet owner who received complaints about the treatment of her dogs for over a decade — and said he would have no problem placing her dogs. About a month later, the shelter temporarily closed due to overcrowding.

Overcrowding is mainly due to the outdated shelter, County Manager Michele Lieberman said. Built in the 1980s, the shelter was not designed to hold the 110 dogs and 17 cats it currently holds or is in the process of taking in.

The county budgeted for a new facility earlier this year.

“It was built at a time when the policy was euthanasia. It was never built to house an animal more than a week,” Lieberman said. “It is not built to contain disease. That’s the sad reality.”

The shelter will remain closed until the pet population aligns with the facility’s appropriate capacity, according to a county press release — though it will be open for adoptions and reclaims, and animal control officers will continue to respond to calls from the community concerning public safety. Otherwise, only injured or ill animals will see shelter.

There are 56 dogs currently at the shelter that need to be adopted, transferred, euthanized or other outcomes before the population can be

considered maintained, Dr. Cynda Crawford of UF’s Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program said.

Unlike private shelters like the Humane Society, county shelters are obligated to take in all surrendered pets. This has led to overpopulation problems across shelters nationwide.

Animal control officers were sent to Cava’s home numerous times and reported she was unwilling to take their advice in regards to the treatment of her animals. Though Williams claims she has been compliant with the warnings provided by the shelter, complaints continued to roll in, according to the activity cards generated when citizens call in with a complaint to animal services.

Neighbors claimed the 66-year-old Gainesville resident dragged her emaciated and malnourished dogs by their leashes while others heard cries from inside the home, according to 2021 affidavits.

Williams testified Cava was a fit pet owner, and the current case against her is the only thing stopping her from adopting.

“We didn’t feel like the evidence that we had, the things that we could prove would be sufficient to gain a petition for custody for her dogs much less ban her from any future ownership,” Williams said in his deposition.

“That’s a pretty high bar.”

Court records claim Cava has brain damage and might not understand the severity of the situation.

Williams damaged the case when he resigned one day after claiming he would have no problem placing Cava’s dogs, Cava’s neighbor and Alachua County Humane Society’s former executive director Becky Goodman said. But the blame for continuous mistreatment of these animals should not land on Cava or Williams, she said, but rather the policies put in place by the county.

“The rules that have been put in place are not there for the benefit of animals,” Goodman said.

“The county has stripped the professionals from being able to execute their job duties.”

Margot DeConna, the director of advancement for the Humane Society, spoke about the possibility to mend its relationship with the shelter and give the shelter another place to transfer animals when they are over capacity.

The Humane Society cut ties with Animal Resources and Care in 2019 in an effort to protect their own pet population after continuous distemper and other disease outbreaks at the county shelter.

Volunteers’ concerns went beyond the facility’s state. They began when Williams first allowed the shelter to become overcrowded and blocked communication with the public and among the staff, former volunteer Loly Bouchard said. Staff members and kennel technicians quit, and volunteers resigned.

“I still maintain that he is the worst director that Animal Services had.”

- Loly Bouchard, Gainesville resident

She volunteered at the shelter for 12 years until Williams let her go in 2017. At least half the shelter’s volunteers were let go after Williams said the adoption programs they were involved in were inactive.

“He fired me as a volunteer after 12 years without even seeing my face or knowing anything of what I’ve done for the shelter,” she said. “It was very, very frustrating.”

Hilary Hynes, a 59-year-old Gainesville resident who worked for the shelter for 22 years, saw six different directors come and go. The role has been used as more of a political seat, she said, which has caused the director to be more

out of touch with what’s actually going on in the shelter.

Williams’ last day was June 19. Staff was told he resigned for medical reasons. Williams declined to comment, but he can apply to a different position in the county, according to Deputy County Manager Carl Smart.

“I think that Ed is a hard worker,” he said.

“He really cares about the employees and the animals out there and even the volunteers. I think that we will certainly miss him.”

When posting the director position June 10, the county changed its description to clarify duties, such as traveling to the scene of complaints.

The county has implemented an additional position to cover EVO — an acronym for education, volunteers and outreach. This coordinator will improve the shelter’s relationship with volunteers and provide them with an easy avenue for input, Smart said.

“I think that’s been a missing ingredient,” he said. “A missing piece in the department that will give more attention to the volunteers.”

A panel will conduct interviews for the director position, but members of the panel have yet to be decided. Lieberman will make the final hiring decision.

The county’s attorney office planned a meeting after the holidays with Animal Resources and Care to speak to their new leadership team about changing ordinances if necessary, Diana Johnson, Senior Assistant County Attorney, said.

“We can make sure that everything is still legal, that there’s not any variants that are preventing them from progressively doing what they need to do and their grand ideas that they have,” Johnson said. @namari_l nlock@alligator.org

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022 ALLIGATOR 7

Sweet Dreams of Gainesville relocates north of campus The shop is now closer to UF and Gainesville High School

By Jackson Reyes Alligator Staff Writer

Wendy Wilber takes her daughter to get ice cream when she gets an A on her report card.

Sweet Dreams’ 42 chocolate ice cream flavors and “Chocolate Night” events, now hosted at the shop’s new location, drew the star student in.

The 51-year-old Gainesville resident looks forward to being able to stop by the parlor on the corner of 13th Street and 16th Avenue on her way to work, she said.

Sweet Dreams of Gainesville, a community staple of almost

18 years, relocated from the intersection of West University Avenue and 34th Street July 1.

The move comes after a long run at the Westgate Regency Shopping Center — its new location at 1522 NW 13th St. is about a mile north of UF. Sweet Dreams’ last day at its former location was June 28. The store served ice cream in its “Cool Bus” in front of the new building until Sunday while construction was finalized.

Jack Polk, a 20-year-old UF computer science senior, said he remembered how hard the old location was to see because of how far it was from the road.

The new location should make it easier to access Sweet Dreams and help bring in more people into the shop, he said.

Sweet Dreams owner Michael Manfredi, who wants to expand the shop beyond just ice cream and introduce coffee and baked goods in the coming weeks, said he’s wanted the new spot for years.

“It feels like a victory. It’s always been something that I’ve wanted ever since I saw this location.”

- Michael Manfredi, Sweet Dreams owner

Dennis Wait, a 46-year-old High Springs resident, holds Sweet Dreams in high regard — not just because of its ice cream, but also because of how the business gave back to the community.

He recalled how Manfredi used the “Cool Bus” to serve kids in Gainesville neighborhoods when the storefront was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He used to go to Sweet Dreams regularly when he lived in Gainesville for ten years, he said. Although Wait lives in High Springs now, he still tries to support Sweet Dreams — and the new location makes it a little easier.

“Selfishly, [the shop is] closer to my work, so that’s good to

go,” Wait said.

Sarah Ingley, a 44-year-old Gainesville resident, said she’s been a customer of Sweet Dreams for about 15 years and admires the shop’s commitment to the community.

Last Halloween, Sweet Dreams brought its ice cream truck to her dance school, Gainesville Dance Academy, giving the kids something special to celebrate the holiday, Ingley said.

Now, in close proximity to Gainesville High School and UF’s campus, the shop’s new location makes Ingley optimistic.

“My hope is that a wonderful business like Sweet Dreams can help revitalize that corner,” Ingley said. @JacksnReyes jacksonreyes@alligator.org

From land to shining… lake: Alachua County celebrates Fourth of July Residents upheld decadeslong traditions and festivities

By Mickenzie Hannon Alligator Staff Writer

Fireworks illuminated the sky as new and long-time residents celebrated fourth of July weekend events.

Family members and friends joined together to uphold decadeslong county traditions: races, rhinos, boats and melons.

A day after UF hosted the Fanfare and Fireworks event at Flavet Field, two parades also celebrated the Fourth of July — one on land and one on the lake.

Bouncers, an indoor23 bounce house park at 3401 NW 34th St., held its sixth annual July 4 Bike Parade in the parking lot, where attendees decorated their bike, scooter or stroller.

American flags flew on boats over Lake Santa Fe for the county’s annual event, hosted by the Melrose Business and Community Association. Star spangled vessels gathered at the entrance of the lake’s boat ramp at the south end of Big Lake Santa Fe and paraded counter-clockwise along the shore. Spectators viewed the parade from the docks.

The city of Alachua held its 22nd annual Fourth of July celebration at the Legacy Park Multipurpose Center Monday. The event, dubbed the “The Largest Small

Town Fireworks Display in America,” offered free entry and parking and had activities for kids, live music and fireworks.

About 20 miles away, the City of Archer donned red, white and blue at a new location for their annual Red White and Boom Independence Day event. The festival moved from Wilson Robinson Park to a larger location off Archer Road, about two miles west of Santa Fe College’s Ron and Norita Davis Center. The event featured a watermelon-eating contest, an apple-pie-eating contest, food, arts and crafts vendors, a firework show at sunset and live entertainment by a pair of DJs. More than 70 watermelons were purchased for the Florida Track Club’s 44th Annual Jack Gamble Melon Run at Albert “Ray” Massey Westside Park for participants to enjoy after the three mile trek. It is the second year since the club changed the event’s name to honor Jack Gamble, the club’s first president and a former UF soils professor.

Deborah Scheuer, who directed this year’s event, felt honored to share Gamble’s legacy and his contribution to the running community at the family-friendly event.

The Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Foundation, which is located at 8528 E. County Road 225, observed Independence Day outdoors with group tours, big cats

Namari Lock // Alligator Staff

Gainesville residents Dan Queen, Timothy Lattimore, Ethan Rubenstein, Ryan Wahlberg and Maz Berk walk to a Fourth of July party at the corner Northwest 18th Terrace and Northwest 7th Place behind Midtown on Monday, July 4, 2022. and rhino feedings, rare animal interactions and photo opportunities.

Gainesville resident celebrates 100th birthday Brenda Thomas became the third centenarian at Oak Hammock

By Jackson Reyes Alligator Staff Writer

Brenda Thomas started her Wednesday like any other. She sewed quilts. This time, her fellow Oak Hammock retirement community residents lined the hall to the sewing room, waiting to wish her a happy 100th birthday.

She said her Norwegian blood and family roots in Buenos Aires, Argentina helped her reach the century mark.

Her advice as a centenarian: tTake life one day at a time.

Thomas, a Gainesville resident, joined the less than 1% of people who are 100 years old June 30, celebrating with a reception at her retirement home.

About 60 people sat at tables adorned with red, white and blue balloons while friends and family shared stories about Thomas. She traveled, she sewed and she

never stopped learning.

Before the reception, she went through a scrapbook and reminisced on her time in Gainesville.

Thomas was born June 30, 1922, in Buenos Aires. When World War II reached a point of low intensity, she traveled to the U.S. to attend college. She was lucky to travel by plane because torpedoes hit the boat carrying her belongings, she said.

She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1945, she said, and stepped off the train and into Gainesville with her husband, Billy, in 1946. She saw the White House Hotel, which no longer exists, one restaurant and a movie theater, she said.

“Everybody knew everybody when you met them downtown,” she said.

Thomas got a job as a travel agent during a time when women did not traditionally work. She took her children around the

work to places like China, Turkey and her home country, Sharron Cochran, Thomas’ 73-year-old daughter said.

Thomas also helped Oak Hammock residents plan trips around Florida during her first five years with the community. She sewed clothes for herself and her children and taught whoever showed interest, she said.

“My mother has always been an inspiration,” Cochran said. “She’s always done a lot for other people.”

- Sharron Cochran

Thomas taught her other daughter, Valerie Thomas, how to sew when she was 9 years old.

Valerie, 62, marveled at how healthy her mother looked Wednesday. She still harnessed her trademark energy at the

@MickenzieHannon mhannon@alligator.org milestone age, she said.

Valerie realized how extraordinary it was for her mother to attend college for four years after they traveled to Argentina together, she said. Her mom was the only one of her friends who stayed in university for more than one year.

Thomas also volunteered at Tacachale, a developmental disability center. Her middle daughter, Lynn, who is mentally disabled, lives at the facility. Thomas wanted to give the residents the opportunity to do something they weren’t able to do — buy something.

Her mother worked with retailers to donate inexpensive items such as custom jewelry for residents to have the shopping experience, Valerie said.

Thomas is one of the sweetest people Pat Harden, an 87-year-old Oak Hammock resident, has ever met. He said even just a short conversation proves to be enlightening.

“The world needs a lot more people like her,” Harden said. @JacksnReyes jacksonreyes@alligator.org

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022 www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue

MUSIC

Gainesville studio seeks to embrace local artists with creative comfort

Like 6 O’Clock Studios creates a safe environment for local artists to learn more about the industry

By Averi Kremposky Avenue Staff Writer

When Timothy “Tee Whitey” White converted his heartbreak poems into raps at 16 years old, he didn’t realize getting sold false dreams and scammed out of contracts throughout his career, would lead him to help upcoming artists avoid the same fate.

The Gainesville musician shifted gears to create a safe haven for up-and-coming musicians to learn all facets of success in the music industry.

“The importance to me is to not let the artists get frustrated; to know that there is somebody that is not just trying to get in your pocket,” White said.

With two locations in Gainesville, White’s studio, Like 6 O’Clock Studios, is the product of one musician’s disoriented walk through the music industry and his dedication to ensure a solidified path for others. The studio name, describing a clock when both hands form a straight line, represents a lifestyle and business that cuts no corners.

Under a whimsical ceiling of floating records and pops of colorful neon light, the studio houses recording booths and expansive common areas.

With couches and TV screens constantly whirring familiar movies, Like 6 O’Clock Studios is a balance between eccentricity and nostalgia.

It’s more than a studio, White said. It’s an entertainment school.

Like 6 O’Clock Studios offers classes in song engineering, photography and videography, artist development and, soon, producing.

White visited Full Sail University, a private school in Winter Park known for degrees in entertainment, media and arts, in 2017.

“When I was there, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, this is the lane I want to go, but without being so expensive,’” White said.

From registering artist names to navigating the reverb process, White wants to simplify the complexities of music-making so

every artist can zero in on their craft. Unlike the classes at Full Sail, classes at Like 6 O’Clock Studios are almost always oneon-one.

With hardly any money to support his expansive music dreams, White taught himself the ins and outs of the music industry. He absorbed knowledge on everything from video editing to engineering.

Though White believes his mistakes made him the person he is today, he desires something better for young creatives in the area.

offers him opportunities and learning experiences that can lead to exponential growth in the industry.

“You can’t do anything without help,” Wright said. “Everybody is going to have people who help them out throughout life to really get anywhere.”

The first step to advancing in the industry is making good music, Wright said, but many

musicians forget success in the field also requires business savvy. Like 6 O’Clock aids artists in this area, he said.

“Whitey is somebody who has all the knowledge it takes because he’s done it and he’s a really good person,” Wright said.

White is thankful his struggles created opportunities for others.

He said he’s been rewarded with the chance to be a role model to

a community of rising musicians.

“Why not give back to them and show them the real music business and not the facade?”

White asked. “Yes, it looks all glamorous and glittery, but you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.” @averijkremposky akremposky@alligator.org

“I wanted to do something that gave back and taught the things that I wasn’t taught.

Little things that could have saved me a whole year’s worth of aimlessly grinding.”

- Timothy “Tee Whitey” White, Gainesville musician

He hopes to foster an improved environment of trust with his musicians — one he didn’t have at the beginning of his career. White worked in many uncomfortable studios throughout his career.

People frequently interrupted his recordings, and he couldn’t decipher if the laughter in the background was aimed at him.

He wants blooming artists to know they are taken seriously at Like 6 O’Clock.

Oriana Sheffield, known artistically as IamOri, has worked with White as her mentor since the first studio location opened downtown last year. As a female artist, Sheffield says she heavily values creative control and comfort in the studio — something Like 6 O’Clock offers her.

Parker Wright, a 20-yearold recording engineer, found professional work for the first time at Like 6 O’Clock Studios.

Wright only ever made music at home, but White saw his potential after he took the reins in his recording session.

Wright already knew the fundamentals of mixing and recording, but he said White

Keep up with the Avenue on Twitter.

Tweet us @TheFloridaAve.

Averi Kremposky // Alligator Staff

Tee Whitey and P Red at Like 6 O’Clock Studios in Gainesville Thursday, June 2, 2022.

Florida swim and dive legends add to legacies

16 current and former Gators took home nine medals at world championships in Hungary. Read more on pg. 12.

Scan to follow the Avenue on Spotify

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Wanted

St. Francis House is a homeless shelter located in downtown Gainesville.

Our mission is to empower families with children to transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency by providing case management, housing, food, training and educational resources in a secure environment.

If interested in volunteering please contact the volunteer coordinator at 352-378- 9079 ext 317 or sfhcoor@stfrancis.cfcoxmail.com St Francis House depends on monetary support from individual donors and community businesses in order to provide meals to the homeless and the hungry.

To make a donation by mail, please send checks payable to St. Francis House P.O. Box 12491 Gainesville Fl 32604 or our website at Stfrancishousegnv.org

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CLUE

1.

5.

6.

7.

ACROSS

Ranch encloser Matter In the future Band of tissue CLUE

1.

2.

3.

4.

DOWN

Flinch, recoil Determination Dodged, turned aside Desolate, bleak

ANSWER

RLRCAO SESIU R A E LT TNNEOD ANSWER

GINECR SVLEORE EVEADRT EARNRB

CLUE: ____ ____ has been nominated for more than 25 Grammy Awards, and has won nine.

BONUS

How to play

Complete the crossword puzzle by looking at the clues and unscrambling the answers. When the puzzle is complete, unscramble the circled letters to solve the BONUS. 2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

& Hoyt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

ANSWERS: 1A-Corral 5A-Issue 6A-Later 7A-Tendon 1D-Cringe 2D-Resolve 3D-Averted 4D-Barren B-Ringo Starr

Send comments to TCA - 160 N. Stetson, Chicago, Illinois 60601 or DLHoyt@HoytInteractiveMedia.com

solution on page 10

©2022 King Features Synd., Inc.

answer on page 10 Release Date: Monday, July 4, 2022 Release Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Los Puzzle Los Angeles Angeles Times Times Daily Daily Crossword Crossword Puzzle Edited Lewis Editedby byPatti Patti Varol Varol and and Joyce Joyce Nichols Nichols Lewis

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ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE: PUZZLE: ANSWER TO PREVIOUS

By Taylor Johnson ©2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC By Catherine Cetta ©2022 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

06/27/2022 06/28/22

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TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022 www.alligator.org/section/sports

GYMNASTICS

Trinity Thomas returns to Gators gymnastics The gymnast announced Monday she will return to Florida for her fifth season

By Curtis Michaud Sports Writer

Senior Trinity Thomas will return to flip, vault and perform with Gators gymnastics for one final season.

The Pennsylvania native announced Monday during the 2022 Collegiate Women Sports Awards in Los Angeles she will exercise her fifth year of eligibility at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

“I just started my masters in health education and behavior. I’m excited to announce that I will be returning for my fifth year at the University of Florida.”

- Trinity Thomas, Gator gymnast

Thomas shocked the world after beating Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee from Auburn

in the NCAA individual all-around competition in Ft. Worth, Texas, April 14. Thomas matched the second-highest score ever in an NCAA final with 39.862.

Thomas led the Gators to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Championship this past season. UF, in search of its fifth national title in program history, lost to the Oklahoma Sooners by just .1125 points. Thomas also represented the orange and the blue as one of 12 female student-athletes nominated for Collegiate Women Athlete of the Year. South Carolina basketball player Aliyah Boston took home the award.

Thomas was named the Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Year after leading Florida to a 31-1-1 record and winning 39 individual events — a school record. She won every 2022 postseason all-around and took home individual conference titles in the all-

around, vault and floor exercise, securing her title as the only gymnast in the nation with five All-American first-team honors this year.

Thomas also became the ninth gymnast to secure three individual wins in a single championship after she claimed gold on the bars and a perfect score on floor.

Thomas looks ahead to next season, hoping to defend her title.

Head coach Jenny Rowland will also welcome back senior Leah Clapper for her fifth season at UF, strengthening the Gators’ beam depth. Fellow senior Nya Reed has not announced whether she will return, but Sydney Johnson-Scharpf announced she will not return via Instagram May 1. @CurtisMichaud1 cmichaud@alligator.org

Grethel Aguila // Alligator Staff

Trinity Thomas leads her team in celebration against Missouri Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. Thomas announced Monday she will return for her fifth season at UF.

SOCCER

Florida soccer embraces second consecutive offseason coaching change The Gators look forward to Samantha Bohon’s personable leadership style

By Brenda Bogle Sports Writer

Shortly before UF announced Samantha Bohon as the new head coach of Gators soccer in May, Bohon met her future players and staff on Zoom; rectangular boxes contained faces in search of a leader, someone to guide them after their worst season in program history.

Bohon made one thing evident: Relationships would take precedent in her program.

Her introduction came shortly after UF athletic director Scott Stricklin parted ways with former Gators manager Tony Amato in April. Current and former players detailed comments Amato made about their bodies and eating habits during his tenure, which lasted less than a year, according to a WUFT News report.

“My thorough evaluation of the soccer program is that there [was] a disconnect between Tony and his athletes,” Stricklin said in a statement April 25.

Despite the scandal — and Florida subsequently losing 12 players to the transfer portal — returning players said Bohon promises to help the team meet its expectations on the field while fostering connections beyond the game.

“Life came over us,” senior

midfielder Syd Kennedy said.

“She was talking about building relationships and helping us fall in love with the sport again.”

Bohon brings 20 seasons of collegiate coaching experience into her new role. The former Duke Blue Devil player spent the last 15 years managing EmbryRiddle as the Eagles transitioned into NCAA Division II play;

they made eight straight NAIA postseason appearances and catapulted themselves into the NCAA Division II Round of 16 in 2019.

The Gators’ finished the season with a 4-12-4 record and a 3-6-1 record in the Southeastern Conference. The team won a national title in 1998 and finished .500 or better every year from

1996 to 2017.

The team is establishing an identity for what the program should look like on and off the field, Bohon said.

“That would be for me a little bit of a blue-collar mentality,” she said. “Where we're going to work really, really hard day in day out.”

Players and staff need to work

on building a familial network both in and out of soccer, Bohon said. She wants to reach out to alumni and foster cooperative relationships.

She hired two assistant coaches, Josie Rix and Adam Godwin, along with new goalkeeper coach Jack Rushworth.

Bohon brought senior forward Tessa Barton and sophomore defender Josie Curtis from the transfer portal; Barton hails from Colorado University, and Curtis made a shorter move from Florida Gulf Coast.

Bohon’s presence is exactly what the team needed, senior forward Alivia Gonzalez said.

“I think our new coach is already making connections and wanting to befriend us.”

- Alivia Gonzalez, Gator forward

Courtesy of the University Athletics Association

As the Fall draws near, Bohon’s first goal, she said, is to recapture the team’s joy in their game — the kind of joy that makes athletes long to continue on to higher levels of competition.

“You forget sometimes just the kid-like joy that you had when you played your sport,” Bohon said.

Senior forward Alivia Gonzalez attacks against the Kentucky Wildcats defense Thursday, Sept.

23, 2021. She looks forward to Bohon’s leadership. “I think our new coach is already making connections and wanting to befriend us,” she said.

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12 ALLIGATOR TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2022

SWIMMING

Florida swim and dive finish strong at 2022 FINA World Championships CURRENT AND FORMER GATORS COMPETED AT THE EVENT, TAKING HOME EIGHT GOLD MEDALS

Ledecky propelled Team USA from third to first with a 1:53.67 split time as the third leg in the women’s 4x200 free relay. She also earned gold in the women’s 800 free with a time of 8:08.04.

Ledecky’s accumulated accolades made her the first swimmer to win an individual event in five straight World Championships (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022). She’s won 19 career gold medals.

Florida alum Caeleb Dressel won the men’s 4x100 free relay and men’s 50 fly. The relay finished with a 3:09.34 time, and Dressel’s 22.57 fly time secured him his 15th overall world title. The Olympian was scratched from the rest of his events due to medical reasons on the fifth day of competition.

Fresh off his senior season, Bobby Finke set two American records at the World

By Kaitlyn Wadulack Sports Writer

Current and former Florida Gators representing seven countries at the 2022 FINA World Championships secured nine total medals, including eight golds.

The 16 swimming and diving program athletes and alumni competed in Budapest, Hungary, June 18 to July 3.

UF volunteer coach Katie Ledecky led the charge with four gold medals. She earned her first gold in the women’s 400-meter freestyle, touching the wall in 3:58.15 and won the women’s 1,500 free with a time of 15:30.15.

Championships in the men’s 800 free and 1,500 free. His final 50 split shot him ahead of his competitors to claim the 800 free gold with a 7:39.36 time; he claimed the 1,500 free silver with a time of 14:36.70.

Kieran Smith and UF senior Trey Freeman played major roles in Team USA’s 4x200 free relay, which earned them gold. Freeman swam in the preliminary session as the second leg with a 1:46.91 split, advancing the team of Drew Kibler, Carson Foster, Trenton Julian and Smith to the finals. Smith anchored the relay with a 1:44.35 split, and the quartet claimed first at 7:00.24.

The 2022 SEC Champions will look to continue their accoladeladen run in the upcoming 2022 season. @kwadulack kwadulack@alligator.org

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