After Florida opens ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ activists worry Camp Blanding is next
Constant changes to RTS bus schedule may disrupt access to health care
Health care workers weigh in on recent changes to bus system
By Alanna Robbert Alligator Staff Writer
Summers in Gainesville are hot and humid. Sweat beads on the brow, and the heat feels heavy. Then there’s the high possibility of being caught in the torrential downpour of an afternoon thunderstorm.
Anya Joshi, an 18-year-old UF biology sophomore, chose to spend her summer in Gainesville, where
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT
Foster Grandparent
Story description finish with comma, pg#
Alachua County program faces budget cuts. Read more on pg. 5.
she does research with the Department of Pharmacogenomics. Her lab is located in the heel of campus within UF Health Shands Hospital.
It’s a 20-minute walk from her apartment to Shands, Joshi said, but she saves time by taking the bus.
“In the summer, I prefer taking the bus because it’s either really hot or really rainy, and there’s no inbetween,” Joshi said. “It’s not fun to walk 25 minutes with a backpack
when it’s 90 degrees outside.”
Since she doesn’t have a car, Joshi said “it’s just harder” to get around Gainesville. She relies on the Gainesville Regional Transit System, which has fewer bus routes than it used to and isn’t always on time, she said.
“I’ve had instances where I’m waiting on a bus and it doesn’t
Demonstrators say DeSantis’ immigration agenda brings detention centers too close to home
By Sara-James Ranta Alligator Staff Writer
Driving east on Florida State Road 16 in Starke, drivers come across a paradox. On the right stands a military training center for the National Guard. On the left is a sea of brightly colored cars and field tents.
Crowds of people line the street holding signs, waving flags and shouting, “This is what democracy looks like.”
Over 250 people gathered in the beating sun July 19 to protest what could become Florida’s next immigration detention center. Protesters gathered across a nearly mile-long stretch across the road from Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in a heat index near 105 degrees.
“A prison without due process is a concentration camp,” some protesters’ signs read. “No ICEholes,” read others.
Monica Martinez, a 25-yearold Jacksonville resident, is a member of Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance, one of the event’s main organizers. It took a month to plan, and around 15 organizations participated in solidarity, she said.
In front of Camp Blanding’s main entrance, multiple field tents were set up for the protest. Volunteers wore neon vests as they distributed water bottles, popsicles, cooling towels,
The Avenue: 'Love Island' Devoted fans reflect on its view of love, pg. 6 Miss Florida How Gainesville’s Paris Richardson prepares for Miss America, pg. 7
Gatorade and lollipops to attendees.
Martinez said her organization’s main goal was to stand in solidarity with immigrants.
“Legal status should not be a gateway to mistreating people and to put them in inhumane conditions,” Martinez said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis hailed Florida as the nation’s lead in immigration enforcement. After partnering with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in January through the 287(g) program, any trained Florida law enforcement officer can detain and interrogate individuals about their immigration status.
As of May, Florida has more law enforcement officers acting as ICE agents than any other state in the country.
Florida turned the DadeCollier training airport into the state’s first immigration detention center in June, officially named “Alligator Alcatraz.”
The center, which took days to complete, began accepting detainees July 2. It’s expected to hold about 3,000 people and has a yearly operating price tag of $450 million.
Martinez said Saturday’s protest wasn’t just about Camp Blanding’s potential but about Florida’s intense push toward
Sydney Johnson // Alligator Staff
Counter protesters for the Stop Camp Blanding Protest raise a flag and sign while protesters chant and an organizer encourages others not to engage with them in Starke, Fla., on Saturday, July 19, 2025.
Today’s Weather
UF Ph.D. student wins international research award
William Santana created new protocol to protect athletes
By Elizabeth Maguire
Alligator Staff Writer
William Santana, a Brazilian international Ph.D. student in sport management, witnessed firsthand the obstacles athletes face when trying to report harassment or abuse.
Santana worked as a cheerleading manager at the São Paulo State Federation of Sports after graduating from the University of São Paulo in 2018. As a former gymnast, he was chosen due to the sports’ similarity and quickly developed a passion for it.
During his time as a manager, 13 athletes across four teams confided in Santana about the harassment and abuse they allegedly experienced from one of their coaches. The athletes recounted instances where the coach invited younger girls to individual “extra training” sessions and touched them inappropriately.
When the athletes tried to report the incidents to the cheer organization, they were told to take the matter to the police. Santana said he was disappointed by the lack of support, which inspired him to create a more effective reporting process for athletes.
“I felt like it was my duty to be the one responsible to make change and create an environment where athletes felt safe and whatever happened to them, they would be able to report and feel they were valid,” Santana said.
Santana developed an anonymous reporting tool using Google Forms, giving athletes the option to maintain privacy while giving
them a space to share anything they needed to.
He noticed most athletes included their names in their submissions. He received the data and forwarded reports to the athletes’ training facilities.
The coach learned of Santana’s protocol and threatened to sue him for defamation, he said, accusing him of having a personal vendetta against him.
“I got so sad and mad, like, ‘Oh my god, how can I do the right thing and still feel like sh*t?’” Santana said.
He moved to the United States for his Ph.D. and felt compelled to write about what he observed as a coping mechanism, not to publish, he said.
“It wasn't an assignment at all,” he said. “I needed to give a new meaning to the feeling I'm having because I did the right thing.”
As he progressed through his Ph.D. program, Santana realized he could apply his knowledge of sports governance theory, institutional theory and autoethnography to make his paper publishable. Autoethnography, which combines personal experiences with scholarly research and analysis, was the basis of his paper.
“I need to share the story so people can be more aware of the importance of taking action to protect the athletes,” Santana said.
Santana first presented his work at the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport conference in October 2024. The positive reception of his work mo -
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tivated him to submit it for the overall International Sociology of Sport Association 2025 Graduate Paper Award.
While Santana was eager to have his paper published, he said he was surprised when he won the award, which boasted one of the most competitive applicant pools the conference had seen.
“I felt incredibly happy and excited, but most importantly, that I was doing the right thing,” he said.
Santana’s dissertation focuses on examining the impact sporting events have on athletes and their communities. His current research is focused on gymnasts, but he hopes to expand it to cheerleaders.
He believes his project is directly related to athlete safety, he said. The first step in empowering athletes is understanding what they need, he added.
João Takayanagi, Santana’s husband, believes his work stands out because of its emphasis on lived experience and his passion for supporting athletes.
“When he started doing research in sport and sport management, he was always worried about this human side, about the real-life applications of research, and how we can impact people's lives positively through support,” Takayanagi said.
Kyriaki Kaplanidou, Santana’s Ph.D. advisor and a UF sport management professor, said she saw how deeply concerned Santana is with understanding athletes’ wellbeing.
“He really enjoys and he’s very good at going in-depth and understanding why something is happening in qualitative research,” Kaplanidou said.
Santana may analyze, for example, how a nine-year-old gymnastics club competition changes the participants’ social capital, she said. Social capital could be their connections and networks within the team and how it impacts the betterment of the person.
After completing his Ph.D., Santana hopes to continue researching athletic safety and become a professor in sports ethics, managing sports organizations and sociological work.
emaguire@alligator.org
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William Santana poses with the Graduate Paper Award at the International Sociology of Sport Association Conference in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
Residents protest proposed detention center
immigration enforcement.
“Our job is to fight back against these laws, against these establishments, and to show that we're not going to allow these things to happen in our city, in our state or in our country without a fight,” she said.
Rebecca Putman, a 36-year-old Gainesville resident, is a pastor of 10 years at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Sitting in a lawn chair, she adjusted the sleeves of her long-sleeve shirt. Her cassock and clerical collar peeked out from underneath.
Westminster Presbyterian Church is a member of Gainesville's Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Putman said, a faith-based organization created in 2010 in opposition to a controversial Arizona immigration bill.
Putman said she came to Camp Blanding because “Jesus tells us to love our neighbors.”
American Christians generally supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election, with 62% of Christian voters attending church at least once or twice a month supporting him.
Among Christians who go to church less often, 55% said they’d vote for Trump, according to a Pew Research Study. Most white Christian voters said they’d vote for Trump over Biden.
Putnam squinted her aquamarine
eyes at the sun, holding back tears. She clutched the hand-carved Celtic cross around her neck, her fingernails tapping its wooden edges.
She wishes she could tell right-leaning Christians that “Jesus was pretty clear,” she said.
“When the one true King is separating the righteous from the unrighteous, one of the things that the righteous did was welcome the stranger,” Putnam said. “For me, I welcome the stranger in Jesus’ name.”
Marina Briseno, a 23-year-old Gainesville resident, said she’s been “anti-ICE” after learning about the agency in 2018. Studded in a bright red beret, Briseno proudly waved a tall Mexican flag, its folds cracking in the wind.
Her great-grandfather immigrated on a donkey to the United States from Mexico, she said, noting her grandfather would be “proud” to know she protested.
Briseno said she finds it “disgusting” there could be an immigration detention center just 30 minutes from her home.
“It feels like a duty to protest it,” Briseno said. “What they misunderstand is that this is not about illegal immigration whatsoever. They are detaining people who were born here. They are not going for criminals. ICE is not doing their job.”
There are about 57,000 migrants in immigration detention as of July 13. Of those, about 72% have no criminal conviction.
Multiple law enforcement vehicles
parked at each of Camp Blanding’s entrances and at each side of the protest’s stretch, observing the crowds. Uniformed service members observed from the inside of the gate.
Sarah Price, a 41-year-old Jacksonville resident, held a sign of a painted monarch butterfly, its words reading, “Migration is a part of life, I stand with immigrants.”
Price attended the protest with her daughter, 21-year-old Annabelle Peirpoint, who she hopes learned valuable lessons from the event, she said.
“Our voice is what we have,” Price said. “Our community is what we have, and we have to be here for each other.”
Peirpoint held a sign reading, "Dignity, not detention.” She balanced on the tips of her battered sneakers, holding her sign as high as possible.
While younger generations have more egalitarian perspectives, young adults are also more fatalistic than older generations, meaning they feel a lack of agency or control over their lives, according to a 2024 study by the Berkeley Institute for Young Americans.
Many attributed the fatalistic outlook to growing income inequality, rising living costs, the current state of politics or the future of climate change.
As a Generation Z voter, Peirpoint said it’s a privilege to disconnect from politics.
“We have more in common with an immigrant, working-class citizen than we do with anybody in office,” Peirpoint
said. “They [citizens] have to speak for the people that can’t.”
Sarah Homan, a 37-year-old Gainesville resident, said she felt Florida immigration detention centers are a “huge stunt built on cruelty.”
Early reports of migrant experiences in Alligator Alcatraz detail concerning conditions regarding water, temperatures and hygiene, according to the Miami Herald.
Standing out in the heat was an accurate representation of what migrants in detention centers experience, Homan said.
Paramedics arrived at the scene toward the end of the protest to tend to people experiencing heat exhaustion. First aid volunteers said at least two people needed medical attention.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s holding off on converting Camp Blanding into a detention center in a press conference July 16, citing he wanted to wait for Alligator Alcatraz to reach capacity.
Homan doesn’t believe the state is being transparent about pausing construction, she said, citing DeSantis wants to “cram as many as he can.”
If Camp Blanding were to shift to a detention center, it could hold about 2,000 migrants, DeSantis said, but could still be created in a matter of weeks once it’s greenlit.
@sarajamesranta sranta@alligator.org
Peaceful Paths, UF researchers partner to combat digital domestic violence
Research project aims to protect victims from the hidden threat of stalkerware
By Swasthi Maharaj Alligator Staff Writer
Gainesville-based domestic violence center
Peaceful Paths and University of Florida researchers partnered to address a growing threat in abusive relationships: technology.
The collaboration stems from a project led by the Center for Privacy and Security Research for Marginalized and Vulnerable Populations at UF, funded by the National Science Foundation Frontiers. The initiative focuses on how digital tools like mobile apps or location-sharing software can be weaponized to track and control individuals in domestic abuse or stalking cases.
While often designed for safety, technology can be repurposed to monitor a person’s daily life without their knowledge. The center uncovers hidden risks and develops safeguards that can inform policy and app design.
Kevin Butler, the director of the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity Research and the lead principal investigator for PRISM, said their research identifies misused digital tools like location-sharing services. The team’s work centers on equitable design and preventing the use of technology as a weapon.
“Our goal is to develop technologies and principles for technology design that ensure, especially with regards to security and privacy, that we maximize benefit and minimize harm for all,” Butler said.
Stalkerware is a technology of concern, a software that, once downloaded, can collect information, including location, calls and online activity.
“We’re working to understand how their experiences and perspectives have been colored by these applications,” Butler said.
PRISM researchers recently expanded their focus to location-monitoring apps like parental controls and dating platforms. Their work with
Peaceful Paths collects data from survivors of domestic abuse to better understand how technology impacts their autonomy, safety and privacy.
“There’s a lot of evidence of [stalkerware applications] being used in abusive relationships,” Butler said. “By reverse engineering these applications and decompiling them to be able to look at the source code, we better understand how they operate, how they’ve been monetized and what are the elements of their
operation that can potentially be identifiable.”
According to Crystal Sorrow, Peaceful Paths’ CEO, the organization began working with PRISM in 2022, when Butler and his thenPh.D. student Cassidy Gibson led a cybersecurity training for survivors of domestic violence.
“This training was impactful as it educated our advocates on current trends in technology that could be manipulated by abusers,” Sorrow wrote in an email, “It offered solutions that could be discussed when safety planning with participants.”
The Peaceful Paths organization in Gainesville extends a helping hand to survivors of domestic abuse.
Budget cuts impact healthcare workers
come for 20 minutes, but it's pouring, so how am I supposed to get home?” Joshi said.
A small bus stop between Shands and UF campus offers meager shelter at the foot of a steep hill. Joshi clutched her phone to her chest. The humidity was sticky; the rain had just stopped. She checked her device for the bus’s location when it drove past her.
She was on the wrong side for pickup. Another look at her phone confirmed the next bus wasn’t for a while.
Forced to give in, she started the trek uphill to head home.
Since April 2024, RTS has negotiated with the university about its funding.
Despite recent schedule changes made in the name of efficiency, riders find themselves adjusting their schedules to catch the bus on time.
The cuts decreased RTS's budget from $12.7 million to $9.8 million per year.
Orlando’s Lynx bus system has an annual operating budget of $208,132,943. While Orlando is a larger city, the Lynx reports it served 19,621,469 passenger trips in 2024, and RTS was responsible for more than 5 million passenger trips in 2023.
RTS currently has 39 routes. In 2021, 102 buses ran during the weekdays, but Gainesville decreased the
fleet due to a decline in bus riders.
Most recent changes
Jimmy Shennett, a 57-year-old Gainesville resident, regularly visits the Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center to “get ahead” of his health. He is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard.
Shennett lives near Oaks Mall and uses Bus 1 to get to his appointments.
He discovered the route change in July when the bus made a turn earlier than he was accustomed to. While Shennett read there were going to be changes, he hadn’t “focused in on it,” he said.
He was surprised when the bus turned onto UF’s campus. When Shennett figured his route was affected by the changes, he got off the bus to walk through campus to get to the hospital.
“You do what you have to do, but it’s inconvenient,” Shennett said.
The new schedule began with the start of UF’s Summer B semester on June 30.
Route 1 was one of 11 buses that faced major schedule adjustments. Nine routes had minor changes. Four were eliminated, and one was added. Only two routes remained the same.
During Summer B, routes 21, 28, 46, 76, 78, 118, 122 and 127 have no service.
A lack of reliability Carly Ginn, a 21-year-old UF nurs-
ing senior, isn’t working at Shands this summer, but when she did for 11 months, her boyfriend dropped her off. Sometimes, she took the RTS.
Having access to the bus was helpful because she could take it in case her boyfriend couldn’t pick her up, Ginn said. Shands employees can ride the bus for free, and it would show up within five to 10 minutes of when it was scheduled.
“When they started to defund RTS, especially because I still use the bus to get to the College of Nursing, it’s definitely way less reliable now,” Ginn said.
Ginn noticed there are only three buses for the routes she takes from where she lives near Butler Plaza, limiting where and when she can catch them.
“If you need to get to campus, and it’s on campus and not near you, then you’re out of luck,” she said.
Sometimes the bus will be full at every stop, so she’s forced to walk to the next one. There were times she had to walk to campus instead, she said.
She wants to know why RTS funding is being cut. While options like Park & Ride offer one of the cheapest parking passes, it’s “still kind of crazy,” she said.
“You’re paying to take the bus,” Ginn said. “But the bus, when I tried [Park & Ride] out, happened to be the same bus that I would’ve had to take from my apartment anyway.”
Peaceful Paths’ violence prevention presentations used the research in middle schools, high schools and colleges, where it presented on digital dating violence.
“The knowledge gleaned through our partnership with PRISM shapes the best practices shared with students,” Sorrow said.
PRISM’s research strengthens conversations on digital safety, she said, allowing advocates to offer individualized recommendations.
Peaceful Paths completed more than 4,000 safety plans in the past year, she added.
Sara Rampazzi, an assistant professor in UF’s Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, contributed to PRISM’s stalkerware research.
Rampazzi said the most common cases seen were boyfriends or fiances controlling their partners using these applications.
The research was focused on understanding the apps’ monetization systems. Many apps offer limited features for free, but more invasive capabilities can be unlocked through a paywall.
Alongside its work with Peaceful Paths, PRISM is the first academic partner in the Coalition Against Stalkerware, an organization composed of NGOs that have looked at potentially harmful applications.
Coalition Against Stalkerware was created in 2019 as a response to the increasing threat of stalkerware. It aims to unite organizations with the common goal of combating domestic violence and keeping technology safe.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, Peaceful Paths offers confidential support. You can reach the organization at its 24/7 hotline at 352-377-8255. It can be reached via text at 352-727-0948.
Ginn is the president of Nurses Leading Charge, an organization dedicated to reducing health disparities and bettering nursing as a whole. She said it promotes positive change through efforts like community service.
A consistently changing public transportation system can be a problem for patients, she said.
“That’s an issue because transportation is what helps people get to their appointment,” Ginn said. “It’s crucial that people can get to their appointments, or what if you had an emergency and that was the only way to get to the hospital?”
Alan Mondragon, a 25-year-old Shands registered nurse, drives to work because he works the night shift. While he would consider taking a bus, he doesn’t want to risk being late to work, he said.
Nurses are expected to be on time for the “continuity of care,” Mondragon said, which requires health care workers to provide constant attention to patients.
“Nurses are just making sure you know that the patients have someone that’s going to come take after the previous nurse to make sure they’re still getting care after one nurse goes home,” Mondragon said.
An entire floor would struggle if a nurse were late to their shift, Mondragon said.
It’s also important for patients to be on time. Late patients can face fees and other consequences, Mondragon said.
Mondragon often considers tak-
@s_maharaj1611 smaharaj@alligator.org
ing public transport because it would save him gas money and be better for the environment, he said.
“The issue is not knowing exactly where the routes are or if there’s any changes,” Mondragon said. “That could be an issue for me.”
The costs of convenience Michael Feely, a 41-year-old Shands physician, thinks taking the bus to work would be impossible because of the extra stops he needs to make. Each day, he drops his children off at school, goes to work and brings his children to their activities afterward.
Parking fees are deducted directly from Feely’s paycheck. A gold parking permit, the most expensive option, can cost a UF staff member $504 per semester.
Parking at a garage next to Shands costs $20 for non-patients and those without a visitor voucher.
Shands should further promote the buses to employees because a majority live off of Archer Road, which he said has a direct route to the hospital. It can be a resource for hospital trainees trying to be careful with the small amount of money they are paid, he added.
“No one really talks about it much, at least in the hospital,” Feely said. “I think it’s also underutilized."
RTS did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
Henry A. Moore // Alligator Staff
Federal cuts force Foster Grandparent Program to close after 60 years
THE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM OFFERED GUIDANCE TO STUDENTS
By Logan McBride Alligator Staff Writer
Alexandra Walker has taught in Alachua County for 17 years, including seven working with Grandma D., who became “a second mother” to her. When Grandma D. called her saying they needed to talk, she knew something was wrong.
Grandma D. told Walker the program that brought them together, the Alachua County Foster Grandparent Program, had been cut.
“We were hysterical,” Walker said. “She’s like a part of my family. She was the officiant at my wedding.”
FGP is a volunteer-driven program in Alachua County’s Department of Community Support Services. Individuals 55 and over volunteer to provide guidance to K-12 students in exchange for a non-taxable stipend of $4 per hour and education opportunities.
The program is funded by AmeriCorps, a federal agency connecting Americans to volunteer opportunities, through its Seniors Foster Grandparent Program.
The program, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, may come to an end in September. Federal budget cuts forced AmeriCorps to cut the program’s funding after the Trump administration pulled nearly $400 million in grants.
Walker said Grandma D.’s impact in her classroom was “immeasurable.” She worked in the classroom Monday through Friday from 7:15 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Walker’s students’ test scores improved substantially after working with Grandma D., she said, but it’s the social and emotional benefits that stuck out.
Grandma D. made sure every kid was “celebrated” in the classroom, she said. Grandma D. brought cupcakes for students’ birthdays if their families were unable to. Having an extra person in the classroom to support her and her students, especially through a stressful school day, was extremely helpful, she added.
She knew teachers who had worked with foster grandparents for nearly 30 years and can’t imagine how many other foster grandparent and teacher relationships are being severed due to the cuts.
For Walker, the loss of her foster grandparent is more than an absence of another person.
“The social, emotional support for kids, the presence, the hugs, the warmth, it’s going to be a huge hole,” Walker said. “She has a desk in my classroom. It’s so bizarre to me that she’s just not going to be there.”
For Jodee Daulton, a 42-yearold former Gainesville resident, the program’s impact can’t be understated. Daulton’s daughter was in Walker’s second grade class.
Daulton’s daughter is one of the youngest in her class, which has led to academic struggles, she said. However, having Grandma D. in the classroom allowed her daughter to receive one-on-one time that improved her academic development.
“I do think there would’ve been a drastic difference without her,” Daulton said. “Emotionally speaking, it would have been a lot less positive of an experience in second grade for her.”
She saw Grandma D.’s impact
on not only her daughter and on Walker. Walker and Grandma D. were “the team to have,” and the experience with them was “wonderful,” Daulton said.
She said Grandma D. brought an extra sense of “comfort and security.” Students saw her as a role model and even gave Grandma D. a nickname.
The extra set of hands made Walker’s second grade class “the sweetest class,” Daulton said. Walker deserves lots of credit, but Grandma D.’s help made the class environment “super sup-
portive,” she added.
“It would be my hope that all teachers had that support so all students can experience education in that kind of environment,” she said. “Teachers need the help. Grandma D. was a wonderful asset, and that program was an invaluable experience.”
Alachua County Communications Director Mark Sexton said it was “ironic” the program lost funding days after celebrating its 60th anniversary.
He hopes the program can find a way to survive through alterna-
tive funding or a change of course by the government or AmeriCorps, he said. It has been a valuable social program in Alachua County for years, he added. “The funding for the Foster Grandparent Program has gone away at the federal level,” Sexton said. “It’s our understanding that the funding will be turned off on Sept. 30.”
@LoganDMcBride lmcbride@alligator.org
Pepper’s paws and pathogens: How one cat pioneers viral discovery
UF professor John Lednicky leads his research team toward historic breakthroughs one catch at a time
By Autumn Johnstone Alligator Staff Writer
Behind 68-year-old John Lednicky’s Gainesville home lies a vast array of greenery that makes for the perfect place for Pepper, his cat, to prey on smaller mammals. Patrolling his territory, Pepper often leaves rodents on the UF research professor’s door.
Instead of throwing away Pepper’s prizes, Lednicky brings them to his virology lab, leading to groundbreaking scientific discoveries.
Thanks to Pepper, Lednicky’s team uncovered the first case of jeilong virus found in the United States.
Lednicky has discovered over 10 viruses no one knew were in Florida, many of which are transmitted by insects and kill farmed deer. His team is working on finding deer pox virus in different vectors, or organisms that infect one host to another.
Curiosity drove the team’s first discovery. With his cat often nearby, Lednicky
began to wonder what viruses he might be exposed to.
“You never know what’s in your own backyard,” Lednicky said.
Lednicky’s UF group identified an unknown virus in Haiti in 2014 that went overlooked by the scientific community. In 2016, Brazil experienced a significant outbreak causing birth defects.
It was the Zika virus. Only after the virus’ detrimental effects did people finally start paying attention to the team’s work.
Lednicky pioneered the idea of COVID-19 being airborne after conducting a study in a UF hospital in 2020. Despite many refuting his idea at the time, it’s now proven to be an airborne virus.
“There’s always a thrill when you find something and then it turns out your finding is really significant for the medical community,” he said. “You work endless hours, you do all this stuff and people don’t see the significance of what you do until much later, but for us it’s very satisfying.”
Despite a lack of funding for researchers
across the U.S., Lednicky said UF virologists still find joy in discovery, even if it may be a “depressing time” for scientists.
The next step in the virus discovery process would be risk analysis or an in-depth examination of the virus’ behavior. It becomes difficult to prove virus prevalence to agencies when research is in an early stage, leading to limited financial support.
Blending disciplines is a major part of a virologist’s job, Lednicky said. With viruses too small to physically observe, researchers have to think creatively and invent procedures that will improve their work along the way. Lednicky depends on abstract clues without knowing he might have tangible results until the very end.
Andy Williams, a 48-year-old graduate research assistant and Lednicky’s colleague, currently works on UF/IFAS’ Cervidae Health Research Initiative, or CHeRI, alongside Lednicky’s team.
His project aims to stop viruses from infecting deer across Florida. Williams hopes there will be enough information when his
research is completed to create a deer vaccine.
Emily DeRuyter, a 26-year-old UF doctoral candidate and graduate researcher in Lednicky’s lab, said vectors primarily seen in Latin America are migrating to Florida. With temperatures bound to increase, mosquito-borne viruses are more prominent.
DeRuyter describes Lednicky’s study as opportunistic. While many researchers might not turn to their pets for help, Pepper’s sampling is a new iteration of decades-old scientific methods, she said.
“[Lednicky] is always open to unconventional ideas and gets excited by different processes, so we try [to] emulate that,” DeRuyter said. “We only know as much as we know right now, so there’s always potential for new scientific information to be unveiled. There’s always the opportunity for new findings that completely change everything.”
Dylan Speicher // Alligator Staff
Alachua County’s Foster Grandparent Program is another community project that is facing budget cuts due to the new ‘Big Beautiful Bill’.
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue
ART AND THEATER
Gainesville’s second-ever Miss Florida looks toward Miss America
PARIS RICHARDSON WAS CROWNED MISS FLORIDA JUNE 29
By Luke Adragna Avenue Staff Writer
Neither the jewel-encrusted trim of her white dress nor the kaleidoscope of hues bouncing off her diamond earrings could mask the fear in Miss Gainesville Paris Richardson’s eyes.
With two participants remaining in the 2025 Miss Florida competition, Richardson and Miss Jacksonville Anjelica Jones stood center stage among dozens of contestants, clutching each other’s hands as they awaited the final results.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to crown our Miss Florida,” the emcee said. For nearly 30 seconds, she didn’t speak. The suspense intensified with each tremble of Richardson’s arms as she attempted to remain still.
“Our new Miss Florida 2025,” the emcee said with a long pause. “Winning a $20,000 scholarship is Paris Richardson.”
Tears welled in Richardson’s eyes as she embraced Miss Jacksonville. She was the second Black woman to win Miss Florida and the first Miss Gainesville to win the Miss Florida
DATING
What ‘Love
title since Marcia Crane won in 1952.
“I wasn’t the little girl who looked at Miss America and said, ‘I want to be on that stage one day,’” Richardson said. “I definitely wanted to compete in pageants, but that was far beyond anything I’d ever imagined.”
Miss Florida, who spent four years as a University of Florida cheerleader and graduated with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the spring, now looks toward Miss America 2026.
The competition, which begins Sept. 3, will span four days and showcase 51 contestants in five segments. The judges will score participants based on performances in private interviews, health and fitness, on-stage questions, talent and evening gown.
Richardson will spend the next five weeks working with sponsors, sharpening her dance skills and speaking to as many interviewers as possible. Much of her preparation will be akin to what she did heading into the Miss Florida competition, but she’s ramped up her intensity as the final competition looms.
“I have found peace in preparation these past few years and understanding that this is going to be hard,” Miss Florida said July 9. “It’s going to be a hard seven weeks, but I have so much fun in those seven weeks enjoying what’s going to happen.”
For Richardson, the most difficult challenge is fine-tuning her dance moves and moving
her cheerleading skills to a different arena. She’s spent countless hours relearning acrobatics and tumbling to suit the competition, which she said is difficult due to the opposing nature of dance and cheer.
“That transition was rough,” Richardson said. “[In] cheer, we don’t really dance. Our dances are motions. Dancers are completely different. They actually feel and dance.”
Richardson attends classes at Radar Dance Complex in Ocala to practice. On top of the talent portion, the last two weeks have been dedicated to working with sponsors through-
Island’ isn’t telling you about love
HOW DATING SHOWS SHAPE VIEWERS’ EXPECTATIONS OF RELATIONSHIPS, SELFWORTH AND CONNECTION
By Isis Snow Avenue Staff Writer
Each night, 22-year-old Anthony Crowe and his long-distance girlfriend sync their schedules to watch “Love Island.” It’s their way of staying close and unwinding, even if the show’s version of love looks nothing like theirs.
“Love Island,” one of the most popular dating shows, sets the standard for fast-paced connection, high-stakes drama and nearly flawless bodies. The program portrays the messy reality of dating but can distort expectations of relationships, identity and intimacy.
For many fans, the appeal of the show isn’t the end goal of finding love; it’s the spectacle of watching the drama unfold.
“I don’t think people watch for relationships,” Crowe said. “They watch for drama.”
Crowe, a recent UF graduate, said he enjoyed watching every episode of the latest season of “Love Island,” despite feeling it focused more on drama than connection. The show changed his opinion of dating.
“People nowadays care more about how their relationship is perceived than how healthy it actually is,” he said. “In my opinion, that’s one of the biggest problems with dating today.”
The show holds contestants in isolation for weeks, where they’re constantly on camera and demanded to couple up. The
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format creates a pressure cooker of emotions, which is unrealistic in everyday life.
“The islanders are isolated with zero distractions,” Crowe said. “They are kind of forced to form these connections and build attraction, because all of their time and attention goes into it.”
Dating becomes more meaningful when individuals prioritize connection despite life’s many demands, like work, family life, bills and traveling, Crowe said. Nurturing a relationship, even with competing responsibilities, can play a key role in building lasting intimacy.
Ava Moran, a 24-year-old UF audiology graduate student, said she learned a lot about her relationship expectations after comparing her love life to “Love Island.”
“The whole idea of being super intimate, super fast with somebody you don’t really know and then expecting that to work out in the real world is definitely difficult,” Moran said.
While Moran watches the show for fun, it still affects how she thinks about her relationships, she said. The show’s popularity means its impact reaches far beyond entertainment; it shapes viewers’ ideas about dating and connection.
“Between the past two seasons, because those islanders are so idolized, people take after their behavior in good ways and bad,” she said. “It has such a cult following.”
For young adults watching the show, forming intimate relationships is a pivotal part of growing up. Peggy Rios, a clinical associate professor of psychology at UF, said creating romantic connections is a huge developmental task for young adults.
“The problem with shows like this is that they sensationalize a very normal human task,” Rios said.
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out north central Florida as Richardson strengthens her resume.
She’s currently working with youth groups throughout Jacksonville to boost her health equity initiatives, a mission she began pursuing in high school.
At Jean Ribault High School, Richardson started the Ribault Get RAW program, which helped promote her school’s health center for students who were uninsured or had inadequate healthcare access. It later expanded into a statewide initiative with CROWN of Health.
In April, Richardson spread her health equity message to a younger audience with the release of her children’s book, “The Not-SoPerfect Garden Project.” The book discusses themes of food insecurity and includes the daughters of Ribault cheer coaches Natasha Skipper and Latosha Nightingale.
“Out of all the girls that Paris has been around and all the coaches and all the different mentors she’s had, for her to choose my daughter is such an honor,” Skipper said. “I just pray that my daughters, because I have three, that they look up to Paris and they are inspired to do half of what she’s done.”
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@lukeadrag ladragna@alligator.org
The gap between entertainment and reality can have emotional consequences, she said. Instead of teaching the audience the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, “Love Island” rewards messy, dramatized behavior because it attracts more fans and views. It can cause viewers to internalize the show’s standards without realizing.
“They’re shows about what could go wrong — and what can be really exciting or traumatizing about relationships,” Rios said. “It creates a non-realistic expectation about what relationships feel like or ought to feel like.”
Internalizing messages presented by shows like “Love Island” causes viewers to compare themselves to the people on the screen. The comparison quietly chips away at self-esteem, creating pressure to measure up to unrealistic standards and fostering insecurity about one’s relationships and self-worth.
“It’s not peers that you’re watching,” Rios said. “It’s the ‘best version’ of peers, like really nice-looking people … and that’s not very helpful.”
Over time, the discrepancies between viewers and the cast can leave the audience feeling isolated and as if they’re alone in their struggle to find meaningful bonds.
“Even though people are so connected and watch all these shows, they say they feel very disconnected and very hopeless about their ability to find good relationships,” she said.
Being aware of the unrealistic situations cast members on “Love Island” experience is important, Rios said. Viewers must understand the primary goal of reality shows is to entertain. It can remind audiences that what they see on screen is fiction.
“Reality shows are not about reality,” she said. “They’re entertainment. They are people acting, not people actually living out their relationships.”
@snow_isisUF isnow@alligator.org
Dylan Speicher // Alligator Staff
From east to west, Fie Scoobie has Gainesville pride
Local rap sensation leaves mark on his hometown
By Sydney Johnson Avenue Reporter
Fie Scoobie doesn’t care if you don’t know where he’s from. He just wants you to know that you’re about to find out.
“It’s always Gainesville over everybody,” Scoobie said.
With his glistening golden grillz and signature catchphrase, “I’m from Gainesville, b*tch,” Scoobie is a Gainesville icon. If he’s in the area, there’s a chance those nearby already know and a higher possibility they’ve already pulled out their phones to ask for a picture.
“It doesn’t matter where I’m at,” he said, flashing a smile. “They stop me.”
Valentina Galvan, a 20-year-old UF student, has lived in Gainesville since she was 9 years old. She made sure to get a photo with Scoobie when she met him at How Bazar downtown.
“Meeting Fie Scobie? I’ve never felt so patriotic in my life,” Galvan said.
Galvan struggled with her Gainesville upbringing. The giant that is UF made the rest of the town boring, she said.
The pride Scoobie instilled in the city helped her change her mindset.
“For most people, it’s just kind of like, ‘Why would I rep Gainesville?’” she said. “Fie Scoobie just kind of reminds you, ‘This is our city.’”
Underneath the glamour of being a local celebrity is Gerald Jones, a 42-year-old Gainesville native who worked for his success in his rap career over the past 25 years.
“They say people are born in it, some people sworn in,” Scoobie said. “I think I’m one that was born in it.”
Scoobie grew up hearing his
cousins spit rhymes, he said. One day, they invited him to join in. To them, Scoobie had “the gift.”
For the next few years, he rapped whenever he could, banging on lunch tables from Joseph Williams Elementary to Gainesville High School to make beats.
However, time took its toll. Unable to make a living on rap alone, Scoobie used his entrepreneurial spirit to start his business, Shine ‘N Glow Cleaning. While rap was still a large part of who he was, it took the back seat.
“I’m like, ‘Man, I gotta make money,’ because I’m not making money from my music right now,” he said. “I laid down on the song [to] handle my business.”
He still pursued music on the side, rapping and releasing songs on platforms like SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube.
In 2017, he dropped “I’m From Gainesville.”
The sleeper hit rested for eight years. In early April, it woke up.
“We brought the song to the radio,” he said. “I think I went viral that day.”
Scoobie watched his streams steadily climb after his radio debut April 2.
Scoobie dropped the music video for “I’m From Gainesville” April 7. That same day, the Gators basketball team won the NCAA Championship.
While he watched the game with his wife, his cameraman kept an eye on the view count, he said.
“When the Gators won, it was like, boom,” Scoobie said. “Then I get a call. It was like, ‘Bro, everybody’s playing your song downtown.’”
As students and fans descended upon the streets of Gainesville that night, Scoobie was alongside them,
blasting his song through his speakers.
The music video has amassed over 400,000 views across multiple platforms.
Shortly after his initial success, he began to post videos to Instagram Reels and TikTok.
In what has become his signature, Scoobie foregrounds local staples, like restaurants, businesses and the Gainesville Regional Airport. He shouts them out, often appearing with employees or owners.
His reason for doing this? He’s from Gainesville, b*tch.
“I’m representing for them, but I’m also representing for the City of Gainesville,” Scoobie said. “I’m just trying to put them on the map.”
Trenton Degerald, a 21-year-old Santa Fe College psychology senior, has lived in Gainesville since he was 19. Originally from Fort White, Florida, Degerald sees Scoobie’s catchphrase as an umbrella term for belonging.
“Anyone can be from Gainesville, even if you come later on,” he said. “I’m not technically from Gainesville, but I feel integrated enough into the culture that ‘I’m from Gainesville, b*tch.’”
Degerald saw Scoobie perform when he photographed a show at The Ox. He hopes the rapper’s increasing popularity will push people to support local artists.
“There’s really cool people out there that are just trying to do what they love,” he said. “It’s really good to go out and support them.”
Scoobie said he’s proud his music has been embraced by the students and residents who call Gainesville home. He hopes he can leave a rap legacy in a city that has given him so much, he said.
“We got Tom Petty, we got Bo
Diddley,” Scoobie said. “I’m the first [rapper] to come.”
Scoobie makes a bold declaration in his several songs about the city that he is from both west and East Gainesville, the two distinct sides of the city.
Andrew Lassiter, a 39-year-old Gainesville resident, noticed the distinction. He believes that there is much to be done to break down the barrier in Gainesville, he said.
“I see a really stark racial divide east and west in this city,“ Lassiter said.
Lassiter has called the city home for 15 years, and while he believes there needs to be “top down” action
from city leaders, the conversation Scoobie is starting is a great place to start, he said.
“A Black man saying that in this town, I think that’s important,” he said.
Having lived on both sides of town, Scoobie uses his music to put an emphasis on community, he said, encouraging a Gainesville that brings everyone together.
“You don’t have to be blood to be family,” he said. “We all come up together in the same environment, and we all try to push peace and happiness and love, then we all could get on the same page.”
@sydajohnson15 sjohnson@alligator.org
Libby Clifton // Alligator Staff
Gerald Jones, known professionally as Fie Scoobie, poses in front of the Bo Diddley mural on Southwest First Avenue on Friday, July 18, 2025.
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Tikka Express: India delivered to Gainesville
Indian food is a constant craving of mine. It’s wired into my circadian rhythm to the point where some mornings I wake up thinking about naan and a good curry. I go to Tikka Express to satisfy it.
Not only does the restaurant’s portions serve enough food for three meals, but it also features an open kitchen filled with cooking equipment I’ve never seen. It’s run by some of the friendliest owners, chefs and employees I’ve met.
As the name suggests, this restaurant is built for express takeout. The dine-in experience is simple but charming. Tables line both sides of the room, leaving a clear path through the middle leading to the cashier. The moment you walk in, you’re hit with a wave of spices, garlic and freshly baked bread. If that smell were bottled as cologne, I’d wear it.
The first impression is layered with something even more important: cleanliness. The space is orderly and spotless. The open kitchen is more than a stylistic choice; it’s a statement. The employees are proud of their work, and it shows. The kitchen mirrors the front of house organization, with unfamiliar pots, pans and machines drawing my curiosity like art pieces in a gallery.
More than once, I found myself watching the chefs in action until I’d make eye contact with one of them and quickly look away. One of those moments led to a conversation with the owner, which turned out to be one of the most genuine exchanges I’ve had in a restaurant. I asked where they sourced their ingredients, not expecting the answer to be Orlando.
Gainesville doesn’t have many Indian markets capable of supplying what Tikka Express needs. The challenge opened up a bigger conversation about the owner’s hopes to open an Indian grocery store next door. As someone who lives nearby and loves cooking Indian food at home, the idea of having access to restaurant-quality ingredients down the street is exciting.
All this sets the stage for what really matters: the food.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Let’s start with a classic. It’s a dish you’ll find on nearly every Indian menu, but at Tikka Express, it’s the gold standard. Chunks of marinated, roasted chicken are simmered in a creamy, spiced tomato sauce that’s rich without feeling heavy. It’s comfort food at its peak: warm, aromatic and satisfying.
Every time I order it, it comes out piping hot like it was ladled straight from the stovetop to the container. The heat isn’t just about temperature, as the dish brings out all the layers in the sauce from the gentle sweetness of the tomatoes to the warmth of the spices. It’s best eaten with fluffy
white rice that soaks up every drop of sauce and a piece — or two — of freshly baked naan to scoop up what’s left on the plate.
Successful emergency response starts with reliable communications
I’ ve been a paramedic and firefighter for more than 30 years, and I’ve seen firsthand how reliable communications impact response times and critical care. Now amid Florida’s hurricane season, communication is more important than ever.
Aidan Ragan opinions@alligator.org
It’s one of those dishes that always hits the spot, whether you’re trying Indian food for the first time or have had it a hundred times before. At Tikka Express, they don’t just serve it, they perfected it.
Chicken Delhi Masal
While the tikka masala is a comforting classic, the Chicken Delhi Masala is where things get bolder and more layered, and it might be my personal favorite.
The dish leans into texture and depth. The base is a chunky blend of tomatoes and onions, thick enough to cling to every bite of tender chicken. Sweet green peppers add a mellow brightness that balances the richness, and you can taste slight hints of garlic, but not enough to overwhelm the dish. There are the chef’s spices, a blend clearly built from memory and instinct. It feels like something made at home but with the precision of a seasoned professional.
Compared to the tikka masala, this one has a rustic edge. It’s hearty, bold and incredibly flavorful. Like everything else here, it arrives steaming hot and is begging to be eaten with naan and rice. If the tikka masala is the introduction, the Delhi Masala is the deep cut, the dish that keeps you coming back after you’ve already fallen in love with the place.
Closing remarks
Tikka Express isn’t just where I go to satisfy a craving; it’s become part of my routine, my neighborhood and my comfort zone. Whether I’m walking in for a quick takeout order or staying to chat with the owner about spices and his plans to open up an Indian grocery store, it always feels like more than just a meal.
The food hits every time. Classic dishes like tikka masala and Delhi masala are treated with care and authenticity. It’s a place built on passion, community and fantastic cooking. If that’s not worth a daily craving, I don’t know what is.
There are still so many more dishes I have to explore in this restaurant and even more I have to fall in love with, but that’s part of the excitement. So, what are you waiting for? Go try a slice of India in Gainesville and get started on the ambitious journey of experiencing everything this restaurant has to offer.
Aidan Ragan is a UF computer science senior.
In 2011, a deadly tornado struck Wake County, North Carolina, where I lived and worked. At the time, I was an incident commander responsible for leading and managing all safety aspects of the tornado. I was facing my worst nightmare: poor communication. Commercial networks were overloaded, and I wasn’t able to contact other first responders. Response efforts were difficult until I could talk in person, a feat nearly impossible during a tornado. Across the country, first responders share similar stories where reliable communication made the difference between success and failure. For Florida’s first responders, stories are rooted in the hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires that regularly wreak havoc on Florida’s Panhandle. One topic always comes up during first responders’ post-incident action meetings: communication. Were reliable connections there when needed? Could responding agencies, command centers, dispatch, hospitals and emergency management crews adequately communicate during and after the event?
FirstNet, a network designed to help first responders communicate during emergencies, aids in the effort.
Yet, many state and local decision makers aren’t aware of this network. Thankfully, Florida is a strong example of a commitment to public safety as leaders invest in FirstNet technologies that help responders get the job done. From St. Augustine to Palm Beach County, thousands of first responders use FirstNet’s network every day to stay connected, save lives and keep communities safe. Because FirstNet is built on dedicated broadband spectrum, first responders don’t compete with commercial traffic or get slowed down by network congestion.
When disasters take down cellular infrastructure, responders work with AT&T to deploy FirstNet mobile cell sites that help them stay connected.
In 2022, Hurricane Ian, the deadliest hurricane to strike the state in more than 80 years, wiped out standard cell infrastructure and cut off entire communities from rescue and support.
The hurricane ripped away parts of the Sanibel Causeway, eliminating access to the mainland. Small watercrafts were the only way to reach the island.
To get the community back online, AT&T deployed a lightweight compact rapid deployable device, or CRD, that worked as a data minitower. Such devices don’t rely on commercial power availability and provide the same service as a traditional cell tower.
Using a specialized amphibious vehicle, first response teams on Sanibel Island navigated the island with the device, which was up and running within five minutes of finding a site. When Hurricanes Helene and Milton more recently caused widespread damage in Florida and neighboring states, FirstNet was immediately in action.
Florida recently made a critical, life-saving investment by purchasing 50 additional FirstNet-powered CRDs. The mobile communications assets are pre-staged across the state, giving first responders a lifeline for connectivity within minutes.
As we gear up for the next hurricane season, these will be critical in keeping communities connected as they weather the storm.
Jon Olson is a 30-year EMS and firefighting veteran who serves as FirstNet’s senior public safety adviser.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Alligator.
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.
Jon Olson opinions@alligator.org
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1. MOVIES: How many dream levels does the crew enter in the film "Inception"?
2. U.S. STATES: Which state's nickname is "Treasure State"?
1. MEASUREMENTS: How many inches are in a mile?
3. LITERATURE: Which 1969 novel begins with the line, "All this happened, more or less"?
4. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What is a baby horse called?
2. ASTRONOMY: What does the acronym SETI mean to the scientific community?
5. ACRONYMS: What does the acronym GIF stand for?
3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin prefix “sub-” mean in English?
6. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Which president served the shortest term?
7. TELEVISION: In which fictional town is "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" set?
4. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms?
8. GEOGRAPHY: What international city's nickname is "The Eternal City"?
9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: How many time zones exist on Earth?
10. SCIENCE: Who is known as the father of medicine?
5. LITERATURE: Which 20th-century movie star penned the autobiography “Me: Stories of My Life”?
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6. HISTORY: What was the first National Monument proclaimed in the United States?
7. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the island of Luzon located?
8. MOVIES: Which sci-fi movie has the tagline, “Reality is a thing of the past”?
1.
1. What International Boxing Hall of Famer from Cuba held the undisputed world welterweight championship titles from 1951-54?
2. Bill Chadwick, the NHL’s
2. Introduced internationally in 1998, what specialized defensive position in indoor volleyball wears a different color jersey, cannot attack above the net and is restricted from serving in some leagues?
9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What was the name of the United States’ first nuclear-powered submarine?
3. He won two NCAA championships with the Florida Gators before being drafted third overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 2007. His father, Tito, was the first Dominican-born player in the NBA. Who is he?
4. Pitcher Steve Dalkowski, who spent nine seasons in the minor leagues and threw fastballs exceeding 100 miles per hour, was the inspiration for what character in the 1988 film "Bull Durham"?
10. GAMES: What are the four railroad properties in Monopoly? Answers
5. What team, founded in 1961 by British basketball pioneer Betty Codona, was the first women's basketball team in England?
1. 63,360 inches
6. What St. Louis Rams wide receiver caught three touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score in a 38-10 rout of the Cincinnati Bengals in October 1999?
2. Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
3. Below or insufficient
7. Name the World Golf Hall of Famer who won 18 LPGA Tour events -- including the 1991 and 2004 U.S. Women's Open championships - from 1987 to 2010.
4. Grover Cleveland
5. Katharine Hepburn 6. Devils Tower, 1906
7. The
Kid Gavilan.
A libero.
Al Horford.
Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (played by Tim Robbins).
The Sheffield Hatters.
Az-Zahir Hakim.
Meg Mallon.
Five (four dream levels and limbo).
Montana.
"Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut.
A foal.
Graphics Interchange Format.
William Henry Harrison, who died 32 days after taking office.
Sunnydale.
Rome, Italy.
Sudoku solution
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Cambios constantes en el horario de autobuses de RTS podrían dificultar el acceso a la
TRABAJADORES DE LA SALUD
OPINAN SOBRE LAS RECIENTES MODIFICACIONES AL SISTEMA DE AUTOBUSES
Por Alanna Robbert Escritora de El Caimán
Traducido por Sofia Bravo Escritora de El Caimán
Los veranos en Gainesville son calurosos y húmedos. El sudor se desliza por la frente y el calor se siente pesado. Sumado a ello, existe la alta probabilidad de ser sorprendido por una lluvia torrencial durante una tormenta vespertina.
Anya Joshi, estudiante de biología de segundo año en UF de 18 años, eligió pasar el verano en Gainesville, donde investiga en el Departamento de Farmacogenómica. Su laboratorio se encuentra en el extremo del campus, dentro del Hospital UF Health Shands. Está a 20 minutos caminando desde su apartamento hasta Shands, dijo Joshi, pero se ahorra tiempo al tomar el autobús.
“En verano, prefiero tomar el autobús porque hace mucho calor o está muy lluvioso, y no hay término medio”, dijo Joshi. “No es divertido caminar 25 minutos con una mochila cuando afuera hace 90 grados”.
Como no tiene coche, Joshi dijo que “es simplemente más difícil” moverse por Gainesville. Depende del Gainesville Regional
Transit System, que ahora tiene menos rutas que antes y no siempre llega a tiempo, dijo.
“He estado esperando un autobús que no llega durante 20 minutos, pero está lloviendo a cántaros, ¿como se supone que llegue a casa?”, dijo Joshi.
Una pequeña parada entre Shands y el campus de UF ofrece poca protección al pie de una colina empinada. Joshi abrazó su teléfono con fuerza. La humedad era pegajosa. la lluvia acababa de cesar. Consultó la ubicación del autobús cuando este la rebasó.
Estaba en el lado equivocado para subirse. Otra mirada al teléfono confirmó que el siguiente autobús no llegaría pronto.
Obligada a ceder, comenzó la caminata cuesta arriba rumbo a su casa.
Desde abril de 2024, RTS ha negociado con la universidad sobre su financiamiento.
A pesar de que los recientes cambios en el horario buscan mayor eficiencia, los usuarios deben ajustar sus rutinas para alcanzar el autobús a tiempo.
Los recortes redujeron el presupuesto de RTS de $12.7 millones a $9.8 millones cada año.
El sistema de autobuses Lynx de Orlando cuenta con un presupuesto operativo anual de $208,132,943. Aunque Orlando es una ciudad más grande, Lynx registró 19,621,469 viajes de pasajeros en 2024, y RTS fue responsable de más de 5 millones de viajes en 2023.
RTS tiene ahora 39 rutas. En 2021 circulaban 102 autobuses entre semana, pero Gainesville redujo la flota debido a la baja en
usuarios.
Cambios recientes
Jimmy Shennett, residente de Gainesville de 57 años, visita con frecuencia el Centro Medico Malcolm Randall del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos para “adelantarse” a su salud. Es veterano de la Guardia Costera de EE. UU.
Shennett vive cerca del Oaks Mall y usa la Ruta 1 para llegar a sus citas. Descubrió el cambio en julio, cuando el autobús se viró antes de lo que estaba acostumbrado. Aunque leyó que habría modificaciones, no se había “concentrado en eso”, dijo.
Se sorprendió cuando el autobús tomó una calle dentro del campus de UF. Al darse cuenta de que su ruta había cambiado, se bajó y caminó por el campus hasta el hospital. “Tienes que hacer lo que debes, pero es incómodo”, dijo Shennett.
El nuevo horario comenzó con el semestre de verano B de UF, el 30 de junio.
La Ruta 1 fue una de las 11 que sufrió cambios considerables. Nueve rutas tuvieron cambios menores. Solo dos rutas permanecieron igual.
Durante el verano B no tienen servicio las rutas 21, 28, 46, 76, 78, 118, 122 y 127.
Falta de confiabilidad
Carly Ginn, estudiante de enfermería de último año en UF de 21 años, no trabaja en Shands este verano, pero cuando lo hizo durante 11 meses, su novio la llevaba. A
atención médica
veces, usaba el RTS. Tener acceso al autobús era útil porque podía tomarlo si su novio no podía llevarla, dijo Ginn. Los empleados de Shands pueden viajar gratis, y el autobús aparecía entre cinco y 10 minutos después de lo programado.
“Cuando comenzaron a recortar fondos a RTS, especialmente porque todavía uso el autobús para ir a la Facultad de Enfermería, ahora es definitivamente mucho menos confiable”, dijo Ginn.
Ginn notó que solo hay tres autobuses para las rutas que usa desde su casa cerca de Butler Plaza, lo que limita dónde y cuándo puede tomarlos.
“Si necesitas llegar al campus y no pasa cerca de ti, estás perdiendo”, dijo. A veces el autobús va lleno en todos las paradas, por lo que se ve obligada a caminar hasta la siguiente parada. Hubo ocasiones en que tuvo que caminar hasta el campus, dijo. Quiere saber por qué se recortan fondos a RTS. Aunque opciones como Park & Ride ofrecen pases de estacionamiento baratos, “sigue siendo una locura”, dijo.
“Pagas para tomar el autobús”, dijo Ginn. “Pero el autobús que tomé [en Park & Ride] era el mismo que habría tomado desde mi apartamento, de todas formas”.
Lea el resto en línea en alligator.org/section/elcaiman. @alannafitzr arobbert@alligator.org
Peaceful Paths y la UF se unen para combatir la violencia doméstica digital
EL PROYECTO DE INVESTIGACIÓN BUSCA PROTEGER A LAS VÍCTIMAS DE LA AMENAZA OCULTA DEL STALKERWARE
Por Swasthi Maharaj
Escritora de El Caimán
Traducido por Candy Fontana-Verde
Escritora de El Caimán
El centro de apoyo a víctimas de violencia doméstica Peaceful Paths, con sede en Gainesville, se ha aliado con investigadores de la Universidad de Florida para enfrentar una amenaza creciente en relaciones abusivas: el uso de la tecnología como herramienta de control.
La colaboración forma parte de un proyecto liderado por el Centro de Investigación sobre Privacidad y Seguridad para Poblaciones Marginadas y Vulnerables, o PRISM, de la UF, financiado por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias, or NSF por sus siglas en inglés. El objetivo es estudiar cómo herramientas digitales como aplicaciones móviles o funciones de geolocalización pueden ser utilizadas para vigilar y controlar a las víctimas sin su conocimiento.
Aunque muchas veces estas tecnologías se diseñan con fines de seguridad, pueden ser manipuladas para monitorear cada movimiento de una persona. El centro busca revelar estos riesgos ocultos y desarrollar medidas de protección que sirvan para orientar políticas y diseños más seguros.
Kevin Butler, el director del Instituto de Investigación en Ciberseguridad de Florida y principal investigador del proyecto PRISM, dijo que su equipo identifica herramientas digitales mal utilizadas, como servicios de localización, y promueve un
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diseño tecnológico más equitativo y preventivo.
“Nuestro objetivo es desarrollar tecnologías y principios de diseño que aseguren, sobre todo en cuanto a seguridad y privacidad, que se maximicen los beneficios y se minimicen los daños para todos”, dijo Butler.
Uno de los focos del estudio es el stalkerware, un tipo de software que, al ser instalado, puede recolectar datos como ubicación, llamadas y actividad en línea sin que la persona lo sepa.
“Queremos entender cómo las experiencias y perspectivas de las víctimas se ven afectadas por estas aplicaciones”, dijo.
PRISM ha ampliado recientemente su investigación hacia aplicaciones de control parental y plataformas de citas, recolectando testimonios de sobrevivientes de violencia doméstica para entender el impacto tecnológico sobre su autonomía, privacidad y seguridad.
“Hay muchas pruebas de que estas aplicaciones de stalkerware se usan en relaciones abusivas”, dijo Butler. “Al hacer ingeniería inversa y descompilar estas apps, podemos entender mejor cómo funcionan, cómo se monetizan y qué elementos podrían permitir su detección”.
Según Crystal Sorrow, la directora ejecutiva de Peaceful Paths, la organización comenzó a colaborar con PRISM en 2022, cuando Butler y su entonces estudiante de doctorado, Cassidy Gibson, ofrecieron una capacitación en ciberseguridad para sobrevivientes.
“Esta capacitación fue muy valiosa porque educó a nuestras defensoras sobre las nuevas tendencias tecnológicas que pueden ser manipuladas por los agresores”, escribió Sorrow en un correo. “También brindó soluciones que pueden incluirse en los planes de seguridad con las víctimas”.
Peaceful Paths ha utilizado esta información en presentaciones escolares y universitarias sobre violencia
digital en el noviazgo.
“El conocimiento que obtenemos a través de PRISM nos ayuda a establecer buenas prácticas que luego compartimos con los estudiantes”, dijo Sorrow.
La investigación de PRISM ha fortalecido las conversaciones sobre seguridad digital, permitiendo a las defensoras ofrecer recomendaciones personalizadas. En el último año, Peaceful Paths ha completado más de 4.000 planes de seguridad, añadió.
Sara Rampazzi, una profesora asistente del Departamento de Ingeniería en Computación y Ciencias de la Información de la UF, también participó en la investigación de stalkerware. Rampazzi dijo que los casos más comunes involucran a novios o prometidos que usaban estas apps para controlar a sus parejas.
El estudio también analizó cómo estas aplicaciones generan ingresos. Muchas ofrecen funciones básicas gratuitas, pero los controles más invasivos están disponibles tras un pago.
Además de trabajar con Peaceful Paths, PRISM es la primera institución académica en unirse a la Coalición Contra el Stalkerware, una organización que agrupa a ONGs dedicadas a combatir la violencia doméstica y garantizar que la tecnología se use de forma segura.
La coalición fue creada en 2019 como respuesta al aumento del stalkerware y busca unir esfuerzos para proteger a las personas de este tipo de violencia.
Si tú o alguien que conoces está sufriendo violencia doméstica, Peaceful Paths ofrece apoyo confidencial. Puedes llamar a su línea de ayuda 24/7 al 352-377-8255 o enviar un mensaje de texto al 352-727-0948.
@s_maharaj1611 smaharaj@alligator.org
Síganos para actualizaciones Para obtener actualizaciones de El Caimán, síganos en línea en www.alligator.org/section/elcaiman.
MONDAY, JULY 21, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/sports
Gators golfers step into leadership roles in year two
INCOMING SOPHOMORES JESSICA GUISER AND ADDISON KLONOWSKI LOOK TO IMPACT FRESHMAN CLASS
By Brooke Bastedo Sports Writer
Golf is an intense mental game. Each time a professional golfer approaches the ball, they know they are doing so alone.
At the collegiate level, players have the unique opportunity to share their game with a team. While players can’t help each other swing the club, there is a strength in knowing your team will be there to celebrate with you at the end of the day.
UF sophomore golfer Jessica Guiser and redshirt sophomore Addison Klonowski plan to pass down the lesson of teamwork to a new generation of Gators.
In her first season, Guiser accomplished a feat completed by only one other woman in UF history: winning the Gator Invitational her freshman year.
She didn’t represent the UF team at the tournament, but the team and its fans still rallied around her as an individual participant.
“I still had people supporting me,” Guiser said. “A bunch of Gator fans were still out there, and the team was still there.”
She hopes to give incoming freshmen the same support, she said. Former P.K. Yonge golfer Katelyn Huber is among those Guiser is excited to welcome.
“I love her already, so I’m definitely looking forward to help-
BASEBALL
ing her integrate into our team,” Guiser said.
Guiser credits her coach, Emily Glaser, with helping her acclimate in her first year. After 14 years with the Gators, Glaser has her fair share of experience with developing young players, she said.
“There’s a couple of things we do for the freshmen,” Glaser said. “We try to be great communicators that set parameters and guidelines that will help them.”
Her goal is to create an environment where freshmen aren’t scared to fail, she said, which gives them the freedom to succeed and grow.
“One thing that's easier your freshman year is to keep low expectations because everything's new,” she said.
Glaser and her staff began the search for the 2027 recruiting class June 15. During her time at UF, she developed her recruiting style to go beyond the surface-level factors of a potential recruit.
“I think you realize there's a ton more variables that go into it than just someone who shoots low scores,” Glaser said. “Sometimes the person who shoots the lowest scores, they may not be a great teammate, and in college, it’s team golf.”
Addison Klonowski was one player Glaser saw as someone whose character goes beyond the golf course. After spending a year at Indiana University to focus on academics, Klonowski returned to her home state to compete for Florida.
After redshirting in Spring 2024, she prepared for her first collegiate golf season, where she led the team in top-10 finishes and rounds under par. In the Gators’ National Championship appearance, she carded the lowest round by a freshman since 2005.
“I feel like now, as a sophomore, I can definitely share my experiences and some advice to the freshmen as well,” she said.
Redshirt junior Karoline Tuttle, Klonowski’s friend and teammate, aided her transition from student to student-athlete.
The pair met competing in junior tournaments around Florida at 11 years old. They continue to encourage one another on and off the course.
“We definitely support each other,” Klonowski said. “We're always helping each other, making sure that we're getting those good grades in.”
As they move into their second year on the team, Guiser and Klonowski will take on a new status as veterans. While still looking to their older peers as mentors, they will be responsible for guiding younger players as they adjust to college life.
They will also seek to accomplish things beyond their freshman victories. Glaser encourages the women on her team to focus on improving the process by which they compete rather than focusing on specific goals like a certain score or winning a tournament.
In college, Glaser was an All-American, a four-time All-Big Ten and the 1999 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, so she’s familiar with the pressures of the game.
“Sophomore year, you're a little older and wiser,” Glaser said. “I think managing those expectations is really important, not comparing it to what you did the year before and not looking too far ahead.”
@BrookeBastedo bbastedo@alligator.org
Six Gators, two signees selected in 2025 MLB Draft
FLORIDA BOASTS 116 DRAFT PICKS DURING KEVIN O’SULLIVAN’S TENURE
By Adrian Carmona Sports Writer
As the 2025 MLB Draft concluded July 14, six Florida baseball players and two signees heard their names called, marking the next step in their baseball careers.
The Gators produced at least four picks in 16 of the last 17 drafts, including five in 2024. The program boasts 231 unique draft picks in its history and 116 under UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
Among those selected in the draft were shortstop Colby Shelton, right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente, left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola, third baseman Bobby Boser and catchers Luke Heyman and Brody Donay. The two signees drafted were shortstop Jordan Yost and right-handed pitcher Aaron Watson.
SS Colby Shelton
Shelton was the first Florida player drafted. The Chicago White Sox selected him with the No. 166 overall pick in the sixth round. It wasn’t Shelton’s first draft experience. He was selected in the 20th round by the Washington Nationals in 2024 before returning to Florida for his junior year.
In his two seasons with the Gators, Shelton
logged a .304 batting average with 131 hits, 27 home runs and 91 RBI. Despite his junior season ending early due to a hand injury, he was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which honors the best shortstop in collegiate baseball.
Shelton spent his freshman year with the Alabama Crimson Tide, earning a spot on the Freshman All-SEC team.
“The University of Florida has been nothing but great for me, from the coaching staff, teammates, academic staff, support staff,” Shelton said. “I've really grown as a person and in my baseball ability, so it's definitely prepared me for this next step in the baseball journey.”
Shelton is the eighth-highest drafted shortstop in Gators history and joins a White Sox team that ranks as the No. 6 farm system in the MLB.
RHP Jake Clemente
With the No. 198 pick in the seventh round, the Miami Marlins selected Clemente, marking the first Gator pitcher selected in the 2025 draft. Clemente spent three seasons with Florida. After suffering a shoulder injury that sidelined him his freshman year, his role increased year after year.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2025, Clemente took over the closing role for the Gators at the midseason mark. He led the Gators with seven saves while posting a career-high ERA of 3.46. He tallied 77 strikeouts over 54 innings, earning him a spot on the All-SEC Second Team.
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“Being able to go through everything that I've went through at the University of Florida has allowed me to take that next step in my life,” Clemente said. “It's allowed me to really just grow up altogether.”
He has two years of college eligibility remaining if he chooses to return to school.
LHP Pierce Coppola
The Chicago Cubs drafted Coppola with the No. 211 pick in the seventh round.
Coppola’s college journey is one defined by adversity. After making just one start in his first two seasons due to lingering back and leg injuries, Coppola had his best season as a redshirt junior in 2025.
Coppola made seven weekend starts with 21 total innings pitched, going 3-1 in his starts on the mound. He posted a career-best 2.53 ERA with 43 strikeouts. He suffered an upperbody injury against the Miami Hurricanes on March 1 and returned against the South Carolina Gamecocks May 4 during the 2024-25 season.
3B Bobby Boser
Boser was picked by the Athletics with the No. 320 pick in the 11th round.
Boser spent one season with the Gators after spending the previous three with South Florida. He ended his Bulls career No. 8 alltime in home runs in program history with 31.
As a senior, Boser was the only Gator to start all 61 games in 2025. He posted 80 hits,
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18 home runs and 67 RBI, leading all Florida players while batting .336. He delivered a .955 fielding percentage while playing shortstop, second base and third base. He earned a spot on the All-SEC Defensive Team and the NCAA Conway Regional All-Tournament team.
Boser joins an Athletics team ranked the No. 21 farm system, according to the MLB farm rankings.
C Luke Heyman
The Seattle Mariners selected Florida catcher Luke Heyman with the No. 422 overall pick in the 14th round.
Heyman spent three seasons with the Gators, culminating in 177 hits, 41 home runs and 135 RBI.
Heyman started in 49 games in 2025 before suffering a season-ending forearm injury against the Alabama Crimson Tide on May 15. He slashed .301 while adding 13 home runs and 44 RBI. Despite his season’s early end, Heyman was named to the All-SEC First Team as a catcher. Heyman was a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, which honors collegiate baseball’s best catcher.
Heyman joins a Seattle team that ranks as the No. 5 farm system.
Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/sports.
@abcarmona04 acarmona@alligator.org
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