Proposed GRU special election is another chapter in the fight over utility control
The 2025 referendum to return control back to the city is the newest entry in a decade-long battle
By Logan McBride Alligator Staff Writer
On May 15, the Gainesville City Commission voted 6-1 to hold a special election in November. This election will retry a referendum to return control of Gainesville Regional Utilities to the city.
Citizens and organizers from groups like Gainesville Residents United, the Alachua County Labor Coalition and the Alachua County NAACP branch offered public comments at the meeting. They repeatedly urged the commission to draft a new, improved referendum and hold a special election.
In 2014 and 2015, Republican lawmaker Keith Perry proposed bills to change GRU’s governance to a new authority board, but
none advanced past committee.
One bill cleared committee in 2016, but former Gov. Rick Scott vetoed it.
Former Rep. Chuck Clemons sponsored a ballot measure in 2018 that would have appointed an authority board to control GRU. Voters rejected the measure, with 60% voting against it.
In April 2023, Clemons filed House Bill 1645, which would turn control of GRU over to a governor-appointed authority board. The bill passed, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law, forming the GRU Authority.
After hearing complaints from Gainesville residents, the city commission placed a referendum on the November 2024 ballot to allow voters to decide whether to return control to the city.
Gainesville residents voted in favor of city control with a 72% majority — an even stronger margin than in 2018.
Despite its passing, the authority board continued to fight in court. Judge George M. Wright of the Eighth Judicial Circuit nullified the referendum in April.
Wright ruled the referendum’s wording was misleading. The term “elected,” not “appointed,” was used to refer to a charter officer who would help manage GRU. Wright took issue because the Gainesville charter officer would be appointed by the commission, not elected like the commissioners themselves.
The GRU Authority has remained in control of GRU since.
Santa Fe College considers signing ICE agreement
Santa Fe students and faculty express shock, confusion and wariness
By Maria Avlonitis Alligator Staff
ICE is on Santa Fe College’s doorstep. While the agency has yet to knock on its door, faculty and students are wondering what a potential agreement with immigration enforcement means for their safety.
In January, schools and churches lost the protection of being “sensitive” locations, or places where ICE is usually restricted from immigration enforcement actions.
The Santa Fe Board of Trustees votes on May 20 whether to sign a 287(g) Task Force Model memorandum of agreement with the agency, a legally binding contract that would allow Santa Fe Police Department officers to act as immigration officers under ICE’s supervision.
The possible collaboration took many by surprise.
Student concerns
Aleeza Carruthers, a 29-year-old Santa Fe health services administration senior and the Santa Fe Student Senate President, said she’s worried the deal will shatter trust between SFPD and the student body.
“ I would like the administration to know that if this is signed, students are going to be afraid, and there's not really a way to talk their way out of that,” Carruthers said. “It is going to create more fear than it fixes.”
The college’s lack of effort to inform students about the agreement
Michael Goston // Alligator Staff
Cassidy McLellan strikes the ball after a pitch by the Mercer Bears during their Friday match on Friday, May 16, 2025. Find this story in Sportson pg. 12.
Today’s Weather
The Norman Hall oak tree comes back to life
Efforts are underway to honor the historic UF landmark
By Swasthi Maharaj Alligator Staff Writer
The massive Norman Hall oak tree had been the centerpiece of the UF College of Education’s courtyard for over a hundred years.
Students and staff often took group photos beneath its leaves. Others used its shade to escape the sun on summer days — that is, before it was uprooted by Hurricane Helene in September 2024.
The tree’s loss shocked many.
Kevin Coulson, the assistant director of communications for the College of Education, said the oak served as a symbol for the college’s goals.
“Over time, it became part of the fabric of the college and showcased the growth and networking that happened here,” Coulson said.
With it gone, the College of Education now has the opportunity to entirely recreate its courtyard.
“We get to think about even bigger structural opportunities — restructuring the faces of buildings, potentially reorganizing the flow of foot traffic,” he said.
To breathe new life into the beloved tree’s legacy, the College of Education and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are collaborating on a tree-planting project.
Gage LaPierre, the head of UF IFAS’ Native Plant Nursery, is a part of the team spearheading the initiative, which began early last October in the aftermath of the hurricane. While the damage to the tree was irreversible, a team of UF faculty members and students saw an op-
portunity to replace what was lost by replanting the tree’s acorns.
They collected approximately 1,000.
The majority of the acorns were green and immature at the time of collection, LaPierre said.
“When they got to me, I really didn't think they were going to grow,” LaPierre said. “But we decided to just try and see.”
The process consisted of densely planting the acorns in large plastic containers filled with soil.
The team then allowed for a dormancy period in an attempt to break the natural cycle of the seeds. This process, called cold stratification, means the seeds were left outside throughout winter. By being exposed to cold and moisture, the seeds change internally, signaling they can start sprouting when conditions improve.
Despite LaPierre’s doubts, small leaves began to unfurl from the soil in March — a sign of unexpected success.
The project yielded around a dozen live sprouts, and another dozen will likely bloom in the coming weeks. The sprouts were transplanted into 1-gallon pots and now reside in a greenhouse at the UF Plant Nursery, where they are protected from pests and other environmental disturbances.
A press release from the College of Education announced the sprouts’ future is still uncertain. They may be replanted in the newly imagined Norman Courtyard, or the seeds might be given to major donors of the Finding Touchstones campaign,
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which is taking donations to support the revival of the courtyard. The campaign aims to create a vibrant gathering space that honors the tree’s memory.
UF faculty and students hope the Norman oak's legacy will continue.
Madison Rassbach, a 23-year-old UF alumnus and graphic designer at the College of Education, said she’s excited by the possibility of new trees.
“At my office, we would take new staff's photos under the tree, and it was a big part of the College of Education,” Rassbach said. “To know that it's being preserved and possibly regrown is really amazing.”
Samantha Noll, an evening and weekend supervisor at the Education Library, said many of her colleagues at the library are saddened by the loss of the Norman oak because of its beauty and rich history. As a Gainesville native, many of Noll’s family members attended UF and made memories with the tree.
“One of them told me how she used to eat lunch under the Norman tree every day and how it always lifted her spirits in an otherwise stressful time,” Noll said. “I’m so glad to know that some of the acorns will be replanted, and I look forward to watching them grow.”
@s_maharaj1611 smaharaj@alligator.org
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Gage LaPierre describes sprout growth phases on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
Santa Fe considers ICE deal
concerned Student Body President John Paul Dishinger. The 19-year-old Santa Fe business administration sophomore said he only found out about the deal because a professor had told him about it.
“ That was a major failure by the administration of Santa Fe to not inform the students,” Dishinger said. “This is a really serious situation, right? The students deserve to know.”
He then spread the word on the Santa Fe United Instagram. He thinks it was much scarier for students to find out from him than the college because he doesn’t have all the facts, he said.
But lack of communication isn’t his only concern. Dishinger said the agreement’s vague wording opens the door to racial profiling, such as how the term “alien” is defined in the contract.
“[SFPD is] still going to be federal agents now, and their scope of power is going to be extended,” he said.
The meeting
The Santa Fe Faculty Senate held a meeting May 13, where representatives discussed the potential agreement with SFPD Chief Ed Book and Santa Fe President Paul Broadie II. Faculty questioned the wording and implications of each section. Several staff members expressed concerns and disagreed with the deal.
Santa Fe received a partnership offer from ICE in February, but the college declined to participate at the time.
The Florida Department of Education sent out information to universities and colleges about signing an updated agreement on April 21, Broadie said. By May 1, a draft was placed on the board agenda.
Regardless of whether the agreement is signed, Broadie said Santa Fe will communicate with students so they understand what an agreement entails.
The majority of the memorandum of agreement points to identifying illegal activities and individuals that pose a risk to public safety, he said.
The deal means ICE will likely go to SFPD first before taking any action on campus, Chief Book said. However, he doubts ICE will come onto campus frequently, as they would only be going after serious criminals.
“ Any law enforcement is going to come first to Santa Fe College Police Department,” Book said. “Why? We know our college community. We know where people are. We know what people do. We interact with them in a professional, respectful way.”
Book said he recognizes the deal has caused concern and anxiety for many, but he said the college’s priority is keeping the campus community safe.
Tre Mobley, a 25-year-old Santa Fe journalism sophomore, said he was anxious when he first learned the college might be signing a deal with ICE. However, he said it’s reassuring to know SFPD would be the first point of contact.
“ If I had to choose between Santa Fe Police, who I am comfortable with and I know, getting ICE training, instead of an outside source, I will go with Santa Fe Police every
time,” Mobley said.
Still, he isn’t happy these are the only two options, he said. He questioned the deal’s true motive, believing it seems geared toward spreading fear.
Uncertainty
Jasmine Reyes, a 22-year-old Santa Fe health sciences sophomore, was shocked when she found out about the deal. She thought of Santa Fe as being very diverse and progressive, she said.
“ I don't see how this benefits the students or the school in any sort of way,” Reyes said. “If anything, I think it makes their students feel unwelcomed and unsafe in their institution.”
She thinks there’s going to be much less foot traffic on campus. Students might switch to online classes or even look into other schools that haven’t signed with ICE, she said.
“ It's really going to deter people from going here,” she said.
David Price, a Santa Fe history and political science professor, said he is opposed to the agreement because he thinks there is no reason for legal enforcement or arrests on campus.
It also isn’t clear whether ICE will notify the college if it comes to campus, Price said.
But he added he understands the college is signing the deal because jobs might be on the line.
“ The leadership is caught between a rock and a hard place,” he said.
If Santa Fe doesn’t move forward with the deal, Price said Gov. Ron DeSantis has the power to remove the college’s leadership. If the deal is delayed further, he said ICE has legal authority to come on campus without
notifying SFPD.
Still, Price is concerned by the college’s rush to sign a deal with ICE.
“I'm somewhat baffled why it's so important that we sign this immediately as is without any dialogue about it,” he said.
Alex Siwiecki, an assistant professor of English at Santa Fe, was surprised to hear about the agreement. Santa Fe held out against ICE for so long, he said.
Siwiecki attended the Santa Fe Faculty Senate meeting virtually, and he said it wasn’t clear to him whether the college was required to sign the agreement just because it has a police department.
Paired with the delay in financial aid refunds, Siwiecki said students’ reaction to the deal could mean Santa Fe loses enrollment numbers, especially because of the school’s almost 25% Latino population.
The college had communication lapses in the past, Siwiecki said, but it could have explained the deal to the general body directly, instead of through the rumor mill.
The administration has the opportunity to create trust by having an open forum to make a direct attempt at communicating with students, he said.
During a time when there is a lot of fear surrounding ICE and unlawful deportations, communication from leadership is important, he said. People are upset because they don’t want to see anyone they care about deported.
“ Nothing is worse than thinking that you can just be removed and disappeared,” Siwiecki said.
@MariaAvlonitis mavlonitis@alligator.org.
City considers special election
The city commission and local organizations like Gainesville Residents United have pushed to restore city control since the governor-appointed board was formed. One of the group’s members is Susan Bottcher, a 67-yearold former city commissioner.
The board has slowly cut off the flow of money to the city, Bottcher said. The money lost will lead to a tradeoff, whether it’s by increasing property taxes, decreasing services or both, she said. The uncertainty makes it more difficult for the city to properly budget, she said.
“The profit the GRU made… went to things like funding our fire department, police department, road maintenance, parks,” Bottcher said. “It helped to fund the City of Gainesville.”
In a public hearing with Chuck Clemons in Tallahassee, attendees asked if any referendum drafted includes all GRU customers, even if they were outside city limits. Bottcher said Clemons decided to go a different direction. She pointed out that GRU customers outside city limits also have no voice under the current authority structure.
Not all GRU customers support the idea of returning control to the city. Among them is 49-year-old Angela Casteel, an active member of the Facebook group “Customers for a Better GRU.”
Casteel took issue with how the vote took place, she said. GRU covers customers outside of Gainesville, but only Gainesville residents could vote on the November referendum.
Casteel said she also doesn’t trust the commission to control the utility, citing its past debt.
“They would have to change everything they’re doing,” Casteel said. “They’re wanting to raise rates every single year.”
Janice Garry, a 72-year-old Gainesville resident, said the GRU Authority made decisions that undermine long-term planning for energy, water reliability and climate action.
“We have spoken loudly and clearly innumerable times,” Garry said. “We will not succumb, we will not give up our local public utilities that belong to us.”
@LoganDMcBride lmcbride@alligator.org
City and state officials grapple for control of Gainesville
High Springs’ Bridlewood residential development project continues despite community backlash Residents worry the subdivision will impact their way of life
Ava Cyr Alligator Staff Writer
The Bridlewood residential development project in High Springs is moving forward despite ongoing pushback from residents about its environmental and infrastructural impacts.
The 688-acre development was first approved by the High Springs Plan Board in September 2022. The High Springs City Commission approved it the following month in a 4-1 vote.
Commissioner Katherine Weitz cast the sole dissenting vote, citing the increased density as her reasoning against the development.
Although the Bridlewood Master Plan outlines about 1,400 units, Christopher Potts, vice president of LGA Engineering and developer, told commissioners in February the project could include up to 2,000 single- and multi-family units and an additional 200 senior living units. The plan designates lot sizes of 70, 80 and 100 feet. Potts declined to comment.
The proposed density and lot sizes are inconsistent with existing residential areas
in High Springs, Weitz said, warning of possible environmental consequences.
She said the project had to halt activity for roughly a month while animals were moved, but to her understanding, they have all now been properly relocated.
She also cited potential traffic issues. If every resident in Bridlewood has one to two cars, there could be more congestion on the already busy roads in High Springs. She said she doesn't feel that the traffic study conducted by the project was indepth enough.
“[The developers] did the bare minimum of what was required so they were meeting the Department of Transportation’s recommendations, but they did not do anywhere near enough to understand the real traffic impact,” she said.
Beyond transportation, Weitz also has geological concerns. High Springs’ karst terrain, formed by soluble rock like limestone, often includes underground voids, springs and sinkholes. Uncovering land for development could expose unstable ground, she said, posing safety risks.
Bryan Buescher, a 65-year-old retired
High Springs resident and cave diver, said he saw shallow caves on the Bridlewood property that are prone to collapse. A more thorough geological study of the area should have been conducted, he said.
“I think minimal work was required to put in this rather significant development,” Buescher said.
High Springs residents also voiced apprehensions about how the increased density from Bridlewood will impact the town’s infrastructure and public services. When finished, the subdivision will nearly double the size of High Springs, Buescher said, increasing the cost of services like fire and law enforcement.
“It’s going to be extremely challenging for a small town like High Springs to keep up with those costs,” he said.
Developers proposed adding a community development district to the subdivision at a Feb. 13 city commission meeting. A CDD, which functions similarly to a homeowners association, manages infrastructure and facilities by adding a fee to residents’ property tax bills. The developer told commissioners the CDD would operate alongside an HOA.Rebecca
Burns, a 61-year-old High Springs resident and real estate broker, opposed the proposal.“Residents would have to pay for a property tax base for Alachua County, an HOA fee to take care of the neighborhood, and now we are talking about a CDD fee,” Burns asked. “That is not affordable.”
In her experience as a real estate broker, she said it’s not common in the Alachua County market for residential developments to have CDDs.
This proposal was denied by the city commission with a 3-2 vote.
Commissioner Katherine Weitz said the commission and High Springs residents shouldn’t “stand in the way of Bridlewood being built” because the developers have legal rights to the plots of land. Intervention could mean legal trouble for the city, she said.
“They have a legal right, and we cannot and should not get in their way in terms of proceeding, but we can be involved in every phase of the development,” Weitz said.
Sara-James Ranta contributed to this report.
Henry Moore // Alligator Staff
Regional Utilities following a recent referendum.
Alachua County School Board faces backlash after closure of Constellation Charter School
PARENTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST EMERGENCY CLOSURE
By Emmaly Simmons & Sara-James Ranta Alligator Staff Writers
The Alachua County School Board voted in an emergency meeting May 1 to shut down Constellation Charter School, displacing nearly 90 students just weeks before the end of the academic year.
The news sparked debate among parents and local staff, who voiced concerns about the quality of life for the students who called the Waldo school home.
Emergency meeting decisions
The ACSB’s emergency meeting agenda had only one topic: the superintendent’s recommendation to terminate the charter.
According to a letter from the ACSB to the charter school’s governing board, there were “multiple serious violations” of Florida school safety and governance statutes.
The school exhibited systemic failures of administrative mismanagement and internal conflicts, according to the letter.
The school’s governing board reportedly allowed a parent to bring a firearm to a board meeting, a direct violation of Florida statutes. The principal was removed in March and replaced by an interim principal, but safety and compliance issues persisted.
The School Based Threat Management Team, a group mandated by state law to handle student safety concerns, disbanded after a series of resignations and disciplinary actions.
The team also failed to notify parents about threat management and allowed students to play violent first-person shooter games on school computers. Ongoing internal conflicts within the school’s leadership obstructed the required safety protocols.
The ACSB concluded that these failures posed an immediate and serious danger to the health, safety and welfare of students and staff, warranting immediate closure under Florida statutes.
During the May 1 meeting, board attorney David Delaney said the documentation describing the immediate dangers posed to the school would not be shared with the public to protect the confidentiality of those involved.
District staff were present on campus after the closure notice to inform families they would need to transfer their children to their zoned school. Families were also contacted by phone call, email and text message, Alachua County Public Schools Spokesperson Jackie Johnson wrote in an email.
Instead of the new student online enrollment form, the district “streamlined the process” of families transferring to another ACPS school by asking them to bring two proofs of address and a photo ID to their
zoned school, Johnson wrote.
However, 80 out of 89 students at Constellation Charter had never attended a public school or a school in Alachua County.
“As the district shared with parents, we understand that the news was sudden and likely to cause distress,” Johnson wrote. “The decision to close the school was based on the utmost concern for the health and safety of the students.”
A pattern for Waldo
Waldo City Manager Kim Worley attended the May 6 school board meeting. She noted it was the second time in a decade a school in Waldo had closed.
The 2015 closure of Waldo Community School also displaced many students, leaving parents and staff confused.This decision came from a lack of enrollment and a plan by previous ACPS superintendent Owen Roberts to merge the school with Shell Elementary in Hawthorne, Florida.
With Constellation Charter closed, Waldo has no local schools. Before its 2023 opening, students were zoned to Shell Elementary and Hawthorne’s middle and high schools.
“This sequence of events sends a troubling message that smaller communities like Waldo do not matter,” Worley said. “That our students, our educators and our voices are disposable.”
Constellation received a grade of “C” for the
2023-2024 school year, with a 53% achievement in english language arts and a 32% achievement in mathematics across the student body.
Parent perspective
Jessica Rockstein, a teacher at Hawthorne Middle School and parent of a student at Constellation, said her child was “crying for days” after having to pack up his things.
“They were scrambling to get all their stuff out because the district was telling them that they were locking the building,” Rockstein said. “They didn’t know when they could get back in, [and] the kids watched all of that. It was really traumatic.”
She was grateful her partner could stay home with their children the day after the closure while they figured out a new plan of education, she said, noting that not all parents have the luxury to rezone “at the drop of a hat.”
Nicole Dodds, a Gainesville resident and parent of Constellation students, said she always felt safe at the campus after volunteering there.
Her fifth-grade daughter had access to many opportunities through the school, and she’s disappointed her younger son won’t have the same experience, she said.
Since the closure, her children are “still really processing why and how this happened,” she said. Other parents she spoke with questioned the thoroughness of the investigation.
“I feel like they didn’t care much about the 89 kids out in Waldo, that’s what it feels like,” Dodds said. “Because if they did, they would have asked more questions, and they would have tried to work with the school.”
Catherine Ferrera, a parent of a Constellation fifth grader, moved to Waldo from South Florida so her child could attend the school — a fact she stated at the school board meeting.
Choosing to homeschool her children before they moved, Ferrera said she trusted the school’s leadership because of the “beautiful experience” she’s had, despite her conflicts with the public school system.
Several other families were also looking to move to the district for Constellation’s unique approach to education, she said. It was a Waldorf-inspired curriculum, which emphasizes emotional and spiritual growth.
“I have families reaching out to me from South Florida that were in the process of enrollment with this school and moving their entire lives here,” Ferrera said. “It’s just insane how disruptive this is for everybody’s future.”
All students will have to relocate to their zoned public school or seek alternative arrangements for education.
@sarajamesranta sranta@alligator.org
@EmmalyRSimmons sranta@alligator.org
The vacant building that once housed Constellation Charter is seen on May 17, 2025.
UF updates graduate housing agreements, affecting long-term residents
Housing policy changes will displace multiple graduate
By Koushin Unber Alligator Staff Writer
On May 1, UF Housing and Residence Life emailed multiple graduate students informing them of two major changes to the UF Graduate and Family Housing Agreement Terms and Conditions.
Students employed full-time by the university will no longer be eligible to live within UF’s Graduate and Family Housing communities starting July 1, according to Sections 1.1.4 and 1.1.14 of the new agreement. UF also limited total residency in Graduate and Family Housing to six calendar years per student. The university now requires some graduate students residing within these communities to vacate by June 30, giving them 60 days to find alternative housing.
students
Corry Village and Diamond Village currently remain popular choices for graduate students, especially those with children. Corry Village is centrally located with residential parking, playgrounds for children and a community center. It is also next to the Baby Gator Early Childhood Collaboratory. Diamond Village offers an on-site playroom, multiple gardens, a basketball court and the Baby Gator Child Development Center.
A ninth-year UF Ph.D. student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals in applying for a visa, said he didn’t expect the new policy.
His priority is finishing his dissertation, and he needs more time to do that properly, he said.
“My life depends on my relationship with UF, but it seems like students are no longer the priority,” he said. “We are losing several support systems.”
He said UF hasn’t offered him resources to help with the transition. He knows other graduate students who are preparing to live out of their cars if forced to leave by June 30, he said.
Leases don’t typically expire in June, meaning housing options on and off campus may be limited over the summer.
According to Hannah Farrell, director of marketing and strategic communications in the Division of Student Life, graduate and family housing is in high demand and has a long waitlist.
“These updates will assist in ensuring Housing and Residence Life is serving the intended audience and able to accommodate as many eligible students as possible,” Farrell said.
Heather White, vice president for student life at UF, did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.
@KUnber27 kunber@alligator.org
Dylan Speicher // Alligator Staff
www.alligator.org/section/the_avenue
Art that unites: A day at the High Springs Art Walk
LOCALS AND ARTISTS COME TOGETHER TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF ART IN CREATING A COLORFUL, SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY
Allison Bonnemaison Avenue Staff Writer
Under a blazing 89-degree sun, the High Springs water tower stood tall like a postcard landmark, setting the scene for the town’s seasonal Art Walk.
Artists from around Florida gathered in High Springs to find refuge from the heat beneath the awnings of downtown storefronts. Creatives waited to share their craft with curious passersby and potential customers as they lined the sidewalks with their work.
Curtis Whitwam, a 51-year-old Tampa resident, was the featured artist of this month’s Art Walk event.
“Creatives are what make our quality of life in the world better,” Whitwam said. “[They] are the reason why life is enjoyable.”
Whitwam has developed his craft in watercolor painting for roughly 30 years. Most of his art showcases Floridian ecosystems. As a native, he said he feels connected to the nature he’s grown up around and wants others to share his love for it
DATING
through his work.
“They will know, inside themselves, that they are one with the ecosystem,” he said.
Events like the art walk are extremely important for creating a healthy society, Whitwam said.
Laurie Roder, a 56-year-old High Springs resident, was drawn to Whitwam’s art and purchased one of his works.
“I noticed a cypress tree painting and it just reminded me of places we’ve been camping,” Roder said.
The Art Walk was an opportunity to support local artists and uplift the community, she said.
After passing tables upon tables of acrylic paintings, ceramic structures, watercolor landscapes and wood-carved signs, visitors stumbled upon the work of Kristen Marshall, a 41-year-old freelance artist from Gainesville.
Marshall’s inspiration comes from “pretty much everything,” she said. She paints with acrylic and handmakes unique blankets. While she’s painted for most of her life, she started selling her art in the last three years.
Public art events like the Art Walk destigmatize the misconceptions about having a serious career as an artist, Marshall said. She said it shows the community that art isn’t always traditional.
“There’s art in pretty much everything we do,” she said. Besides interacting with customers, Marshall mingled with the artists at booths neighboring hers. She sees the event as an opportunity to network.
“I think it’s also great to have the support of the community,” Marshall said. “Just working with each other and helping motivate each other.”
@allisonrbonn
abonnemaison@alligator.org
Situationships: How many times can you ask
GENERATION Z OPENS UP ABOUT MISTAKING HOPE FOR REALITY IN THEIR ROMANTIC CONNECTIONS
By Autumn Johnstone Avenue Staff Writer
“‘You’re so funny.’ Thanks, I fell in love with my 2-week situationship and it took me a year to move on,” an Instagram post read. That’s just one of the nearly 500,000 posts tagged “#situationships” on Instagram. From not wanting anything serious to “Let’s just play it by ear,” social media algorithms have all the excuses as to why someone might not want to commit to a relationship just yet.
Situationships are social situations that resemble a relationship in some ways, but they lack clear boundaries, commitment and, most of all, labels. Surveys show that 50% of American adults aged 18 to 34 have been in a situationship at least once. Recovering from a relationship with no strings attached, many members of Generation Z are left wondering if their talking stages could have been taken to the next level.
Sincerity and vulnerability are two desired features of a relationship, but a situationship tends to be the opposite. Members of these almost-relationships might not reveal every piece of their true personality, leaving the rest up to their partner’s imagination.
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They’ll never know if the relationship is a perfect fit. It’s already over with zero closure.
Alexandra Gonzalez, a 21-year-old recent UF graduate, encountered this phenomenon in her first romantic experience. Characterized by ambiguity and mixed signals, Gonzalez said her close friendship became a situationship that slowly “puttered out” over time.
In an official breakup, there’s a label and a conversation. Instead, she said her situationship was filled with uncertainty, leading her to second-guess her value in the other person’s life. Gonzalez fell in love with the relationship’s potential, wanting the relationship more than the person, she said.
She found the ending of her situationship to be more painful than her future breakups. She said she believes the catalyst for situationships in younger generations is their limited understanding of boundaries and toxicity — both of which are glorified by the media. Chappell Roan’s song, “Casual,” which was written about a situationship, gives her the words to describe such a “weird place to be in,” she said.
“Even trying to tell yourself, ‘It’s casual,’ like I was doing, it doesn’t make it hurt any less,” Gonzalez said.
Victor Harris, a UF professor in the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, spent a good portion of his life studying close relationships. Developing a sense of trust and intimacy with your partner is essential for a healthy relationship, which situationships often don’t include, he said. Without clear communication, one person between the two
might want to commit more to the situationship, he said.
“The person that cares the most has the least power and gets hurt the most in a relationship,” Harris said. “If you’re involved in a series of situationships, you’re going to be more fearful because of your past experiences about committing, about being vulnerable [and] about doing all those things that build trust.”
For long-term relationships, Harris said the highest predictor of whether couples stay together is commitment. Due to rising divorce rates and negative relationship stories swarming social media, Gen Z fears that dating won’t work out. But their longing to be with another person doesn’t just go away.
While situationships can have a negative emotional effect, Harris said they push marriage to take place later in life rather than in young adulthood. This allows for healthier, more mature relationships where people can make better decisions, he said.
Brooks Chandler, an 18-year-old UF computer engineering sophomore, navigated a yearlong situationship that he said left a lasting impact on his personal growth. What began as a friendship left Chandler feeling too emotionally immature to properly communicate.
His views on loving other people despite not having clarity or commitment were changed after another situationship, he said. Chandler romanticized his connection’s humor and pushed himself to get to know him — but ultimately found the connection lacked com-
‘What are we?’
patibility.
“It’s definitely improved my standards when it comes to potential relationships,” Chandler said. “It’s made me learn that I need to be clear fairly early on with what I want in a relationship [and] my expectations.”
Chandler said he wanted his situationship to become something more. He later realized he couldn’t be with someone who needed to work on their insecurities.
Even amid undefined heartbreak, Gen Z is redefining what a relationship can be. In Tinder’s 2023 Future of Dating Report, the ambiguity of situationships is used to prioritize personal growth and genuine connection rather than fulfilling conventional relationship norms. While situationships do not offer clarity most of the time, they give Gen Z a place to explore what love truly means without labels.
Harris said he believes Gen Z needs to quit putting pressure on themselves to find a partner and instead cultivate deeper, meaningful friendships, not just surface-level connections. Only then can they reflect and figure out what they want out of a romantic relationship, Harris said.
“If you’re looking for something that’s deeper, you need to look for someone that cares about your opinions and your thoughts and where you’re going,” he said. “It really depends on what you’re looking for.”
Michael Goston // Alligator Staff Mike DelRosal exhibits custom woodworks at High Springs Downtown Art Walk on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Caimán Precios aumentan en Walmart. Leer más en la página 7.
El Caimán
Walmart aumenta precios por aranceles
RESIDENTES DE GAINESVILLE
EXPRESAN DISTINTAS OPINIONES SOBRE CÓMO AFECTA A SUS COMPRAS DIARIAS
Por Candy Fontana Escritora de El Caimán
Mientras caminaba por los pasillos de Walmart para realizar sus compras, Antonio Ruíz notó algo que se ha vuelto cada vez más común: Los precios ya no son lo que solían ser. La cadena minorista anunció que, a partir de finales de mayo y durante junio, subirá los precios de productos como bananas, aguacates, café, juguetes y electrónicos debido a nuevos aranceles sobre importaciones desde países como China, Perú y Colombia.
Aunque la compañía afirma que absorberá parte del costo, los clientes en Gainesville ya están notando cambios en sus compras diarias. Ruíz, un residente de 37 años originario
de Puerto Rico, dijo que los aumentos han afectado su presupuesto.
“El aumento de los impuestos ha afectado bastante el bolsillo. Lamentablemente, uno ya no se puede ‘estresar más el dólar’ como decimos”, dijo Ruíz. “Pero, eso es parte de las negociaciones estructurales que se han hecho en la presidencia”.
Ruíz considera que la culpa no es clara, pero que las consecuencias siempre terminan en manos del consumidor.
“Es que todos los aranceles terminan en el bolsillo de uno, ninguno termina en el bolsillo del que lo vende”, dijo.
Los nuevos aranceles forman parte del plan económico del presidente Donald Trump para fortalecer la industria nacional. Aunque fueron reducidos temporalmente, empresas como Walmart advierten que aún así generarán aumentos de precios.
Trump respondió en Truth Social que Walmart no debería usar los aranceles como excusa para subir precios y pidió que tanto la
ESTUDIANTES Y PROFESORES DE SANTA FE EXPRESAN SORPRESA, CONFUSIÓN Y DESCONFIANZA
Por Maria Avlonitis
Escritora de El Caimán
Traducido por Sofia Bravo
Escritora de El Caimán
ICE está a las puertas del Colegio Santa Fe. Aunque aún no ha tocado, estudiantes y profesores ya se preguntan qué significaría un posible acuerdo con la agencia migratoria para su seguridad.
En enero, las escuelas e iglesias perdieron su estatus como lugares “sensibles”, es decir, zonas donde ICE solía tener restricciones para realizar acciones de control migratorio.
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empresa como sus proveedores “COMERSE LOS ARANCELES” y no cobrarle a los clientes.
Ante el aumento de costos, Walmart indicó que está haciendo ajustes logísticos y absorbiendo parte del impacto en algunas categorías, aunque advierte que los márgenes limitados no permiten evitar todos los aumentos.
Mervin Nácares, de 35 años y originario de Venezuela, coincidió en que los aumentos se sienten.
“No se siente bien. Deberían bajar un poco los precios o al menos mantenerse, [pero] ha sido lo contrario, están aumentando y la verdad no es tan bueno”, dijo Nácares.
A pesar de su molestia con los aumentos, Nácares dijo que por ahora no planea dejar de comprar en la tienda. Considera que, comparado con otras cadenas, Walmart todavía representa una opción viable.
“Realmente de todos, son los que se mantienen[con mejores precios]. Son costosos, pero entre otros establecimientos, [Walmart]
La Junta de Síndicos de Santa Fe decidirá el 20 de mayo si firma un memorando de acuerdo del modelo Task Force 287(g) con la agencia. Este contrato legal permitiría que los oficiales del Departamento de Policía de Santa Fe actúen como agentes migratorios bajo la supervisión de ICE.
La posible colaboración tomó a muchos por sorpresa. Preocupaciones estudiantiles
Aleeza Carruthers, de 29 años, es un estudiante de último año en administración de servicios de salud y presidenta del senado estudiantil de Santa Fe. Ella dijo que le preocupa que el acuerdo destruya la confianza entre el cuerpo estudiantil y la policía del campus.
“Quisiera que la administración supiera que, si esto se firma, los estudiantes van a tener miedo, y no hay realmente una forma de suavizar eso”, dijo Carruthers. “Va a crear más miedo que soluciones”.
Para John Paul Dishinger, presidente del cuerpo estudiantil, la falta de información por parte del colegio fue alarmante. El estudiante de segundo año en administración
Softball
Gators advance to Super Regionals. Read more on pg. 12.
LUNES, 19 DE MAYO DE 2025
www.alligator.org/section/elcaiman
sigue siendo el más económico, aunque igual está caro”, dijo.
Para Alex Cohen, de 25 años y residente de Gainesville, la diferencia se nota sobre todo en productos frescos.
“Definitivamente las bananas [han subido de precio]. Y también casi todos los productos de comidas completas, como pechugas o muslos de pollo”, dijo Cohen.
Aunque normalmente compra en Aldi, ese día decidió hacer toda su compra en Walmart.
“Aldi no tiene todo, así que Walmart sigue siendo la opción más barata para la mayoría de las cosas”, dijo.
Jennifer Gliver, de 62 años y residente de Gainesville, dijo que no siempre presta atención a los precios pero reconoce que su presupuesto se ha visto un poco afectado.
“No estoy muy consciente de si los precios han subido, pero estoy bastante segura de que sí”, dijo Gliver. “Sé que tengo que ajustar mi presupuesto por estos aumentos, pero aparte de eso, voy a seguir comprando lo que me gusta y seguir adelante”.
@CandyFontanaV cfontanaverde@alligator.org
de empresas, de 19 años, dijo que se enteró del acuerdo solo porque un profesor se lo mencionó.
“Creo que fue una falla grave por parte de la administración de Santa Fe al no informar a los estudiantes”, dijo Dishinger. “Es una situación muy seria, ¿no? Los estudiantes merecen saber”.
Luego difundió la información por la cuenta de Instagram de Santa Fe United. Según dijo, fue más impactante para los estudiantes enterarse por él, ya que no tiene todos los datos.
Pero las fallas de comunicación no son su única preocupación. Dishinger señaló que la redacción ambigua del acuerdo abre la puerta a la discriminación racial, como en la forma en que se define el término “extranjero” en el contrato.
“[La policía del campus] va a ser ahora también agentes federales, y su alcance de poder se va a ampliar”, dijo. Lea el resto en línea en alligator.org/section/elcaiman.
@MariaAvlonitis mavlonitis@alligator.org
Síganos para actualizaciones
Para obtener actualizaciones de El Caimán, síganos en línea en www.alligator.org/section/elcaiman.
www.alligator.org/section/opinions
The Florida Room: The best breakfast in Gainesville
Before this review begins, we feel a duty to warn the readers. We started writing this piece after we went to The Florida Room for the first time. Since then, I have been three separate times. With this in mind, consider the implications of thinking about visiting this establishment multiple times a week. Consider that you might go back many more times than your bank account can handle. Finally, consider the fact that once you go here, breakfast anywhere else will feel like taking an Advil after you just tried heroin. That might be a bit much, but you get the point. It’s good. Now, let’s get into why.
Aidan Ragan opinions@alligator.org
There are three core ingredients that either make or break a restaurant. An establishment would be nothing without all three: service, environment and food.
The Florida Room not only nails the three key ones but also offers a fourth secret ingredient: originality.
You don’t fully realize how important originality is in a restaurant until you visit one with it. That’s how I felt when I went to The Florida Room. The service, the environment and the food were all sprinkled with a little originality, and it tasted amazing.
When you first walk in, you immediately notice the architecture. The staff are situated in the middle of the restaurant behind bar-side counters. That’s where they make drinks, such as coffee and milkshakes. Right next to where you pay is an assortment of baked goods, including scones and cakes — my favorite being the blueberry lemon scone. With tables lining the windows, you’re transported to a 1970s milkshake bar no matter where you sit.
Let’s talk about the food.
In my several visits there, I’ve tried six menu items: the breakfast fried rice, mushroom and spinach omelet, two-egg breakfast, strawberry milkshake, vanilla milkshake and the avocado toast. While all were fantastic, I want to highlight two dishes.
The breakfast fried rice
My biggest comfort food is fried rice, so I might be biased here.
I’ve never had a breakfast meal quite like this one. Tossed and coated in a sweet and spicy sauce, this dish stuck with me all day, just like a good breakfast should. I topped mine with fried eggs, which I mixed into the rice with no hesitation. Each bite had a holy combination of broccoli, bell peppers and onions. I chose this meal during my first visit because it was such a curveball. I can confirm that it didn’t strike out. Avocado toast
I thought I ordered a classic. I got innovation.
The dish consisted of mashed avocado, marinated grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, fried capers and chives stacked on a perfectly toasted slice of sourdough. Every bite was clean and rich — a buttery crunch from the toast, the sweetness from the tomatoes and salty hits from the fried capers. Nothing fought for attention. It was bright, balanced and way bigger in flavor than it looked. It looked gorgeous.
Closing remarks
There’s breakfast, and then there’s The Florida Room. This place doesn’t just serve food; it serves a feeling. A memory. A craving you didn’t know you’d had. It redefines what a breakfast spot can be: not just a place to eat, but a place to return to — again and again — with people you love, or alone with your thoughts and a good cup of coffee.
The Florida Room isn’t trying to copy anyone. It’s not trendy for the sake of being trendy. It’s unapologetically itself, and that’s what makes it unforgettable. Gainesville has a lot of breakfast joints, but only one that feels like this.
Aidan Ragan is a UF computer science senior.
Aiding Florida farmers: The urgent need for new legislation
Agriculture in Florida is more than a legacy
— it’s a vital foundation of the state’s economy, contributing $387.40 billion in sales revenue and generating almost 2.5 million jobs. The farmlands that nourish generations of Floridians are now silently becoming compromised due to a dangerous contaminant: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.
Since their widespread use in the 1940s, these synthetic chemicals have leached into soil and waterways, causing serious harm to crops, livestock and rural livelihoods.
While some states have begun to take meaningful steps to end this threat, Florida has sadly failed to do so. As PFAS spreads, farmers are left to bear the burden.
The proposed Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act could make all the difference amid this crisis, giving a helping hand to Florida’s farmers and safeguarding the state’s future from a continuously growing toxic legacy.
PFAS and the hidden hazard in biosolids
Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are a complex class of human-made compounds that became a staple in various products because of their unparalleled grease, heat and water resistance — which don’t degrade easily.
PFAS wreak havoc on farmlands. These chemicals typically enter agricultural systems through industrial runoff, polluted water and, most alarmingly, biosolids, which are nutrient-rich byproducts of wastewater treatment commonly used as fertilizer.
Farmers traditionally viewed this practice as an easy, cost-effective solution, which is why 75% of these materials end up on agricultural land and 22% are sold to consumers as fertilizer. However, biosolids usually contain PFAS, meaning their application silently introduces toxic substances into land designated for food production.
These harmful chemicals can contaminate irrigation systems, be absorbed by crops and livestock and eventually make their way into the human food chain.
The consequences of this crisis are far-reaching.
PFAS can diminish crop growth and yields and cause health issues in farm animals. This results in unsellable produce, unsafe meat or dairy products and widespread financial instability for farmers. Unfortunately, these effects have to be severe before anyone notices.
For families cultivating the land, PFAS contamination can pose lasting threats to everything they’ve built.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Alligator.
The escalating PFAS crisis in Florida
PFAS contamination has drastically affected farming communities in Florida. An updated interactive map identified hundreds of polluted sites statewide, including in Hillsborough, Brevard and Collier counties.
Stan Gottfredson opinions@alligator.org
Among the most concerning areas is around Lake Okeechobee, one of Florida’s crucial freshwater resources. The extensive use of biosolids in this region has sounded an alarm about possible runoff, as it could spread PFAS into the water body. As a result, the entire food chain could be jeopardized, with nearby crops and livestock absorbing the pollutants.
Despite the dangers posed by these “forever chemicals,” Florida still falls behind in taking decisive measures. While states like Maine and Connecticut have already prohibited the spread of sewage sludge, the Sunshine State has yet to establish comprehensive policies to tackle farmland pollution, leaving farmers vulnerable to environmental harm and economic disruption as they face increasing risks without clear guidance and support.
A new farm bill as an effective solution
The bipartisan Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act, which is currently pending in the U.S. Senate, could be the country’s transformative solution to effectively address ongoing PFAS contamination.
The bill proposes $500 million for the fiscal years 2024 to 2028 to compensate farmers for losses from extensive agrarian pollution. It also allocates resources for soil and water testing and cleanup efforts to restore farmlands so they can be used again.
The bill calls for a national strategy to tackle PFAS in agriculture and guide farmers who may be unaware of the detrimental effects of using toxic biosolids.
While some argue the proposed funding is insufficient, the bill marks a crucial first step: acknowledging the scale of the PFAS crisis and laying the foundation for future reforms.
Similar interventions should be implemented locally in Florida, where farming intersects with tourism, ecology and drinking water systems.
Stan Gottfredson is the president and CEO of Atraxia Law, a San Diego, California-based paralegal firm aiding toxic exposure victims and their families.
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.
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1. ACRONYMS: What phrase does the acronym URL stand for?
1. MEASUREMENTS: How many inches are in a mile?
2. MOVIES: What is the name of the ghost that haunts the girls' bathroom at Hogwarts ("Harry Potter" series)?
3. HISTORY: Which decisive battle ended the Revolutionary War?
your
4. LITERATURE: What is the pseudonym of the author Eric Arthur Blair?
2. ASTRONOMY: What does the acronym SETI mean to the scientific community?
5. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Which of the national parks is the most visited in the United States?
3. LANGUAGE: What does the Latin prefix “sub-” mean in English?
6. TELEVISION: Which medical series is based at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital?
7. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital of Denmark?
4. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the only president to serve two nonconsecutive terms?
8. U.S. STATES: In which state is Glacier National Park located?
9. U.S. PRESIDENTS: Who was the first vice president to die in office?
5. LITERATURE: Which 20th-century movie star penned the autobiography “Me: Stories of My Life”?
10. SCIENCE: What are elements like neon, helium and radon called? © 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.
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. The ball used in Gaelic ball-and-stick sports like hurling, camogie, rounders and shinty is known as what?
2. Happy Chandler, Commissioner of Baseball from 1945-51, served two separate terms as governor of what U.S. state?
9. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What was the name of the United States’ first nuclear-powered submarine?
3. In 1994, Conchita Martinez became the first female from what country to win the Wimbledon singles title?
4. Jimmer Fredette, 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball scoring champion, played for what college team?
10. GAMES: What are the four railroad properties in Monopoly? Answers
5. Name the Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback who won a national championship in 1997 and the Heisman Trophy in 2001.
1. 63,360 inches
6. The Northern Star Award, presented annually to the top athlete in Canada, was formerly named after what athlete, referee and sportswriter?
2. Search for extraterrestrial intelligence
7. Beat Feuz, gold medalist in the men's Alpine skiing downhill at the 2022
3. Below or insufficient
Olympics, competed for what country?
4. Grover Cleveland
5. Katharine Hepburn
6. Devils Tower, 1906
7. The Philippines
8. “The Matrix”
Noble gases.
9. The USS Nautilus
10. Pennsylvania, Short Line, Reading
Copenhagen.
Lou Marsh.
Eric Crouch.
ScrabbleGrams
A sliotar.
Kentucky.
Spain.
The Brigham Young University Cougars.
Switzerland.
Uniform resource locator.
Moaning Myrtle.
The Battle of Yorktown.
George Orwell.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
"House, M.D."
Montana.
George Clinton.
MONDAY, MAY 19, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/sports
TRACK & FIELD
Three Gators strike gold at SEC Outdoor Championships, women’s team finishes third
FLORIDA TRACK AND FIELD
OPENED THE POSTSEASON EARNING EIGHT CONFERENCE MEDALS
By Paul Hof-Mahoney Sports Writer
After an indoor season that saw Florida track and field record its worst conference championship finishes in program history and only score a combined eight points at the national meet, coach Mike Holloway had a simple message:
“Remember who we are.”
Who they are is a team that hasn’t finished worse than third on a national stage since 2022. While this weekend’s showing at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Lexington, Kentucky, wasn’t quite champion-level, it was certainly a step forward.
The Florida women totaled 79 points, finishing third behind Georgia and Texas A&M. It was a wellrounded effort from the Gators: 19 points came from the sprints, relays and hurdles; 24 from distance races; 15 from jumps; and 21 from throws. Three women climbed to the top of the podium, bringing home a coveted SEC gold.
"The biggest difference was athletes being healthy and focused,” Holloway said. “The women were healthier and much more focused than indoors."
Still dealing with the impact of multiple injuries, the men finished 12th with 38 points. It was a frustrating result but showed improvement from their last-place finish in March.
Women’s team
Senior Anthaya Charlton, the brightest spark for the Gators during their indoor campaign, produced the weekend’s first signature moment with a commanding victory in the women’s long jump May 16.
On paper, 6.47 meters is equal to the Bahamian’s worst mark of the season. However, the jump was taken into a -2.9 meters-per-second headwind and was still good enough to cement Charlton’s victory by a healthy 10-centimeter margin. She felt comfortable enough with her lead to pass on each of her final three attempts.
On the track, Charlton finished third in the 100-meter final, crossing the line in an impressive 11.14 seconds. The run secured six points for the Gators, adding to the 10 she claimed on the long jump runway. She earned three more from a sixth-
place finish with the 4x100-meter relay team. Running with sophomore Quincy Penn, junior Gabby Matthews and freshman Habiba Harris, Florida impressed with a season’s best of 43.46 seconds.
Harris, who hails from Santa Cruz, Jamaica, also won her signature event. She posted the fastest time in the NCAA this season with a blistering 12.62-second run in May 16’s 100-meter hurdles preliminaries. She was rewarded a conference crown in the final the next day, taking down an experienced field in 12.75 seconds.
“It speaks to her talent and her trusting the process and her training,” Holloway said. “She has bought into the program and shows up and works hard every day.”
Junior Alida van Daalen has been one of the premier throwers in the NCAA since arriving in Gainesville. The Netherlands native continued to add to her legacy with her second consecutive SEC discus title.
Her winning mark of 65.24 meters, nearly 8 meters farther than any other competitor, emphasized her prominence in the national title conversation.
“We took a ‘bigger picture approach’ as we looked at the season and planned to build the rhythm and connection a week at a time for both teams’ events,” said UF throws coach Eric Werskey. “Alida bought into this vision early with patience and trust. She has given herself time to adjust and build into her respective rhythms.”
Van Daalen’s shoulder injury delayed her shot put opener until May 2, where she threw a modest 16.11 meters at the East Coast Relays.
She looked like a completely different thrower in May 16’s competition. The Olympian surpassed the 17-meter barrier four times, ending with a best mark of 17.51 meters. She finished sixth, one spot behind teammate Gracelyn Leiseth, who threw a personal best of 17.74 meters. Leiseth also scored in the discus for the Gators with her seventhplace finish.
None of Florida’s distance runners managed to come away victorious like Parker Valby and Flomena Asekol did last May, but they still provided valuable points to the team race.
Junior Hilda Olemomoi recorded a runner-up finish in the 10,000-meter on May 16, crossing the line in 33:15.52. Olemomoi was hanging just off the shoulder of Arkansas sophomore Payton Noe for a majority of the race, but Noe pulled away for a decisive
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win over the final mile.
Olemomoi was back the next day for the prelims of the 1,500-meter, where she secured a spot in the final alongside fellow Florida juniors Tia Wilson and Beth Morley.
Wilson, the conference champion over the mile indoors, led a tight pack through the first 1,100 meters of the final. Wilson faded as the race began to wind down, finishing fifth in 4:22.35.
Olemomoi came in fourth, beating her teammate to the line by .01 seconds. Morley finished eighth. Wilson took to the track again for the 5,000-meter final, where she finished seventh with a personal best of 15:52.13.
Redshirt junior Jess Edwards ran the best race of her career, finishing fifth in the 800-meter final in 2:04.72. Edwards showed impressive poise, moving from eighth to fifth in the final 300 meters.
Florida’s freshmen duo of Alyssa Banales and Asia Phillips each scored in their SEC Outdoor Championship debuts. Banales finished seventh in the long jump with a best mark of 6.08 meters, and Phillips secured a sixth-place finish with her 13.33-meter leap in the triple jump.
Imani Washington scored the first points of the weekend in the meet’s first final, placing seventh in the hammer throw off the strength of a 61.83-meter personal best.
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Men’s team
Two Gator men, as well as the 4x400-meter relay team, left Lexington with bronze medals.
Malcolm Clemons had his best competition of 2025 by a significant margin. The redshirt senior paced the long jump field with his secondround effort of 7.91 meters up until the final few attempts of the competition. In round six, he was passed by both Georgia freshman Jayden Keys and South Carolina senior Channing Ferguson.
Senior Jacob Lemmon outperformed his entry seed by four positions, finishing third in the discus final after recording his best throw ever in a collegiate meet. His 61.80-meter throw moved him up to second in program history, behind only the UF record of 63.06 meters set by Kai Chang last April.
Sophomore Rios Prude Jr., senior Ashton Schwartzman and redshirt seniors Reheem Hayles and Jenoah McKiver did not qualify for the open 400-meter final. But they came back with an opportunity to close the meet on a strong note and did so in the 4x400-meter relay.
When McKiver received the baton from Hayles, he was staring down a gap of over a second between himself and the leading Georgia and Texas A&M squads. McKiver recorded the fastest split of
any anchor leg at 45.37 seconds but wasn’t able to reel in the competition as he brought Florida home in third in 3:03.27.
Demaris Waters finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles final. In a field featuring six of the eight fastest men in the nation this season, 13.39 seconds was good for fourth. Leikel Cabrera Gay, a sophomore transfer from Umpqua Community College in Oregon, continued his season with a fourth-place finish in the javelin throw final at 76.16 meters.
Sophomores Miguel Pantojas and Gavin Nelson combined for an unexpected five points in the 800-meter final. They secured the last two spots through to the final and made the most of it. Pantojas finished fifth in 1:46.76, and Nelson placed eighth with his personal best of 1:47.27.
The next stop on the Gators’ postseason schedule is Jacksonville for the NCAA East Preliminaries.
“What we did this weekend should show the athletes that we are making progress,” Holloway said. “The key now will be for both the athletes and coaches to be diligent in our preparations as we move into the championships."
The meet will be hosted at North Florida from May 28 to 31.
@phofmahoney phof-mahoney@alligator.org
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Courtesy to The Alligator
Senior Anthaya Charlton leaps during the long jump at the SEC Outdoor Championships on May 16, 2025.
BASEBALL
Florida baseball’s late-season resurgence foreshadows promising postseason
AFTER STARTING 1-11 IN CONFERENCE PLAY, FLORIDA BASEBALL WON SIX STRAIGHT SERIES
By Adrian Carmona Sports Writer
The phrase “Gator Boys Stay Hot” is widely associated with Gators basketball, but the phrase has rung true across several Florida sports since early April — especially the Gators baseball team.
Florida started off slow within its conference. The Gators were swept in back-to-back weekends of conference play for the first time since the 2001-02 season, winning just one of their first 11 games. Still, the Gators picked things back up and won their final six series. Now, they’re inching closer to the postseason.
“I did truly believe that we’re going to turn this thing around,” said Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. “The players have to go out and play, but our staff deserves a ton of credit.”
There were high expectations for the Gators heading into the season after they spent significant efforts retooling their roster.
Florida was coming off its second straight College World Series appearance. Ranking No. 7 in the preseason by Baseball America, UF acquired Jacksonville transfer Justin Nadeau and Miami transfer Blake Cyr, both top portal targets.
The Gators won their first 11 games and recorded a 17-2 record before conference play began. But
SOFTBALL
the SEC gauntlet proved to be a challenge for Florida.
UF was swept by then-No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers, which included a 10-0 run-rule in game two.
“I just told the players, bottom line, ‘Welcome to the SEC,’” O’Sullivan said. “This is what it’s all about.”
The following weekend, the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs swept the Gators at Condron Ballpark, outscoring them 32-6 in the final two games.
“I can’t recall a weekend like this,” O’Sullivan said. “We had a team meeting yesterday after the game, pressed on them a little bit, and obviously, they did not respond
today.”
There was no response for the next two weekends. Florida finally picked up its first conference win in a doubleheader against the No. 15 Ole Miss Rebels but was swept in its next series against the No. 23 Vanderbilt Commodores.
Injuries continued to plague Florida’s pitching staff and position players. Four starters suffered season-ending and long-term injuries. Its offense disappeared at times throughout series, and its healthy pitchers struggled.
When O’Sullivan elected to make a gutsy move in mid-April, the tides shifted for the Gators.
Sophomore right-hander Jake Clemente took over as the closer for the Gators, facing his first challenge in the series-deciding game against Florida State.
In a 5-4 ballgame, Clemente stepped onto the mound in the eighth inning and retired all six Seminole batters, including two strikeouts and a fly out in the ninth frame.
“Sully’s been telling us from day one, ‘We can turn this around,’” said junior catcher Brody Donay. “We just have to do it at some point.”
Florida then swept the Missouri Tigers and clinched the series against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, scoring a 13-3 run-rule victory in the opener.
The momentum continued in late April.
Florida defeated the No. 5 Arkansas Razorbacks in a rubber match contest on April 28 and took the series.
Florida won the home opener 6-4 with a stellar start from right-hander Liam Peterson, who logged a careerhigh of 13 strikeouts before being relieved by Clemente after the seventh frame.
Clemente recorded his fourth save of the season and helped clinch the victory for Florida.
After being shut out in the second game of the weekend, Florida found itself in a four-run hole in the second inning. But eight unanswered runs gave the Gators a 9-5 lead.
The Razorbacks loaded the bases with one out in the ninth before Clemente forced a lineout to second base to secure the series win.
“We literally take it game by game,” O’Sullivan said after the win. “But I think having a marquee series win on our resume should help our confidence, it should help us move forward."
The Gators followed up the Arkansas series by sweeping the South Carolina Gamecocks with 39 total runs before logging the most impressive win on its resume in its road trip to Austin, Texas.
Florida clinched a series victory against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns due to the heroic efforts of freshman right-hander Aidan King.
King pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine batters en route to Florida’s first series victory against a No. 1 team since it defeated the Texas A&M Aggies in 2016.
The Gators were rewarded by reentering D1 Baseball’s Top 25 rankings and looked ahead to their final series of the regular season against the No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide. It was a shock to Florida’s players that they were still competing with postseason expectations after the array of injuries the roster suffered earlier in the year.
“This is the most unbelievable thing we’ve seen,” said Florida senior outfielder Ty Evans. “But if there was a team that was able to persevere through this, I feel like it was definitely us.”
Read the rest online at alligator.org/section/sports.
@abcarmona04 acarmona@alligator.org
Gators steamroll through Gainesville Regional, advance to Super Regionals
UF
HAS MADE FOUR SUPER REGIONALS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS
By Max Bernstein Sports Writer
After nearly capturing its third national championship in 2024, Florida softball was prepared for postseason play heading into the Gainesville Regional of the NCAA Softball Championship Tournament.
The Gators dominated the regional, going 3-0 while outscoring their opponents 30-6 to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals.
“To see the runs that we scored and how we played, it's very refreshing,” Florida Head Coach Tim Walton said. “To know that we can come out and compete in a tournament like this and turn the page quickly to the next opponent — it’s not easy to do.”
No. 3-seeded Florida (46-14) kicked off the festivities at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium May 16 and run-ruled the Mercer Bears (40-26) 8-0 after a walkoff single from junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson in the fifth inning.
On May 17, the Gators continued to roll, putting up a stellar offensive effort in another run-rule victory, winning 14-6 over Florida Atlantic (45-12).
Needing one more win to clinch its spot in the Super Regionals, UF prevailed over the Bears, defeating Mercer 8-0 yet again.
It was a historic three-game stretch for
freshman outfielder Taylor Schumaker, who smashed multiple program records.
The 2025 All-SEC First Team selection hit 4-for-7 and blasted three home runs over the weekend. Shumaker broke the freshman home run record of 19 long balls and finished the stretch just one home run and RBI away from tying the UF single-season program records of 22 home runs and 84 RBIs.
"I wasn't even thinking about it,” Shumaker said in a press conference after tying the freshman record May 16. “Once I start looking at a number, that's when it starts getting a little overwhelming. You put a lot of pressure on yourself just to kind of achieve that number.”
Erickson also delivered at the plate throughout the regional. The junior catcher logged walk-off hits in back-to-back games.
On May 16, Erickson hit a walk-off single. The next day, she delivered a walk-off grand slam over the right field wall to seal UF’s runrule victory. It was the 2024 SEC Player of the Year’s first career grand slam.
She added two RBIs May 18 when she hit a double down the left field line in the top of the second inning.
“When she comes up, I never think she's going to get out,” Walton said. “She had the game-ending hit for us Friday night, she had the game-winning hit yesterday and she probably would have had the game-winning hit today, if we’d have given her an opportunity to do it.”
Sophomore pitcher Ava Brown also made her presence known in the circle and at the
plate. She earned the win over Mercer, pitching 2.1 innings without surrendering a run. Then on May 17, her deep line drive to right field bounced off a Florida Atlantic outfielder’s glove and over the fence, giving Florida a 4-3 advantage.
Later in the matchup, Brown stepped into the circle with the bases empty and two outs, looking to close out the Owls after they poured on three runs, bringing UF’s lead down to one. Brown was flawless in her short outing, retiring FAU on five pitches and earning her fifth save of the season.
Brown continued her excellent weekend May 18, sending a moonshot three-run home run over the left field wall in the fourth inning to give the Gators a 7-0 lead.
The Gators received support all around their lineup. On May 16, sophomore infielder Mia Williams hit two doubles, driving in a team-high three runs.
Senior outfielder Kendra Falby stepped up on May 17, hitting a two-RBI single in Florida’s seven-run fifth inning. Falby also scored a joint-team high of three runs in that contest.
On May 18, senior infielder Reagan Walsh hit 2-for-2 and scored the winning RBI on a sacrifice fly.
When the Regionals round concluded, Florida slashed a .378 batting average with 10 extra base hits and five home runs.
“It was super essential getting those strong at bats — hit-by-pitches, walks — [because] that's what makes the game go 'round,” Erickson said May 17. “Those people ultimately end up scoring, so I think that played a big
factor."
On the pitching end, Florida’s starting pitchers were solid. Senior pitcher Kara Hammock got the start on May 16 and pitched 2.2 innings, allowing two hits while walking three batters.
Sophomore Keagan Rothrock earned her 13th win of the season despite an uncharacteristically shaky performance on May 17. She threw 5.2 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits.
Rothrock took the mound again May 18 and had a superior outing. She threw 4.1 innings, only giving up one hit and striking out six batters. Sophomore southpaw Olivia Miller finished off the final two batters to clinch UF’s victory.
“That's one thing that I've been telling our staff,” Walton said. “Historically, the more Keegan pitches, the better she gets.”
The weekend was full of success for the Gators. But it wasn’t all about the play on the field – it was about the positive mentality and work ethic of the team.
“At the end of the day, it all goes back to how you prepare,” Brown said May 18. “Across the roster, all 20 or 21 of us are all locked in and bought into that process."
The Gators advance to the Super Regionals to face the Georgia Bulldogs, who won the Durham Regional against Coastal Carolina, Duke and Howard. Super Regionals take place May 22-25.
Sonaiya Brown // Alligator Staff
Landon Stripling practices his swings ahead of his at bat at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday, May 16, 2025.