The Florence Landfill is set to close in 9 months. Activists want it gone sooner.
The change has been years in the making
By Grace Larson Alligator Staff Writer
Florence Landfill is set to close next fall. But members of the “Dump the Dump” movement want it done faster.
UF researchers pessimistic after federal vaccine funding cuts
OVER
$500 MILLION IN CUTS POSE A THREAT TO MRNA VACCINE RESEARCH
By Angelique Rodriguez Alligator Staff Writer
Federal funding cuts to vaccine research have impacted scientists nationwide — and some of those cuts hit close to home.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wrote in an Aug. 5 press release it would “wind-down” mRNA development and research after a “comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency.”
The order targeted the HHS sector that contracts with universities and pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, ModeX and Moderna. Twenty-two mRNA vaccine developments under the sector were terminated, according to the release.
related research programs will begin, effective Aug. 5, 2025. The cuts affect $500 million worth of mRNA research and development.
Trump-appointed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said data suggests mRNA vaccines don’t protect people from upper respiratory infections, like COVID-19 and the flu.
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Kennedy said in a news release. “That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions.”
The news release did not specify which “better solutions” the HHS would be investing in.
A known vaccine skeptic, Kennedy said the COVID-19 vaccine is the “deadliest vaccine ever made” in a Dec. 6, 2021, meeting with Louisiana lawmakers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he filed a petition to the Food and Drug Administration to cease the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, although it had already saved about 140,000 lives in the U.S.
Nearby residents have been fighting the landfill since 2018, expressing environmental concerns over air quality and the purity of local water sources.
The landfill’s special-use permit expired in 2024, but at the same time,
The landfill, located in southeast Gainesville, a historically Black and low-income area, has been the subject of controversy for years.
a 2022 state-issued emergency order extended closure until August 2026. Now, many residents’ wishes will come to fruition as the dump is set to close for good in nine months.
For many local activists, it's hard to separate the issue from what
Most COVID-19 vaccines are made with mRNA. Unlike other vaccines, which use weakened or dead bacteria or viruses, mRNA vaccines work by instructing the body to make a specific protein. The proteins trigger immune responses without exposing the recipient to the actual virus.
While some final-stage contracts will be allowed to see their project through completion, no new mRNA-
Dr. Elias Sayour, a UF pediatric oncologist and RNA researcher, is developing vaccines that reprogram the immune system to fight cancer — including pediatric cancer — and he’s carried out a multitude of mRNA-based research projects.
Sayour’s cancer vaccine
Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff
Ole Miss safety Sage Ryan (3) tries to intercept a pass during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Oxford, Miss. Find this story in Sportson pg. 11.
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‘Severance’ star Britt Lower draws packed house at UF speaker event
THE EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS TALKED ACTING, CREATIVITY AND ADVICE NOV. 13
By Angelique Rodriguez Alligator Staff Writer
Onscreen, she’s searching for herself. Offscreen, she met UF students with authenticity and vulnerability.
UF students lined up outside the University Auditorium Nov. 13 to hear Emmy Award-winning actress Britt Lower talk about her film career, portrayal of beloved Helly R. in the Apple TV series “Severance” and valuable life advice.
Lower is the second speaker hosted by the UF Student Government-run Accent Speakers Bureau this semester after “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston visited Aug. 21. The agency has hosted celebrities like Ke Huy Quan, Sal Vulcano and Tim Tebow since 1967.
Lower won the 2025 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in “Severance,” a psychological thriller about the employees of a company, Lumon Industries, who undergo a procedure to divide their personal and professional lives.
She’s also known for her roles as Liz in the comedy show “Man Seeking Woman” and Tanya in the drama series “Unforgettable.”
At 7 p.m., a crowd of UF fans filled the University Auditorium and sat in keen anticipation. One of those fans was Sarah Garfield, a 22-year-old UF neuroscience and English senior. She came with her friends to see the star from one of their favorite shows.
“We’re all really big ‘Severance’ fans. We even had a big ‘Severance’ watch party last semester,” Garfield said. “It was really awesome to be able to put our niche, ‘Severance’ interests here at UF.”
When the light grew dim, Ted Spiker, associate dean of undergraduate affairs at the College of Journalism and Communications and moderator for the night, came on the stage. Students jumped up, cheering. Lower joined him, earning massive applause from the crowd.
Lower discussed her love for the arts and said she grew up learning it was universal.
“Art is for everybody, and it’s available with whatever you’ve got to use,” Lower said.
Lower recounted her acting journey from her earliest memories — playing a snowman in her school’s Christmas play — to the present.
She grew up in an artistic environment with her mother, she said, a face-painting business owner and former high school home economics teacher who always had arts and crafts around the house. Every Christmas, her family hosted a Victorian-themed variety show, turning the house into “a theater of sorts,” Lower said.
Lower first realized she wanted to act for a living when, in high school, she got cast in a production of the musical “Gypsy.” She had to pick between acting and staying on the basketball team. Choosing was devastating, she said, but she could remember every role with its intricacies and feelings she ever played, and she did not feel the same passion with basketball.
“That felt significant to me that, for me personally, I had more of a connection to when I was embodying a character and taking myself through a story,” Lower said.
During her time at Northwestern University, Lower immersed herself in theater, becoming a technical director and taking acting classes. She especially loved improv acting, which she initially joined to get closer to a boy she liked.
“Mostly, it scared me, which I think is a healthy thing to do creatively,” Lower said. “I just decided, ‘Okay. I’m going to spend the next four years trying to make everyone else look good and make them funny.’”
That aspect of improv helped her in later roles, Lower said. She became skilled in highlighting a character’s faults and stupidities with comedic timing and reactions, she said.
She spoke about her role as Helly R. in “Severance,” a stubborn, defiant employee at Lumon Industries.
Lower said she thinks everyone has aspects of Helly’s complex character, like an inner child and critic that makes us ask ourselves if there is another version that is more pure and innocent.
“I think it just raises a lot of questions like, who are we really with the different environments in our lives?” Lower said.
Lower also dished out advice. To prepare for her role
Emmy award-winning actress Britt Lower speaks to UF journalism professor Ted Spiker in the University Auditorium on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
as Helly R., she said, she often sketched her character’s scenes to put herself in a certain headspace. Visual art, Lower said, helps her obtain the feelings she needs to accurately portray Helly R.
Creativity can be used in many fields of work in different ways, she said, and there is value in doing creative things just for the private self.
Lower also said to “make mistakes fast, and don’t be afraid to fail.” There is something liberating about making bad work, she said, and getting over the humility of being bad at something.
While answering students’ questions, Lower was asked if she would ever sever a part of her life — to which she said no. While there are uncomfortable aspects of life, they lead to beautiful moments, she said.
“In the moment, you want to say, ‘I want to skip this, I want to numb out, I want to take that pill or put that chip in my brain and just switch off,’” Lower said. “But, if I zoom out and look at my experiences in life, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the things that really hurt.”
Gabriella Garibaldi, a 21-year-old UF psychology senior, said it was exciting to hear Lower speak and be engaged with the students.
“I’m a big theater kid myself too, so hearing her speak on just her creative process was really insightful,” Garibaldi said. “She was just so excited to be there that it showed through all her responses.”
Samhitha Katuru, a 20-year-old UF psychology and anthropology junior, said as a “Severance” fan, it was surreal to see Lower, and she felt surprised by how insightful she was.
Lower’s advice about not being afraid to make mistakes stuck with her, she said.
“Make them loud, make them quick,” Katuru said. “You know you don’t really get a chance later in life to make those mistakes.”
@angeliquesrod arodriguez@alligator.org
See a change on our front page? Here are the results of The Alligator’s annual Rivalry Challenge with the Red & Black.
During the two weeks preceding the Florida vs. Georgia football game, The Alligator and the Red & Black, Georgia’s student newspaper, participate in a friendly fundraising challenge to support independent student journalism.
This year, the Red & Black won by just a few hundred dollars — they raised $14,376 to our $13,724. That means we’re obligated to run their logo on our front page.
But in a challenge like this one, we’re all winners. Donations from the fundraising campaign go directly toward supporting our newsroom and independent student journalism. From paying for public records to affording our staff’s salaries, public support is vital to the work we do.
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Alachua County environmental groups discuss federal funding cuts
Amid halted grants and agency layoffs, community mobilizes to protect environmental efforts
By Swasthi Maharaj Alligator Staff Writer
Federal funding cuts and a record-long government shutdown are shaking up environmental and conservation agencies across Alachua County.
From stalled U.S. Department of Agriculture funds to frozen land-preservation funds, the shifts are already thinning staff and slowing on-the-ground environmental programs, local conservation agencies say.
Tom Kay, executive director of the Alachua Conservation Trust, said federal funding cuts will impact everyone eventually, especially when it comes to the natural landscape.
The trust works in habitat restoration, conservation and environmental education and outreach in 22 North Florida counties. The organization’s conservation work and staffing numbers have been affected by the funding cuts.
“This is just a really dangerous game that we’re playing right now,” Kay said, “cutting vital programs within our government.”
The trust is partly funded by the USDA, Kay said, as well as through partner organizations like the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
These funds go toward various conservation efforts, like conducting prescribed fires. Some areas in Alachua County are fire-dependent, meaning they rely on fire as a natural process to maintain their biodiversity. Prescribed fires help avoid “catastrophic wildfires,” Kay said.
This funding was frozen in January 2025,
which means these wildfires could occur more often in Florida, he said.
The Alachua Conservation Trust and Volusia County were jointly awarded $25 million from the National Resources Conservation Service in 2023, Kay said. However, in early July, the federal government announced the funds — which were largely intended to support Florida farmers, particularly the protection of sensitive agricultural land — would be cut to $2 million.
These impact farmers’ work through halting projects like the prescribed fire program, reducing the quality of soil health and vegetation quality. They also threaten farmers’ livelihoods as jobs in the field become more uncertain.
Alachua Conservation Trust filed an appeal to an advisory board a couple weeks ago, Kay said, which will review and determine whether the funding can be reinstated. If the funding remains slashed, staff reductions will follow, he added.
Kay said the Alachua Conservation Trust started the year with 26 full-time staff members. It now has 21. One staff member was furloughed during the government shutdown, and another was moved from full time to half time. The other three workers were either fired or quit their jobs.
While alternate funding sources could provide a solution, Kay said, there is the added concern of workforce disenfranchisement. He predicts shared enthusiasm for working in the conservation field will likely taper given the increase in federal funding cuts.
Stephen Hofstetter, the director of Alachua
County’s Environmental Protection Department, said in an email that most of the organization’s funding comes from local and state funds, so federal cuts are not affecting staffing. The environmental department provides natural resource protection through stormwater management, environment planning and land conservation.
The department applied for some federal funds earlier this year, including a grant to Alachua County from the American Farmland Trust, funded by the USDA. The Land Transfer Navigators grant, alongside other reimbursement funds for a conservation property acquisition that was previously made, were
paused during the government shutdown. It’s unclear whether these programs have now resumed.
With grants like these paused, Hofstetter said, there is greater burden on local funding sources to keep environmental programs alive. He said his department and similar organizations must continue being efficient with their programing in diversifying their funding efforts by applying to alternate sources rather than relying primarily on federal funding.
Climate advocacy groups not reliant on state funding, meanwhile, are doubling down on their commitments to environmental outreach.
In a time like this where sustainability is being “shoved to the side,” it’s important for student communities to do what they can, said Abigail Trachtenberg, a 20-year-old UF sustainability studies major. Those efforts should continue with or without the support of the federal government, she added.
Trachtenberg is the lead organizer for genCLEO. The club’s mission is to educate students about local and federal policies affecting the climate crisis through workshops, panels with climate experts and collaboration with other environmentally-focused experts.
She said the club lobbies in Tallahassee alongside doing outreach.
Fighting funding cuts and policies that affect the environment requires a passionate community, according to Trachtenberg, even if that passion is split among multiple smaller organizations.
“At the end of the day, we’re all sort of fighting for the same thing,” she said.
@s_maharaj1611 smaharaj@alligator.org
Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff
A bird perches on a branch at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025.
Alachua County residents to receive internet upgrades after over $35 million of funding
A combination of private, county and federal money will enable the development
By Noah Lantor Alligator Staff Writer
Certain Alachua County residents will see improved internet service by 2030 thanks to a combination of federal, local and private funding toward broadband expansion.
The county was allocated $12.4 million through the federal government’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, or BEAD. The money will be used to expand high-speed internet in rural and underserved communities.
At the same time, Alachua County and Kinetic, a fiber internet provider, will enter a partnership to invest $22.9 million into expanding internet services. By the end of the project, 95% of the county should have access to
high-speed internet.
“All of those together will bring internet, broadband internet, to everyone in the county,” said Ethan Long, a 35-year-old data analyst coordinator and the leader of the broadband initiative in Alachua County.
Over the next few years, Long said, Alachua County residents should expect to see big changes in their internet quality as more fiber technology is installed across the region. Businesses should also see an improvement in internet service, he added.
Under former President Joe Biden, over $42 billion was set to be distributed as part of BEAD, with over $1.1 billion slotted to Florida.
On May 8, President Donald Trump called the act “woke handouts based on race” via his Truth Social account and vowed to cut
it to save American taxpayers billions of dollars.
So far, states have complied with the administration’s request. Only $21 billion, about half of the original amount, has been distributed nationwide for broadband deployment, still the largest such investment in U.S. history.
Nicole Crutchfield is a 39-yearold stay-at-home mom living in northeast Gainesville. Her house, along with 42 of her neighbors’ homes, will receive fiber optic internet through the grant program.
Crutchfield said her Wi-Fi has constant issues. When the internet goes out, her husband cannot contact clients of his roofing company, and her children cannot do their homework, she said.
“A lot of times it goes out for days at a time, especially if there’s a storm. … We just constantly have problems with it,” she said.
Windstream is Crutchfield’s current internet provider. If Windstream accepts the federal money, it’ll spend $1,800, in addition to over $5,600 from the grant, to install fiber at her address.
Though Crutchfield tried to switch to a different service provider, she couldn’t get a clear signal and stayed with Windstream.
“They have a monopoly out here,” she said. “It sucks because we don’t have a choice.”
Crutchfield is not alone in her frustration. In 2021, the Gainesville Sun reported a lack of internet access impacted over 36,000 Alachua County residents, according to data from the Federal Communications Commission.
Eden Abraham is a 21-year-old UF marketing senior who lives at The Retreat, an apartment complex off 16th Avenue near UF campus.
She said it’s common to have to reconnect to the building’s WiFi, and it routinely cuts out during school assignments, including timed quizzes, which are not submittable without internet connection.
“I try to give myself about five to 10 minutes if I have a meeting on Zoom or have an exam, just to connect to the Wi-Fi,” Abraham said.
Abraham’s home, along with 38 others in The Retreat’s complex, are part of Alachua County’s allocation in the federal grant, according to the Florida Department of Commerce’s Office of Broadband. AT&T was selected to provide fiber optic service to those homes by 2030.
@noah_lantor nlantor@alligator.org
Activists hope for closure Vaccine research in jeopardy
21-year-old UF management graduate student Gabrielle Keller referred to as “inner-Gainesville politics.”
“It's really an environmental racism issue when it boils down to it,” she said. “If it were any other part of Gainesville, it wouldn't exist in the first place.”
Keller, vice president of UF’s Public Interest Communications Student Association, introduced the campaign to club members last year. Since then, PICSA has committed itself to helping residents against the landfill.
The club created petitions and attended Alachua County Commission meetings to raise awareness for the movement. Its efforts succeeded in January, when the commission allowed Gainesville residents to petition the state for the landfill’s early closure.
“Businesses go out of business, businesses move,” said Jyoti Parmar, an organizing representative for the Sierra Club of Florida. “It's time for this business to close out of that neighborhood.”
Community members have a shared responsibility to consider the landfill’s safety risks and neighborhood impact, she added.
Parmar, who has been fighting against the landfill since 2018, feels compelled to speak out against the environmental and racial injustice the community faces.
She attributes her fight to her “strong sense of justice.” She hopes others will feel the same.
“This has been too long an issue that has somehow escaped corrective action, and it is past time to fix this,” Parmar said.
Johnell Gainey, an East Gainesville resident, also believes the landfill’s closure is long overdue. Gainey grew up with the dump just 368 yards from his parents’ front door.
He believes these residents shouldn’t feel indebted to the landfill owner, Paul Florence, who has a history of offering favors and services to locals.
For him, the removal of Florence Landfill is just the first step in the fight against a system of injustice.
“You can't look at the whole forest,” he said. “You got to look at one tree. If
it's in your way, you got to work on just that tree.”
The landfill represents the city’s shortcomings in developing East Gainesville, Gainey said.
He hopes that closing the landfill will offer the area and the people who live there more opportunities.
“I want to really start trying to chip at the real system and come up with a new system, a system where we are involved in making the rules and have some say-so and some input on what's right and what's wrong,” Gainey said.
Yelaine Aguilar, a 20-year-old UF public relations junior and PICSA president, believes student involvement can help the cause.
She urged students to recognize the impact the landfill can have on the natural landscapes and areas they enjoy.
“The dump is an issue that feels really far from the UF campus,” Aguilar said. “Anything that we don't see is hard for us to connect to, but really it is right there.”
Despite PICSA’s work, some residents neighboring the landfill support its continued operation. Richard Hamann, an emeritus associate in environmental law at UF, is among them.
Hamann, who has lived near the landfill since 1983, observed the wrongdoings of previous landfill owners. They failed to comply with county regulations, he said.
Florence, the current owner, has been considerate, removing potentially harmful items from the site and offering to clean up plots of land covered in debris, he said.
“He's been a great neighbor,” Hamann said. “He's been helpful to not just me, but lots of people in the community.”
Florence’s management style offers stability, he said. He worries what might happen if someone else were to take over and the troubles Florence would face from losing the landfill. It’s unclear what will happen to the plot if the landfill is closed.
@graceellarson glarson@alligator.org
would allow the immune system to identify cancer and fight it early on. The “universal vaccine” can treat anyone while they wait for a personalized cancer vaccine.
Sayour submitted a proposal to the National Institutes of Health for a clinical trial for the universal vaccine, The Washington Post reported in September. A panel of experts reviewed it and gave it an excellent score; one reviewer called it “high-impact” and praised its “elevated significance.” The funding did not arrive for months, so Sayour connected with advocates, who sent letters encouraging the NIH to move the money forward.
However, Sayour never received the grant he was promised by the NIH.
Sayour declined to comment on the funding cuts. It’s unclear to what extent his research will be able to continue.
Dr. Rui Yin, a UF associate professor of health outcomes and biomedical informatics, said his mRNA research helped him create an AI model that predicts which viruses might be prevalent in upcoming seasons.
This is critical research that people should be paying attention to, Yin said. Many of his collaborators at UF work under federal grants and will be affected by funding cuts, he added.
“This is not a good choice, because, as we all know, vaccinations are not something new,” Yin said. “We witness the benefits, help and protection from these vaccines. There is still a lot of potential to be explored.”
Yin said in the near future, scientists will be developing medicines for diseases like cancer, but without the funding, not much can be done.
He said when new viruses emerge, Americans will struggle to protect themselves against them, posing a huge threat to public health.
“We will never know what other pathogens or viruses will emerge in the future,” Yin said. “If this happens, if they don’t have sufficient tools or matters to prevent them … then people will just panic. We are just threatened.”
Dr. Jeff Coller, an RNA biology and therapeutics professor and mRNA researcher at Johns Hopkins University, said he and his peers have also been affected by the federal cuts.
The NIH has historically been the main source of biomedical science research funding, he said. After other vaccine and mRNA-based medicine skeptics were appointed under Kennedy, Coller said, NIH scientists were told to disclose the details of their work on mRNA-based vaccines.
Coller said he and the biomedical community
saw the order as an early warning sign of more restrictions. Not long after, Kennedy canceled a contract with Moderna to develop a vaccine for the bird flu. When the 22 grants developing mRNA-based vaccines were also canceled, Coller said, the results were devastating.
“The cancellation of those 22 grants really sent a chill through the entire ecosystem,” Coller said. “mRNA-based science, research and medicines is something that the administration and RFK Jr. simply does not support.”
The fear of funding lapses combined with presidential oversight is alarming, Coller said. He’s not sure if these grants will ever be replaced. Consequently, graduate schools are reducing their admissions, he said. Some Johns Hopkins graduate programs are cutting admissions rates by half, and some will not be admitting any students indefinitely.
“We’re going to have an entire generation of scientists disappear in the United States,” Coller said.
Dr. Kevin Folta, a UF horticultural sciences professor, said the NIH funding cuts are devastating to UF and to mRNA research like Sayour’s.
“We’re finally at the breaking point where critical programs that underlie the best science and the newest technologies are being lost,” Folta said. “I don’t know if we're going to recover from that.”
Folta said funding for UF graduate science programs were insufficient before the Trump administration stepped into power, but now, large cuts in the NIH and National Science Foundation have made it worse.
“I’ve never been so pessimistic about the state of USA science,” Folta said.
Hiring scientists and conducting research is already increasingly expensive because of inflation, Folta said. But the administration’s cutbacks on agencies that fund research, such as NIH, NSF and the CDC, have amplified the issue.
Despite the losses, UF has been able to connect with private donors and organizations for funding, Folta said. However, he said he thinks the university will start to lag behind in the research it’s renowned for.
“We were, for years, the world’s leader in research and innovation. We were the place to go, where students wanted to train from China, from Europe, from everywhere,” Folta said. “That is over now in a lot of ways.”
Federal funding cuts will be generational, and it will take a long time to rebuild what has been lost, he said.
Alachua County food banks prepare for Thanksgiving: A guide to local resources
LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS
OFFER RELIEF THIS HOLIDAY SEASON FOLLOWING DELAYS IN SNAP BENEFITS
By Grace Larson Alligator Staff Writer
Alfredo Morales, a 30-year-old organizer for Free Grocery Store, went from volunteering at a food bank to receiving meals from it in 2021, when he lost his engineering job.
Morales believes the threat of food insecurity looms over everyone.
“Everybody is one or two paychecks away from having to need this help,” he said.
The government shutdown, which caused delays in the distribution of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, amplified that sentiment for many.
Now, as the government reopens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture focuses on issuing SNAP benefits as quickly as possible.
Despite the uncertainty associated with SNAP distribution, Alachua County organizations like Free Grocery Store, Bread of the Mighty and The Long Foundation Inc. remain united in their goal to help families facing food insecurity.
Free Grocery Store
Free Grocery Store, a Gainesville-based food provider, offers free food through delivery and in-person pickup services. The grocery store will offer its next in-person pantry at the Civic Media Center at 2:45 p.m. on Nov. 25, two days before
Thanksgiving.
Morales, who now serves as an organizer for the nonprofit, said the organization does more than just feed the community — it humanizes charity.
“I’ve experienced this growing up, needing SNAP benefits, needing charity,” he said. “It feels demoralizing, feels dehumanizing, but it shouldn’t be.”
With the reduction of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, the organization experienced not only an increase in recipients but also in volunteers, said Morales.
Still, he encourages community members to consider those in need.
“Food insecurity affects all of us,” Morales said. “We’re only as well fed as our hungriest neighbor.”
Bread of the Mighty Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, which services Alachua, Gilchrist, Levy and Union Counties, will host its annual series of “Harvest Helpings” events this fall season.
These events allow families to pick up Thanksgiving food supplies, including boxes with turkeys and other side dishes.
While the food bank will host various “Harvest Helpings” events throughout the month, the biggest will be held in Gainesville on Nov. 22. The event will start at 9 a.m. at 6125 NW 18th Drive. The organization expects to hand out over 600 turkeys and boxes.
The food bank, which focused on giving aid in the wake of SNAP delays, is now getting a late start on preparing for the holiday events.
“We have traditionally started to stock up on products that we would be handing out at our Thanksgiving
Boxes are lined up before being filled with nonperishable food items for Feeding Northeast Florida’s Thanksgiving food drive, which makes 1,375 packed boxes for families in the Gainesville community at the Bread of The Mighty Food Bank Friday, Nov. 7, 2025.
giveaways right about now,” said Patrick Dodds, executive director of Bread of the Mighty Food Bank. “Unfortunately, we’re not stocking anything. Our shelves are empty. We are moving food out as quick as humanly possible.”
The Long Foundation Inc. Food Giveaway
The Long Foundation Inc. will host its annual food giveaway 8 a.m. Nov. 20 at the Oaks Mall. The initiative dates back to 2008 when
Rodney Long, founder and president of the group, served on the Alachua County Commission.
Following his retirement in 2011, he created the foundation to target social issues like homelessness and food insecurity. This group continued the food drive campaign from his time in office.
In 2024, the foundation gave out food to over 1,500 households ahead of Thanksgiving.
For Long, the event is an opportunity to give back to the
community.
“Thanksgiving is that month of giving. … The month of November is also recognized as National Hunger Month in America,” he said. “So this is the month where we should be not only giving back for Thanksgiving, but we should certainly try to give back to people who are just in need in general.”
Alachua County residents struggling with food insecurity can look into these resources: @graceellarson glarson@alligator.org
Free Grocery Store
Contact: 352-388-1568 Website: gnvfgs.org
Bread of the Mighty Contact: 352-336-0839 Website: breadofthemighty. org
The Long Foundation Inc. Contact: 352-371-4566
Cafe 131 Contact: 352-792-0800
Website: gracemarketplace. org/cafe-131
Open Door Ministries Contact: 352-377-8162
Website: www.opendoorministries.com
Catholic Charities Bureau Contact: 352-372-0294 Website: catholiccharitiesgainesville.org
State Board of Education zeroes in on Alachua County schools
The board announced an investigation into disability resources
By Logan McBride Alligator Staff Writer
The Florida Board of Education turned its eye to Alachua County Public Schools Nov. 13 as it grilled a school board member over her social media presence and announced an investigation into the school district’s disability services.
The state board summoned Tina Certain, the vice chair of the Alachua County School Board, Sept. 24 regarding a social media post she made about activist Charlie Kirk’s death.
“How a 31yr old uneducated white boy has been glorified,” Certain said in a deleted Facebook post. “To see the feds & state elevate him angers me.”
At the Nov. 13 meeting, Certain argued her comments are protected by her First Amendment rights, despite her status as the school board’s vice chair.
“Why should I have to explain what I said on my personal Facebook page, on my personal time, using my personal device, when I have First Amendment rights?” she said to the board.
Certain cited a free speech training the school board members received from the Florida Department of Education, following
an August order from the state. She said her post about Kirk’s death didn’t breach those teachings. The post, made on her personal account, does not represent the school board, but rather her personal opinions, she said.
According to Certain, she intended to critique Kirk’s legacy by using similar rhetoric he had used toward Black people to challenge his comments. She referred to a quote from former U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan she had on her desk.
“If society today allows the wrongs to go unchallenged, the impression is created that those wrongs have the approval of the majority,” Certain said.
The board was wasting its time addressing her when several issues in Florida need attention, like poor funding and statewide test scores, Certain added.
If her posts concern voters in Alachua County, she said, they don’t have to reelect her next year.
Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas said Certain’s post about Kirk isn’t the only one the state is concerned about. In one post cited at the Nov. 13 meeting, Certain said she avoids Asian-owned stores. The board also said one of Certain’s social media accounts liked a post that said
white women have been central to “building, maintaining and protecting racial violence.”
“How do you think those comments make that community feel?” Kamoutsas asked. “These posts are not just about Charlie Kirk — there is a repeated pattern.”
Kamoutsas said he believes in the First Amendment, but he’s concerned by the example Certain is setting on social media. Her actions could indicate to students that it’s OK to engage with politically violent rhetoric, he said.
Certain and the Alachua County School Board have been under scrutiny from the state board for months. In July, Alachua County School Board Chair Sarah Rockwell came under fire for a post she made about the death of Hulk Hogan.
“Oh did Hulk die? I didn’t even know. Good. One less MAGA in the world,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
Since Rockwell’s comments, state board officials have followed the school board closely, citing a history of unprofessionalism and poor leadership.
State Board Member Grazie Christie said during the meeting she sympathized with Certain. It’s easy to get carried away on social media with heated topics, she said. But,
she added, Certain is still a public official. Christie then gave Certain advice for the future.
“Remember that the cure for racism is not more racism in the opposite direction,” Christie said. “When you’re going to post anything publicly, replace the word white or Asian with Black, and then hear it in your head and see how that would feel to you.”
At the meeting, the state board also announced it was investigating Alachua County Public Schools for complaints of alleged discrimination and lack of accommodations for students with disabilities.
Members of the Department’s Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services team are in Alachua County investigating these claims, Kamoutsas said.
In an email, Alachua County Public Schools Spokesperson Jackie Johnson said the district was aware a parent reached out to the Florida Department of Education about the claims.
“The district is continuing to address those concerns. Representatives from DOE visited local schools today and were able to go into classrooms and talk with staff,” Johnson said in an email.
@LoganDMcBride lmcbride@alligator.org
Caroline Walsh // Alligator Staff
El Caimán
LUNES, 17 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2025
www.alligator.org/section/spanish
Un festín de identidades: mucho más que el pavo de Acción de Gracias
LAS CULTURAS DE LOS ESTUDIANTES DE UF INFLUYEN EN LO QUE COMEN DURANTE LA FESTIVIDAD ESTADOUNIDENSE
Por Victoria Riccobono
Escritora de El Caiman
Traducido por Vera Lucia Pappaterra
Escritora de El Caiman
Para Johender Suárez, el Día de Acción de Gracias comienza tan temprano como a las 8 de la mañana, entre carne, ajo, alcaparras y una cocina llena de familiares.
Este estudiante de tercer año de administración de empresas en la Universidad de Florida, nacido en Venezuela y de 20 años,
se despierta cada año para preparar hallacas junto con toda su familia.
La familia divide la labor de preparar, rellenar y amarrar las hallacas —una masa de maíz rellena de carnes y otros ingredientes. Con el equipo habitual de ocho personas, el proceso toma unas tres horas antes de ponerlas a hervir.
Acción de Gracias celebra la gratitud y el reunir a seres queridos, típicamente con pavo, relleno y salsa gravy. Pero para los estudiantes de UF con orígenes y culturas diversas, es también una oportunidad para compartir platos de casa.
Antes de mudarse a Estados Unidos a los 12 años, Suárez no estaba familiarizado con la festividad. Por eso, su familia creó su propia versión venezolana de esta tradición de más de 400 años.
Además de las hallacas, Suárez sirve otros platos favoritos. El pan de jamón —un pan
relleno de jamón, aceitunas y pasas— y el asado negro, un corte de res dulce y cocido lentamente, también forman parte de la mesa de Acción de Gracias.
La familia de Suárez incorpora además comida cubana, influencia de su padrastro. En la mesa nunca falta el congrí —arroz con frijoles negros—, y continúan cocinando con La Caja China, una caja de asado tradicional en Cuba.
“Aunque hay algo más común, nadie realmente juzga lo que comes en Acción de Gracias”, dijo Suárez.
Una celebración no tradicional abre las puertas a la creatividad cultural en casa de Hiya Raval.
Raval, estadounidense de origen indio y estudiante de primer año de biología en UF, de 18 años, explicó que su familia prefiere preparar macarrones con queso y piña, sidra de manzana espumosa y pastel de chocolate,
dejando de lado el tradicional pavo. “Somos vegetarianos, así que no seguimos la ruta típica del pavo”, afirmó.
Para la familia Raval, preservar su cultura y mantenerse fieles al hinduismo evitando la carne es fundamental, comentó.
Para otros, Acción de Gracias es tanto una oportunidad para disfrutar platos no tradicionales como para compartir en familia. Dante DiPietro, estudiante de segundo año de estudios internacionales y economía en UF, de 19 años, contó que en su casa normalmente no se come pavo. En su lugar, optan por platillos puertorriqueños e italianos.
Lea el resto en línea en alligator.org/ section/spanish.
@vickyriccobono vriccobono@alligator.org
A feast of identities: More than just Thanksgiving turkey
UF STUDENTS’ CULTURES
SHAPE WHAT THEY EAT DURING THE AMERICAN HOLIDAY
By Victoria Riccobono Alligator Staff Writer
For Johender Suarez, Thanksgiving starts as early as 8 a.m., with beef, garlic, capers and a kitchen full of family members.
The Venezuelan-born 20-year-old UF business management junior wakes up early each year to prepare hallacas, a traditional Venezuelan holiday dish, with his entire family.
His family splits the task of preparing, stuffing and tying the hallacas, a corn-based dough stuffed with meat and other fillings. The process, when divided by Suarez’s usual team of eight, takes about three hours to prepare for boiling.
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Thanksgiving celebrates gratitude and gathering, typically with turkey, stuffing and gravy. But for UF students with diverse backgrounds and cultures, it’s an opportunity to share dishes from home.
Before moving to the U.S. when he was 12, Suarez wasn’t familiar with the holiday. So, his family created its own Venezuelan-style take on the 400-year-old tradition.
“Although there's something more commonly used, no one really necessarily judges what you're eating for Thanksgiving,” Suarez said.
A non-traditional Thanksgiving opens the door for cultural creativity in Hiya Raval’s household.
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Suarez accompanies his hallacas with other family-favorite dishes. Pan de jamón, a bread stuffed with ham, olives and raisins, and asado negro, a sweet, slow-cooked beef roast, also make an appearence on the Thanksgiving table.
The 18-year old Indian American UF biology freshman said her family opts for macaroni and cheese with pineapples, sparkling apple cider and chocolate cake, skipping the popular turkey platter.
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Suarez’s family further stylizes its Thanksgiving display with Cuban food, implemented by his Cuban stepfather. Congri, a dish consisting of black beans and rice, is placed on the table, while the family continues cooking with La Caja China, a roasting box common in Cuba.
“We are vegetarian; therefore, we don’t go the normal turkey route,” she said.
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Opinions
Decor — Why holiday festivities shouldn’t start too early. Read more on pg. 8.
Read the rest online at alligator.org. @vickyriccobono vriccobono@alligator.org
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Hold the stockings, bring out the stuffing
When I was in elementary school, the hallways this time of year were filled with colorful cut-out leaves, handprint turkeys and fake pumpkins. We even had a day designated as our “Harvest Festival,” where we wore fall-themed T-shirts and took a class picture on hay bales.
However, as time has gone by, Christmas decorations have started popping up earlier and earlier. Once the clock strikes midnight on Oct. 31, all the scary ghosts and jack-o’-lanterns go right back into the attic, while Christmas trees and garlands begin showing up in windows.
In my family, we have always been Christmas fanatics (my dad plays Christmas music yearround). But it’s important to let Thanksgiving have its time before we start hanging our stockings.
Many people I’ve spoken to have agreed on one thing: When we were younger, the month of November was dedicated to Thanksgiving activities and crafts. My parents have multiple pictures of me in a pilgrim costume from school, and my hand turkeys sit somewhere in our home office.
From the perspective of a college student, November represents the transition period between the fun and crazy Halloween and the joyful cheer (and much-needed break) that comes in December. It also may represent a time of stress and burnout as we anticipate the end of the semester. This is why holding out on decorating for Christmas and truly appreciating Thanksgiving is more beneficial than trying to rush the holiday season in. Taking the month of November to embrace the changing weather and set our intentions for the rest of the semester can help calm any anxiety caused by school.
Embracing the Thanksgiving season can also keep us more grounded in the present. Many have claimed that the years have gone by faster, and personally, I feel as though 2025 went by in a flash.
By participating in fall traditions, we acknowledge the current season that we’re in and start winding down for the end of the year. We can
use this time to reflect on our year so far and plan how we want to end it.
If you’re struggling to stay grounded in the Thanksgiving season, here are some ways that I embrace fall:
Isabella Cabrera opinions@alligator.org
1. Lighting fall-scented candles
At home, my favorite fall scent was pumpkin and vanilla waffles. I lit it when I needed to study or do homework, enjoying the fall vibe. Here in Gainesville, my roommates and I have already found a substitute candle and light it frequently.
2. Consume Thanksgiving media
A Thanksgiving staple in my household was “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” Each year, I anticipated watching the Peanuts characters celebrate Thanksgiving, and I hoped to recreate that sense of community and closeness with my family. Additionally, I listen to Thanksgiving jazz mixes on YouTube, which help set the tone for the season.
3. Decorating for Thanksgiving
As I’ve mentioned, intentionally setting out fall decorations and choosing to keep Christmas decorations away can help us to embrace the season. When I started college, my parents and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby to hunt for fall decorations. On the top shelf of my desk, a string of pumpkins with the message “Thankful” written on them reminds me to be grateful for the people in my life and my college journey so far.
While the Christmas season is beloved by many, I encourage you to put it aside for now and embrace fall while it’s here. Christmas can wait just a little longer.
Isabella Cabrera is an 18-year old UF political science freshman.
Irecently came across a piece of advice online: To truly get to know someone, you should ask them about the last time they cried in public, because it reveals what they value. At first, I scoffed. It felt too vulnerable, too abrupt and too out-of-place for casual conversation.
But then I asked a friend. And it changed the way I ask questions.
There’s a reason so many day-to-day conversations open with “So what’s your major?” “How are you?” or “I love your sweater! Where did you buy it?” From job interviews to first dates, the questions we ask shape the relationships we build.
The beauty of asking deep questions is that it cuts through small talk and fosters curiosity, giving a rare opportunity to invite discussion in a world that often prioritizes confidence over vulnerability.
We waste this opportunity to connect because we’re scared of asking deeper questions. We stick to safe questions because we’re afraid — afraid of being too personal, too deep or too real. And maybe, afraid of the answers.
As someone who uses a white cane because I am visually impaired, I get a lot of questions from curious strangers that are difficult to answer: “Why do you use a cane?” “Are you blind?”, even “What’s wrong with you?”
At first, I got upset by these questions. I was used to living a life full of questions that meant nothing, so the sudden onslaught of questions about something so personal felt overwhelming. But over time, I realized these questions — when asked respectfully — reflect deeper curiosity and an opportunity to learn together. They made me think about how many questions in our society are considered taboo, even though they touch the core of what it means to be human.
We find ourselves asking fundamental questions, from “What do you believe in?” to “How do we deal with change and loss?” to “How do we grow?” These are the unspoken questions our lives revolve around, but so rarely do we articulate them out loud. They linger beneath the surface, shaping our lives silently. After all, it’s hard to go up to a stranger and ask, “Hey! When was the last time you cried in public?”
Sometimes, the questions we ask aren’t the ones we truly want to ask.
This becomes especially evident in the context of grief. I felt this recently when someone on my dorm floor passed away. The questions echoed in the hallway: “Are you okay?” “How was your weekend?” “How are you holding up?” But the real question — the one no one asked — was “How can we remember their legacy?”
There is power in asking the right questions. In a world overflowing with shallow greetings and thoughtless small talk, asking meaningful questions is a choice to seek connection over convention. When we dare to ask with intention — not just to fill silence but to uncover meaning — we open doors to empathy, understanding and growth.
The questions we choose shape the stories we hear, the relationships we build, and the truths we uncover. So let’s be bold enough to ask not just what’s easy, but what’s real. Because sometimes, the most profound answers begin with a question we were once afraid to ask.
Elliana Boyarshinov is a 19-year-old UF finance and economics sophomore.
Elliana Boyarshinov
opinions@alligator.org
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/the-avenue
Art exhibit encapsulates over 170 years of Alachua County histo ry
MATHESON HISTORY MUSEUM EXHIBIT DISPLAYED PIECES FROM ITS PERMANENT COLLECTION
By Isabel Kraby Avenue Staff Writer
A teary-eyed Althea Tombley-Carter stood in the gallery, reminiscing on the sacred history of her small town of Cross Creek.
The 75-year-old made the half-hour drive to the Matheson History Museum Saturday to see the work of Robert Carson, a self-taught painter and UF humanities professor, who died in 1971. Carson was one of 14 artists honored at the museum’s first one-day archival exhibit.
The “Art from the Archives” exhibit, held Saturday to celebrate the annual Downtown Arts Festival, contained 14 pieces spanning nearly two centuries of artwork. The pieces, belonging to the museum’s rarely displayed permanent collection, ranged from acrylic landscapes to a beaded dress bodice.
Tombley-Carter, whose cousin was a close friend and student of Carson’s, volunteers at the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park. Carson and his wife were instrumental in the restoration of Rawlings’ home in Cross Creek, where the renowned author wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Yearling.”
A photograph of Rawlings’ barn, displayed in the gallery, served as a viewer’s only connection to Alachua County’s rich past, said Tombley-Carter.
“It’s kind of part of your soul,” she said. “You thank God for what we have around us, and we need to take care of it.”
Carson had a vibrant watercolor on display in the exhibit, entitled “Cabot Pine Tar & Charcoal Factory.” Rebecca Nagy, the former direc-
FOOD & DRINK
tor of the Harn Museum of Art, said it is one of the many examples of “Art from the Archives” pieces that tell a story.
Having donated a graphite drawing of Juniper Springs to the gallery, Nagy has been involved with the Matheson History Museum in several capacities and now serves on its advisory council.
She said the exhibit is not only significant because of the pieces’ high quality, but also because it brings to light landmarks that might otherwise be torn down.
“It helps people to be aware of historic places and buildings that need to be preserved, and
maybe helps generate enthusiasm for historic preservation,” Nagy said.
One piece that stands out in the exhibit, “Novorossiisk Port,” is a century-old oil on canvas painting from Russia.
Gainesville and Novorossiysk, Russia, have been sister cities since 1982. The two towns support each other culturally, exchanging artifacts and tokens.
Though not related to Florida culture, it was a favorite in the gallery. According to museum director Salvatore Cumella, it is the first time the piece has been shown at Matheson. Cumella, Gainesville’s former historic
preservation planner, said the exhibit was a great way to showcase pieces from the museum’s storage that may only be displayed once in a decade.
The mission of the Matheson History Museum is to preserve and interpret the past, he added, but not often does the museum get to express the local culture in an artistic manner.
“Art is another one of those ways where you can learn a lot about a place’s history,” Cumella said.
@isabelgkraby ikraby@alligator.org
Indian restaurant brings authentic fine dining to Gainesville
MANZIL FINE INDIAN DINING SERVES FOOD FROM ALL REGIONS OF INDIA
By Summer Johnston Avenue Staff Writer
Manzil means “destination” in Hindi. As the co-owner of an Indian fine dining restaurant in Gainesville, 37-year-old Puja Patel wants customers to feel transported to her home country. By sourcing ingredients and importing furniture and decor from India, Patel made authenticity a priority.
Manzil Fine Indian Dining opened
in April on Southwest Archer Road.
Patel said the restaurant’s goal is for customers to escape Gainesville without a plane ride.
“You stepped in here; you went to India,” Patel said. “You had your experience, and you can always come back.”
The main dining area features solid wood carvings made by India-based artisans depicting peacocks, cows, lions, horses and elephants — symbols of strength, prosperity and wisdom in her culture.
Soft yellow lighting from teardrop bulbs shines on the mandala designs on each chair cushion. A wooden map of India is displayed against a lush backdrop of leaves.
Keep up with the Avenue on Twitter. Tweet us @TheFloridaAve.
But more than the decor, customers can find authentic tastes of India on Manzil’s menu. Staples like butter chicken and tikka masala are always available, but other curries and flavors are on a rotational schedule.
The restaurant has an unlimited lunch buffet for $18.99 Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Vegan and vegetarian options are available.
Darshan Shinde, a 34-year-old server who is originally from Mumbai, India, said he likes to push customers to try something different every time they come to the restaurant.
“I’ve been teaching a lot of customers to try something else other than butter chicken and chicken tik-
ka masala,” Shinde said. A blend of Indian spices, like cardamom and cinnamon, is combined with ginger, garlic and onion to season many of the dishes. Shinde’s favorite dishes: lamb rogan josh and chicken biryani.
Despite limited advertising, the restaurant’s soft opening attracted many customers in February. Patel said many of the first customers have become regulars. The restaurant has also catered for large groups and parties, including UF’s Diwali gala, a Garba gathering at Celebration Pointe and Teacher Appreciation Week at Kanapaha Middle and Elementary schools.
Akshay Reddy, a 25-year-old UF medical student, has roots in South
India. He has visited Manzil multiple times and said his favorite dishes are the biryani and lamb.
He described the restaurant as robust and said he likes coming for the unlimited lunch buffet.
“I bring my new friends here,” Reddy said. “It’s definitely top-tier decor compared to other Indian restaurants in town.”
As part of the restaurant’s oneyear anniversary, the owners will redo the menu to expose customers to Indian street foods that aren’t available in Gainesville. Customers can expect items like pani puri and dosa to be featured.
@summerajohnston sjohnston@alligator.org
Caroline Walsh // Alligator Staff
Gainesville resident Beth Kent and retired Harn Museum director Rebecca Nagy look at a piece displayed in the “Art from the Archives” exhibit at the Matheson History Museum, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.
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the code to
Trivia Test
1. HISTORY: Which country sold Alaska to the United States?
2. GEOGRAPHY: On which continent is the Sahara Desert?
3. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: Who created The Muppets?
4. MUSIC: What was singer Miley Cyrus' alter ego when she starred in a Disney sitcom?
5. MATH: How many sides does a heptagon (sometimes called a septagon) have?
6. MOVIES: Which singer is featured in the biopic "A Complete Unknown"?
7. FOOD & DRINK: What is carpaccio?
8. LITERATURE: In "The Jungle Book," who raised the boy called Mowgli?
9. TELEVISION: Where was Mork from in the sitcom "Mork and Mindy"?
10. LANGUAGE: What does the phrase "doubleplusungood" mean in Newspeak, featured in the dystopian novel "1984"? © 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.
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TESTING
2. Name the Spanish soccer player for Barcelona who won the Women's Ballon d'Or in consecutive years from 2021 to 2022.
3. The 2025 sports biography film "The Smashing Machine" stars Dwayne Johnson as what mixed martial arts champion?
4. Where and when was the first World Series game to be played in a domed stadium?
5. What Southern California racetrack hosted the Breeders' Cup horse races in 2017, 2021 and 2024-2025?
6.
7. Willie Thrower, recognized as the NFL's first Black quarterback in the modern era, played for what team in 1953?
Alexia Putellas.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2025
www.alligator.org/section/sports
FOOTBALL
‘Emotionally draining’: DJ Lagway reflects on 2025 struggles after loss to Ole Miss
LAGWAY HAS THROWN 13 INTERCEPTIONS IN 10 GAMES THIS SEASON
By Max Bernstein Sports Writer
Trailing 27-24, the Gators were driving down the field, looking to reclaim their lead in the fourth quarter. After two successful third down conversions, UF found itself at the Ole Miss 30-yard line, facing a third and five to gain.
Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway took the shotgun snap and rolled out to his left. Surveying the field, he launched a pass crossbody, looking to find sophomore wide receiver Aidan Mizell.
But Lagway’s pass didn’t make it far before disaster struck.
Ole Miss junior linebacker Suntarine Perkins deflected the pass, and the ball sailed into the hands of senior safety Wydett Williams Jr. It was the nail in the coffin in the Gators’ 34-24 loss to No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC).
Lagway’s lone turnover of the night marked another moment to forget in a tough season for the sophomore quarterback.
“This has been emotionally draining, this whole year to be honest, all the way back to January,” Lagway said. “But I’m gonna continue to get better, continue to work and continue to strive for greatness.”
Lagway’s 2025 has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. He started the offseason on the sidelines dealing with a shoulder injury and recovering from surgery for a sports hernia injury. He strained his left calf in July before suffering another lower body injury in Florida’s loss to Miami.
Despite that, Lagway has toughed through
ROWING
a difficult campaign, where he’s completed just over 63% of his passes for 1,980 yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He currently has a 63.2 Pro Football Focus grade, the lowest among quarterbacks who have played at least half of snaps in the Southeastern Conference.
“It’s been hard man. A lot of the early mornings and the late nights,” Lagway said. “But you’ve got to look at perspective. Sometimes, that’s what kind of gets me right. Six, seven months ago, I wasn’t even playing football, so I’m happy to be out there and just being able to play … But it’s hard when you don’t have success, though. That’s what you play the game for.”
Just one week after being benched in UF’s 38-7 loss to Kentucky, Lagway bounced back with a strong first half despite playing with a depleted offensive core. The Gators were missing three of their top five receivers on the season, including freshman Vernell Brown III, who was ruled inactive just moments before the game with a shoulder injury.
In the game’s opening 30 minutes, Lagway completed 9 of 17 passes for 155 yards, highlighted by a 57-yard touchdown throw to redshirt senior wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant in the second quarter.
“In the first half, you know, we’re just letting them run down the field on play action,”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “Don’t matter how many receivers you got hurt, anybody if you don’t cover them, they can catch it. So you know, really at halftime we said let’s just stay back. Let’s drop more and make [DJ] earn it.”
With the adjustments from the Rebels’ defense, Lagway struggled in the second half, hitting 7 of his 14 throws for 63 yards and throwing the crucial interception. The Gators were ultimately held scoreless over the final two quarters.
“It’s a learning experience,” said Florida interim head coach Billy Gonzales. “But we can’t throw back across our body, especially when we’re coming back to the left.”
Lagway finished with a 62.9 PFF game grade, including a 74 grade when throwing 20plus yards. However, there were some positive signs, as Lagway’s 69.1 running grade was his second-highest on the season, only behind the Kentucky game.
He also scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a five-yard designed quarterback draw in the late first quarter.
With the loss, the Gators (3-7, 2-5 SEC) were officially eliminated from bowl contention as more questions than answers remain about the future of Florida football. Despite that, Lagway continues taking everything day by day.
“Like I said, it’s just every single day, just continue to strive for greatness and continue to get better at your craft,” Lagway said. “Each and every week, just hoping to get it 1% better.”
Florida heads back to Gainesville to host No. 23 Tennessee and Florida State over the next two weeks to close its season.
@maxbernstein23 mbernstein@alligator.org
Florida Club Rowing connects generations of Gators
FOUNDED IN 1984, IT’S MORE THAN A SPORT, CREATING A DECADESLONG COMMUNITY
By Nicole Lopez Sports Writer
Forty years after Florida Club Rowing was founded, the bonds between Florida students and alumni are rippling across generations.
Founded in 1984, Florida Club Rowing started with a small group of students — not even enough to form separate men’s and women’s squads. Today, the number of rowers has grown to nearly 100 and spans across four different teams: novice men, novice women, varsity
men and varsity women. The club welcomes athletes of all skill levels, including those who have never rowed before.
But the relationship with club rowing doesn’t end with a student’s UF graduation. UF alumnus Andy Mullins said his commitment to the team has never waivered, even 16 years after he made his 2009 club debut.
A 2013 graduate and the club’s former president, Mullins now leads the Florida Crew Alumni Association. Former members and coaches founded the nonprofit in 2020 to support the program and future student cohorts.
“I don’t know if you want to call it a sense of duty, but you always want to try and leave the team in a
better spot than where you were,” Mullins said. “I thought if I could help out, then maybe we could help raise some more funds for the team to be able to make them successful in the future as well.”
Under Mullins’ leadership, the association became a nonprofit, allowing tax-exempt donations to cover equipment, travel and other expenses.
The association’s purpose extends beyond donations — it aims to foster camaraderie and relationships. The association recently launched a mentorship program that pairs alumni with current club members who have similar career interests.
“We have this whole network of people that have already done it before,” Mullins said. “So, why not
try and pair people up with current team members, so then they don’t feel completely lost as they’re going through the process?”
UF rowing team’s president, Ana Craig, a 22-year-old UF marketing senior, was a novice when she first tried the sport as a freshman. Craig first learned about the rowing team from a postcard in the mail, and her parents encouraged her to give it a try. She immediately fell in love with the sport when she attended her first practice. Practices run six days a week, focusing on physical and mental endurance as well as technical skill. Coaches work to foster a positive, encouraging environment, ending practices by highlighting a teammates’ efforts and successes.
“Rowing has definitely taught me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable and push through,” Craig said. “There’s always more left in the tank.”
The team travels to several regattas, which are organized competitions consisting of multiple races, throughout the year. They often compete against other teams, including club teams and Division I and II schools.
“It keeps us on our toes,” Craig said. “It definitely keeps us competitive.”
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Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff Florida quarterback DJ Lagway (2) runs with the ball during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Oxford, Miss.
