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VOLUME 113 ISSUE 9
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
After petition, Fuchs to meet with students about graduation THE PETITION HAS MORE THAN 7,500 SIGNATURES. By McKenna Beery Alligator Staff Writer
Will Clewis / Alligator Staff
Climbing for those who can’t
A climber wearing “bunker gear” descends the steps during the second annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Tuesday evening. More than 150 people participated in the stair climb hosted by the UF Collegiate Veterans Society. The event consisted of climbing 1,980 steps, or 11 trips up and down the stadium, to represent the amount of stairs in one of the Twin Towers.
Library West might be open 24/7 by the end of month IT WILL COST $160,000 TO FUND.
Student Government is looking to reinstate Library West as a 24/7 facility by the end of September. The Student Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday giving $160,000 to fund Library West’s hour extension. The bill has to be passed in the Senate again next Tuesday for the funds to be transferred, said Emily Dunson, the Budget and Appropriations Chairwoman. “I really do think this bill reveals the fruition of what hard work and communication look like between administration
who wrote the bill, is working with library administrators to have it open overnight by the end of September, he said. Library West will need to hire new staff members for the overnight hours before it can be open 24/7, Green said. The money for the first year of funding will come from the SG reserve account, Green said. Money in this account comes from students’ activity and service fee, but SG officials couldn’t confirm how much was in the account. The reserve funds are supposed to be used for one-time expenses, Green said. The Office of the Provost will then fund overnight hours for the library from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2021. “It’s a huge win for students,” Green said.
and the Student Body,” Dunson said. UF Student Body President Ian Green,
@gilliangsweeney gsweeney@alligator.org
By Gillian Sweeney Alligator Staff Writer
Coach Dan Mullen talks toughness
The Gators’ head coach preached physicality from the moment he stepped into his postgame press conference on Saturday. Find out what that means for other coaches and players,
When Anthony Rojas walked across the O’Connell Center stage in May, draped in graduation robes, he looked out into the sea of thousands and felt in awe. Now, Rojas worries other students and their families won’t get that same breathtaking moment he experienced after UF rearranged the graduation structure. Upcoming Fall and Spring ceremonies won’t have individual name-calling at a singular university-wide commencement, which will be held in the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Rojas, a 22-year-old UF political science first-year graduate student, started an online petition to give students a platform to take action, he said. Despite the petition amassing more than 8,200 signatures in one day, UF won’t reconsider its
decision for the Fall and Spring, said Stephanie McBride, director of commencement, who learned about the petition Monday. Still, UF President Kent Fuchs has agreed to meet with Rojas and other students to discuss their concerns. “I think it is important that students have the opportunity to express their opinions and concerns,” McBride said. A newly created task force will evaluate the graduation ceremonies at the end of the year. The August 2019 commencement will maintain the past model because there are fewer graduates in the Summer. “We will take any and all feedback that students have because it is important that students feel heard, and we understand what their concerns are,” she said. These commencement changes come after the previous Spring commencement ceremony when a graduation marshal forcefully rushed students offstage. Videos from that commencement show
SEE GRADUATION, PAGE 3
Landmark tree saved by neighbor By Angela DiMichele Alligator Staff Writer
A tree stood for 250 years, covered in gnarly vines and dripping in moss. It stood by as the land next to it was developed and then abandoned. It stood by as a new owner, Lee Malis, 59, carefully tended to a garden out front and cleaned up the yard. And when the tree was threatened, Malis stood by it. The live oak that looks over Malis’ backyard on Northwest Seventh Terrace has garnered more attention than he ever expected. The 5-foot-in-diameter, 250-year-old heritage live oak was supposed to be chopped down to make room for The Reef, a new apartment complex, in the northeast Gainesville neighborhood, Malis said. But then, a court case and fundraiser rallied around saving the tree. Though Malis knew the developers were building the complex, he said he had no idea the tree wasn’t considered his own property.
Pizza, Pizza
Gainesville Police are looking for a robber who stole pies from a Hungry Howie’s delivery driver, pg. 5
Looking back on the day after Sept. 11, 2001 Read what The Alligator wrote following the attack, pg. 6
But as of Thursday, the developer in charge of building The Reef wrote in a letter to the city that they decided to save the neighborhood landmark and build around it. “I spent the last three weeks defending my yard, doing anything I could, telling anybody I can, and then all of a sudden it turned into this giant event,” Malis said. “I was out there by myself with my tree, and all of a sudden the whole city came out and helped me.” The new design plans, which no longer remove the tree, will be submitted to the city for approval in about a week, city spokesperson Chip Skinner said. The $17,000 the developer paid to begin tree removal will be refunded. The plan to remove the tree was approved by the city because it was on the developer’s land, Skinner said. But in a letter sent to the City Commission on Aug. 22, Gainesville arborist Meg Niederhofer said this survey was inaccurate. “This is cause for real concern when the con-
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SEE TREE, PAGE 5