You’re in your car scouring a UF parking garage in hopes of finding a gloriously empty parking spot. You have looked for a spot on three floors already and things aren’t looking good. But you have a meeting in 10 minutes that you have to get to, so the search must continue. Then you see it, an empty spot perfectly nestled between two shining cars. You quickly whip into it, claiming the spot as yours.
You hop out of your car, only to notice a sign on the garage wall, which reads “Orange decal parking.” It’s 4 p.m., so you aren’t allowed to park in orange. You make the split-second decision to leave your car parked there. After all, parking is lifted in half an hour.
Later, making your way back from your meeting, you pray to the parking gods that there isn’t a little yellow slip on your windshield. You trudge up the stairs of the parking garage and make your way over to your car. Sure enough, a small yellow slip awaits you. You heave a big sigh and grab the slip, ripping it open. You realize it isn’t a parking citation at all. It’s your weekly dose of…
Darts & Laurels
This week we’re starting with some otherworldly news. The first-ever image of a black hole was released Wednesday, and it’s every science fiction lover’s dream. The image was taken by reaching across intergalactic space to the galaxy Messier 87, where the black hole resides in the galaxy cluster, Virgo. This is the photographic evidence scientists across the globe have been waiting for. We would like to give a laurel to all of the scientists and researchers who have spent years working to obtain this image. A photo of Katie Bouman, a 29-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology postdoctoral fellow, reacting to the image has gone viral after we learned she was one of the first creators of the algorithm that led to the photo. She has since said the photo was a collaboration among scientists.
Much closer to home, we are giving out a dart to Christopher Maurice McCallum, a 27-year-old man from Ocala. McCallum was arrested Tuesday after he posted a rap song on March 22, where he threatens to “shoot the whole campus up,” in reference to UF. He goes on to talk about a feud between two groups, one from Gainesville and another from Ocala shores. The case hits close to home. However, it is still to be determined in court if the rap can be considered a threat of mass shooting or hyperbole. As many rappers use exaggerations, the context around the speech has to be observed and determined to be threatening. If the context seems non-threatening, it could be determined that McCallum was using his right to free speech.
Spanish-speaking Florida voters could be getting assistance and ballots written in Spanish in the next election if Florida’s election chief addresses a court case involving 32 Florida counties. Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “It is critically important that Spanish-speaking Floridians are able to exercise their right to vote without any language barriers,” in a news release. We’re giving a laurel to those fighting to help Spanish-speaking Floridians. Florida has the fifth-highest percentage of Spanish speakers in the U.S., about 16 percent of Florida’s population, according to Census Scope. The yearlong legal battle came to a head on Friday when a coalition of groups went to a judge to ask that ballots written in Spanish and Spanish-speaking assistants be available starting Aug. 1.
The Alligator editorial board includes the opinions editor Michaela Mulligan, editor-in-chief Paige Fry and managing editors Christina Morales and Amanda Rosa.
