1. Unlikely friendship forms out of Richard Spencer event
Jimena Tavel, Staff Writer
Furniss and Long
When Richard Spencer spoke at UF, a black Gainesville resident offered a former member of the Aryan Brotherhood a ride in his car and an open mind. The two formed an unlikely bond.
2. Mural by Women’s March Gainesville defaced within one day of painting
Catie Wegman, Staff Writer
Pamela Smith, a volunteer with Women’s March Gainesville, said that on Sunday afternoon, the group received an inquiry explaining that someone driving down 34th street had seen a single man defacing the mural.
Fifteen volunteers from Women’s March Gainesville painted a mural on a 34th Street wall illustrating their stance on controversial opinions such as immigration, healthcare and gay rights. One day later, it was defaced. Those who painted over the mural wrote their own opinions about the issues displayed, linking those in the “resistance” to autism, dubbing those who identify as LGBTQ+ with having a “mental disorder” and replacing the “Black Lives Matter” with “Blue Lives Matter.”
3. Family creates scholarship in alumnus’ memory
Adam Turner, Staff Writer
After UF alumnus Dr. Huy Huynh died of brain cancer at 33, his family created a scholarship in his name to ensure that his legacy as a “Triple Gator” lives on.
4. UF student dies falling off apartment balcony
Meryl Kornfield, Staff Writer
UF mechanical engineering senior Ian Burns died after falling from the third floor of 13th Street Apartments. A Gainesville Police spokesperson said no foul play was suspected in the fall.
5. UF Housing official arrested for grand theft; six employees suspended
David Hoffman, Staff Writer
The senior director of UF’s Housing and Residence Education was arrested Monday after allegedly using $180,607.65 in university funds for personal gain and benefit, police said.
6. Gainesville doctor cusses out patient
Jessica Giles, Staff Writer
A woman said she waited for more than an hour to be seen by a doctor at Gainesville After Hours Clinic. She asked the doctor for a refund of her $80 copay. In a video, the doctor curses out the patient.
7. White nationalist activist Richard Spencer plans to speak at UF
Jimena Tavel, Staff Writer
Richard Spencer
Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute, an organization that lobbies for the “people of European descent in the United States,” requested to speak at UF in September. Following violent rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one person died, his talk was pushed back to October.
8. UF student athlete arrested after striking ex-boyfriend in the face, university police say
David Hoffman, Staff Writer
A UF diver was arrested after police said she slapped her ex-boyfriend multiple times in the parking lot next to James G. Pressly Stadium.
9. UF Dean of Students Jen Day Shaw resigns
Molly Vossler, Staff Writer
Jen Day Shaw
UF decided not to renew UF Dean of Students Jen Day Shaw’s appointment after learning that Day Shaw provided a positive reference for a former student affairs official who was fired in 2016 for using his work computer to purchase pornography.
10. Gainesville, UF prepares for Hurricane Irma
Jessica Giles and Christina Morales, Staff Writers
The empty shelves of a local Gainesville Walmart, days before Hurricane Irma strikes Florida.
A state of emergency and a state on edge. As Hurricane Irma churned toward Florida as a Category 5 with winds topping 185 mph, Gainesville residents, weary of the possible track, prepared for the worst.
