News | Campus Student Life - The Independent Florida Alligator

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Florida Senators Jason Pizzo, Tina Polsky talk political activism with UF students

By Zoey Thomas | Nov. 3, 2023

Florida Sen. Jason Pizzo considers himself the “biggest no-bulls—t person in the Florida state legislature.” He’s spent the past two weeks on the road to prove it. A group of 30 UF students gathered in the Reitz Student Union Friday for a meet-and-greet coordinated between Pizzo and UF College Democrats.

UF students and Gainesville community members gathered Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 for a walkout and vigil.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Gainesville pro-Palestinian groups lead march through UF campus

By Zoey Thomas | Oct. 25, 2023

A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Florida universities to deactivate pro-Palestinian student groups, a crowd of over 250 people rallied on UF’s campus with Palestinian flags draped over their shoulders and drawn onto cardboard signs.

Archive photo of former UF President John Lombardi speaking to the Hispanic Student Association at the Reitz Union.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Looking back at UF’s Hispanic, Latino history

By Garrett Shanley and Melanie Pena | Oct. 16, 2023

In 1951, a total of 101 Hispanic and Latino students attended UF. More than half a century later, over 9,000 Hispanic and Latinos attend UF — making up more than one-fifth of the student population.

Majd Afaghani, attends UF SJP’s discussion in Turlington wearing a Palestine kufiyyeh neck scarf on Thursday Oct. 12, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Campus organizations host educational discussion on Palestine’s current events

By Nicole Beltran | Oct. 12, 2023

A crowd of around 100 UF students lingered inside and around a Turlington classroom — guarded by several police officers — for “Day of Resistance,” an informational lecture hosted by three UF organizations Thursday evening on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

A Sweetwater apartment building is under construction on University Avenue in Gainesville on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Sweetwater apartments delay move-in, students left homeless

By Melanie Pena and Vivienne Serret | Sep. 18, 2023

Sarina Phipps lives with a quarter of her belongings at the Holiday Inn. When the rush of game day weekends arrives, and the hotel becomes overbooked, she quickly gathers a small bag of everything she owns and stays at a friend’s place.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Navigating freshmen fall: UF’s mental, emotional resources for students

By Megan Howard | Sep. 11, 2023

There are many resources available to freshmen students to help them adjust to college life. Resources for freshmen include the CWC, resident assistants and student organizations.

Midtown bars are seen on University Avenue in Gainesville on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Hurricane parties: How students celebrate storm days

By Megan Howard | Sep. 3, 2023

Many students who grew up in Florida know that an incoming hurricane almost always grants days off from school. Now that UF students live in their own spaces, they opt to throw “hurricane parties” to pass time.

Don Toliver performs at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville on Wendesday, Aug. 23, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Don Toliver lights up the stage at first day of school concert

By Vivienne Serret | Aug. 24, 2023

UF Student Government Productions kicked off its first event of the Fall by hosting Don Toliver alongside Kaliii in a sold-out show Aug. 23 at the O'Connell Center.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Florida Supreme Court hears dispute about UF’s 2020 COVID-19 shutdown

By Sally Brown | Aug. 7, 2023

The Florida Supreme Court will review a case about UF returning fees paid to the university during the COVID-19 shutdown to students.

Signage giving a brief description of the Timucua tribe is seen near the Levin College of Law on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF’s efforts to preserve Native American history remain despite implications from new legislation

By Jinelle Vazquez | July 31, 2023

The new law prompts some worry from the UF community about the future of Native American history at the university, while others believe their efforts to preserve the history will last.

The UF Center for Latin American Studies is housed in Grinter Hall seen at 1523 Union Rd. on Sunday, July 30, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

State education bill casts mixed opinions within UF Latin and Indigenous studies

By Nicole Beltran | July 31, 2023

Florida’s abundant history of instruction on Latin American and Indigenous culture may face censorship, potentially undermining the historical importance of the subjects.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Florida’s new bathroom law prompts concern from UF students

By Garrett Shanley | July 31, 2023

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1521 into law in May, and it became effective July 1. The bill, also known as the Safety in Private Spaces Act, introduces penalties for people using a public restroom or changing facility not aligned with their sex assigned at birth.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Celebrating Disability Pride Month: UF’s disability, accessibility resources

By Jinelle Vazquez | July 24, 2023

With more than 6,800 students registered at the UF Disability Resource Center, accessibility is a priority among the university community — though some students feel UF has plenty to improve.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Game day parking app launched mid-July

By Nicole Beltran | July 17, 2023

The app offers local residents and businesses the opportunity to monetize their available parking spaces on game days.

After years of hard work and engineering obstacles, the Solar Gators revealed their newest solar-powered car at UF’s New Engineering Building Thursday. The car is set to compete at the Formula Sun Grand Prix at Topeka, Kansas, throughout the week. 
Designed and assembled completely by UF students, the “Sunrider” can reach speeds up to 50 mph, and a single battery pack can power it through 200 miles. 
The week-long competition consists of four days of scrutineering, where experts test and inspect every piece of the vehicle, followed by three days of racing. It’s a race of endurance where previous winners reached 700 miles through multiple battery packs. The team will compete against 14 other groups from across the United States and Canada. Irene Chung, president-elect of Solar Gators, said winning this competition will qualify them for larger competitions such as the American Solar Challenge. However, more hurdles await them at the racetrack, she said. 
“As you start driving,” she said, “you start seeing things that you’ve never seen before, and you’ve got to debug and problem solve on the fly.”

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF Solar Gators win Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix

By Sally Brown | July 10, 2023

Powered by the sun and innovation, the UF Solar Gators took home a first-place trophy from the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix for the first time.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF’s colorful courses bring excitement to student schedules

By Nicole Beltran | July 3, 2023

From scuba diving in Devil's Den to raising bee colonies, UF students can take advantage of courses that could potentially spark newfound passions.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Libraries, study rooms and technology, oh my!

By Jinelle Vazquez | July 3, 2023

As incoming Summer B students swarm UF campus, library resources ranging from expansive research databases to free-for-rent technology await them.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Former Alligator editor Aimee Sachs dies at 38

By Nicole Beltran and Garrett Shanley | June 19, 2023

Aimee Sachs, a UF alum and freelance sports reporter, was known for her tenacity and passion in the journalism field.

UF Graduate Assistants United and protestors share their sentiments about the state of graduate housing with written notes hung on a wire at Maguire Village on Saturday, June 10, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

‘Trees Over Profit’: GAU holds peaceful protest for graduate housing

By Vivienne Serret | June 12, 2023

The UF Graduate Assistants United peacefully protested the closure of graduate housing in Maguire Village and University Village South with a final “no-pool pool block party.”

Protestors for transgender access to healthcare gather at the corner of University Avenue and 13th Street to begin a march toward the Student Health Care Center where some will perform an “inject-in” of HRT Friday, April 7, 2023.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF transgender community faces legislation restricting access to health care, bathrooms

By Garrett Shanley | June 5, 2023

SB 254 imposes a series of restrictions on gender-affirming care in Florida. The law bans new prescriptions of hormones and puberty blockers for minors for the purpose of gender dysphoria.