News - The Independent Florida Alligator

Residents attend the 20th annual East Gainesville meeting
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College promises to bridge equity gap at its 20th annual East Gainesville meeting

By Mickenzie Hannon | Sep. 23, 2022

The forum highlighted future plans of the community college to make a more equitable campus through new administration positions and programs dedicated to providing opportunities to Black students. Speakers also reflected on SFC programs meant to prepare East Gainesville residents for career and higher education options.

Marium Abdulhussein, 19, quietly recites Islamic funeral passages to the memorial of Mahsa Amini, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. Abdulhussein is a third-year student at UF.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Death of Mahsa Amini sparks action from UF Iranian community

By Anushka Dakshit and Sophia Abolfathi | Sep. 23, 2022

A handful of Gainesville students came together at the UF Iranian Student Association memorial service outside the Reitz Union in honor of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who died after being arrested Sept. 16 in Tehran for allegedly breaking hijab rules.

The Davis United World College Scholars talk to students while tabling outside the Reitz Union on Wednesday, Sep. 21, 2022.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Education without borders: UF international students celebrate United World College Day

By Peyton Harris | Sep. 23, 2022

Cabrera Benavides always had a sense he would go international for school, he said. At 17, he joined United World College in Norway, an organization dedicated to uniting students worldwide through education. The UWC program selects students from all over the world to attend one of 18 international boarding schools for two years, then enroll in a university.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Breaking down Fall UF Student Government party platforms

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 22, 2022

Three parties have slated candidates for Fall UF Student Government elections Sept. 27 and 28, which will decide the next 50 students to hold seats in the Student Senate.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Gator Party calls on Change Party candidate to withdraw from race, alleges misconduct

By Alissa Gary and Peyton Harris | Sep. 21, 2022

In a statement on Instagram, UF’s Gator Party, the majority party in Student Senate, condemned the alleged actions of Jonathan C. Stephens. They include screaming at another senator, making sexist remarks to Senate President Elizabeth Hartzog and disrupting Senate procedures.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

A voter’s guide to Fall Student Government elections

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 20, 2022

Fall elections will take place Sept. 27 and 28. Students vote for their senators based on living areas.

NEWS | SFC

Opera singer Barbara Padilla performs at Santa Fe College

By Claire Grunewald | Sep. 19, 2022

Attendees gathered at Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall to hear Padilla and five SFC Master Artist Series students perform. The event raised money for the Climb for Cancer Foundation.

The ground floor of Marston Science Library Monday, June 28, 2021.

NEWS | CAMPUS

More study space open in Marston Science Library with third floor renovation complete

By Anushka Dakshit | Sep. 19, 2022

After more than two months of construction, Marston’s third floor opened Sept. 12, said Patrick Reakes, a senior associate dean of UF Libraries. The fourth and fifth floors of the library remain closed due to continued renovation, Reakes said. They could reopen in almost two months.

A top 5 banner is seen on Buckman Drive on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Top 5 banner thieves strike again

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 19, 2022

Nineteen banners boasting UF’s No. 5 status were hung on lamp posts around campus Sept. 12. By the next day, 14 of them had disappeared, said Mark Helms, assistant vice president of facilities services.

After UF scientists encountered the macaw, a Twitter account popped up with the username @UF_Macaw.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Non-native blue-and-gold macaw pays unexpected visit to UF scientists

By Fernando Figueroa | Sep. 14, 2022

Eight tropical avian specialists and several birders at UF had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when a rare blue-and-gold macaw perched itself on a tree outside of the Tropical Ecology and Conservation Lab on Newell Drive Tuesday morning.

NEWS | CAMPUS

‘Technology of truth’: Ethereum’s ‘The Merge’ makes big changes for UF students, professors invested in cryptocurrency

By Malori Malone | Sep. 14, 2022

Ethereum hosted a two-part cyber event Saturday expected to dramatically change the ways that the cryptocurrency market works through “The Merge.”

Florida’s first presumptive case of monkeypox was identified May 22.

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF students confront pandemic fatigue, lingering anxiety as monkeypox cases rise in Alachua County

By Melanie Pena | Sep. 12, 2022

As of Sept. 10, there are nine monkeypox cases reported in Alachua County, with one of the cases belonging to the 15 to 19 years age range, and another in the 20 to 24 years age range. The number of reported cases increased by five since Aug. 29. Now, as monkeypox casts a familiar air of uncertainty, UF students worry they could face another viral outbreak.

Soup sits on a shelf at the Santa Fe Food Pantry Friday, Sept. 2, 2022.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College Saints Food Share pantry experiences a high demand head of food drive

By Claire Grunewald | Sep. 12, 2022

SFC’s food pantry, Saints Food Share, encountered an increased demand for food from students since school started, Sarah Blanc, a SFC civic engagement and service specialist, said: The pantry is getting three times the number of normal requests for food ahead of its Hunger Action Month Food Drive.

Construction on UF campus along Museum Road shutters bus routes and commutes across the university.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Part of Museum Road may open by October, multiple UF construction projects still underway

By Peyton Harris | Sep. 12, 2022

Road closures are still a major concern for the UF community, as construction is still underway under UF’s Campus Landscape Master Plan and other projects slated to continue for at least another year. Reasons for road closures range from underground piping replacement to new campus structures, which have resulted in altered routes and ways of transportation for many.

UF Graduate Assistants United Co-President Rachel Hartnett talks to Talia Jacobsen, a new graduate assistant from Chicago, at GAU’s first “payday party,” Friday, Sept. 9, 2022.

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF Graduate Assistants United expands recruiting efforts through first ‘payday party’ after stipend raise

By Siena Duncan | Sep. 12, 2022

UF Graduate Assistant Union hosted its first payday party to foster community among its members and recruit more of them, but opinions were divided over whether union membership was worth it.

NEWS | CAMPUS BREAKING NEWS

UF keeps No. 5 spot in public university ranking

By Christian Casale | Sep. 11, 2022

The university has maintained its status as a top five public university for the second year in a row, according to the U.S. News & World Report 2023 Best Colleges rankings released Sept. 11.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Florida Gators superfan group reunites 20 years later

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 9, 2022

During their sophomore year, the Super Gators invited friends from their hometown of Pensacola to live together in apartments situated behind what used to be a Kash N’ Karry store in Gainesville. When the group threw parties in their apartments, more people kept joining.

UF students exit RTS buses at The Hub on Friday, Jan. 14, 2021.

NEWS | CAMPUS BREAKING NEWS

Regional Transit System app left inaccessible to Gainesville residents for nearly a full week

By Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp | Sep. 8, 2022

Without a working app from Sept. 2 to Thursday, UF students struggled to find transportation to accommodate their daily schedules. City staff heard about connection issues with the RTS app Sept. 2 and immediately began working with the provider to restore function, city spokesperson Rossana Passaniti said.

Screenshot of Flo Rida announcement on UF Homecoming and Gator Growl's Instagram page.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Former UF quarterback Danny Wuerffel to host Gator Growl 2022

By Alissa Gary | Sep. 8, 2022

He will take the Stephen C. O’Connell Center stage alongside headliner Flo Rida and opener Olivia O’Brien.

Entre 2020 y 2022, estudiantes de la UF reportaron niveles más altos de ansiedad, ADHD y depresión.

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF researchers investigate link between bacteria and depression

By Siena Duncan | Sep. 6, 2022

A study from UF researchers, published Aug. 22 in Scientific Reports, found the saliva of some college students with suicidal thoughts lacked bacteria that promote brain health. If the research is further tested and proven true, the medical treatments for those with depression could drastically expand.