At first glance, most people I’ve met don’t realize I’m an Asian American, which led to my desire to embrace my Filipino identity. It pushed me to learn more about that side of my heritage. It was something I was proud to represent in my accomplishments, such as graduating high school and attending UF.
Representation matters. Having two top editors of Asian descent for the first time in The Alligator’s 117-year history matters. Their voices, their perspectives and life experiences matter – not only for their newsroom but for the UF community.
Despite the enormous efforts the community has made to establish its presence, The Alligator has lacked consistent coverage of AAPI people in the Gainesville community. Admittedly, this is the result of an inconsistent amount of AAPI reporters on our staff from semester to semester.
April 24, 2022, I got an email asking me to interview for The Alligator. A year later, I’m publishing my goodbye column in this semester’s final paper. My driver’s license might read the same name, but the kid who got that email isn’t the same as the one typing this column.
I’m leaving this place knowing I’ll miss it with every fiber of my being. And in all honesty, I’ll probably forget which stories we worked on, but I won’t forget how much I grew with you.
Those walls, though some now covered in mold, know The Alligator’s newsroom isn’t for the weak. It’s a pressure cooker of immensely talented, high-strung 20-somethings trying to launch a career in a field where you’re told to do cartwheels for pennies.
Two years ago, I thought I would stick with The Alligator right up until graduation, but sometimes finish lines come sooner than expected. I never wanted to be a name on the masthead, but sometimes cards just fall a certain way.
I could say I put in all this work to serve the UF and Gainesville communities, which would be noble. I could say I did it all for the clips and for a career after graduation, which would be cynical, but understandable in this dying industry. But neither is exactly true. I did it because the people around me were doing it.
As a senior who always felt late to the game, I spent the last year hustling to catch up. It seemed like everyone started writing for The Alligator in their first year, interned at a newspaper in their second and had a job lined up by their last. But despite the setbacks, I’ve grown more this semester at The Alligator than any other.
In a place like north central Florida, our connection to the environment is everything. It surrounds everyday life no matter who you are — a UF student here to get your degree and leave or a longtime Alachua County resident.
Places I grew up with — places that defined me and built me to be the nature-loving, outdoor going, multi-sport playing girl I am — are no longer there.
Before my generation, young people weren’t given a platform to share their lived experiences. With the rise of digital media, however, this dated norm is being erased.
When it comes to climate change here in Gainesville, it often seems like we’re whistling past the graveyard.
At this moment, GAU is fighting for the first amendment rights of students and workers and for UF’s core values.
In recent years, the Florida legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis have made the state exceptional through a political agenda that is detrimental to the people of Florida — bills that have already been enacted.
Ever since Ben Sasse, a former Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska, took office, there’s been a president-sized hole left in much of the UF community.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP state legislature have advanced Florida House Bill 999 to restrict higher education academic freedom.
March marks a month to commemorate the transformative achievements of women to the world and even our very own university. Women’s History Month celebrates the observance and celebration of interventions made by women in our culture.
Despite how great we are, we are looked down upon when we exhibit natural human characteristics considered "unladylike." We’re criticized for not acting soft, pretty, gentle or caring. We're stripped from our feminine identity when we favor something or act in a way that’s stereotypically masculine.
This month, we take pride in celebrating the numerous women who shaped UF and Gainesville, beginning with their journeys in 1947, when UF became a co-ed university by order of the Florida Legislature.
Solutions by The State News
