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Friday, March 20, 2026

Campus

Crowds gather at Bradenton Beach on Friday, March 15, 2024.
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Crime, trash and parties: How Florida residents feel about spring break

As spring break kicked off, college students rushed to Florida beaches for a week of partying and relaxation. But the idyllic image of spring break fails to resonate with everyone. Beaches are left littered, crime spikes and excessive partying disrupts some students who are looking for a laid back beach day at home.


Tenders, one of UF’s campus cats, gazes upward as she sits on a table in the Tolbert Area.
News

Beloved UF cat Tenders returns home after brief campus ‘cat-napping’

Tenders, the famed brown and white tabby who takes shelter at the UF Tolbert Area, returned home safe after being found four miles away at Cabana Bay apartments Thursday.  At 1:56 p.m. Thursday, she was retrieved by Emma Van Riper, a 21-year-old UF political science junior; Eden Kershner, a 20-year-old UF materials science and engineering sophomore; and Dr. Tina Tallon, a UF College of the Arts professor. 


Jonathan Pearson, Hailey Pham and Mags Penza play cards while Fernando Guillen studies at Marston Science Library on Sunday, March 3, 2024.
News

UF eliminates diversity: What’s known and what remains unclear

The university announced it has closed the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer and halted DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors in a memo published March 1. The university also fired 13 full-time DEI positions and ended 15 administrative appointments for faculty, according to UF Spokesperson Cynthia Roldan.


News

Florida’s cell-grown meat ban leaves UF researchers divided

Called “cultivated meat” by researchers and “lab-grown meat” by critics, the alternative protein is developed directly from animal cells. Scientists collect tissue samples from live animals without killing them. Then, they allow the cells to multiply and mature in a lab before processing them into a food product.


News

UF eliminates diversity, equity and inclusion offices

UF fired 13 full-time diversity, equity and inclusion positions and ended 15 administrative appointments for faculty Friday. It also eliminated the office of the Chief Diversity Officer and ended DEI contracts with outside vendors, according to a Friday memo.


Florida Gators cheerleader Waleed Aref tosses Amrynne Hill during the team's practice on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
News

The men behind the megaphones

The UF cheerleading team currently has 13 men and 24 women, divided into a combination of male-female stunt pairs and all-girl groups. The athletes spent most of the two-hour practice preparing for next month’s cheer tryout, during which they’ll do their best to recruit talented newcomers — and show up themselves to re-earn their spots on the team. But tryouts will be less competitive for some than others.



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