![The tomb of Francisco José do Nascimento, nicknamed "Sea Dragon," caked in dirt when UF history graduate student Licinio Nunes de Miranda found it in July. [Courtesy of Licinio Nunes de Miranda]](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/ufa/62d0f150-b5cd-4b74-b821-3576aeba56cf.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=1500&ar=4%3A3&fit=crop&crop=faces&facepad=3&auto=format)
UF history graduate student Licinio Nunes de Miranda spent three years searching for the tomb of Brazilian abolitionist Francisco José do Nascimento, nicknamed the Sea Dragon because of his beginnings as a fisherman.
About 80 students gathered in Plaza of the Americas on the evening of Feb. 14 to observe the third anniversary of the shooting. March for Our Lives Gainesville, a local branch of the national organization formed immediately following the tragedy to advocate for gun reform, honors the anniversary each year with a vigil on the plaza.
UF will collaborate with FDOT, the city and UPD to enact traffic safety measures. These changes include lowering the speed limit, fixing and adding new crosswalks and installing signs for increased visibility.
Clad in face coverings and dark, formal clothing, about 60 friends, family and former colleagues of Mickle gathered at the Curtis M. Phillips Center at noon for the private service. Mickle, the first Black student to earn an undergraduate degree from UF, died of cancer Jan. 26 at 76 years old.
In a paper calling upon the National Institutes of Health and other funding agencies to address racial disparities, UF professor Josephine Allen and 18 of her colleagues argued that without adequate research funding, Black scientists can become discouraged and quit the profession – leaving fewer Black researchers to serve as role models and mentors for the next generation.
UFF held the meeting to lay out five demands aimed at university administration. The requests mainly center around in-person teaching and how it endangers faculty at a time when COVID-19 cases are still high, a more contagious variant of the disease is in town and students are still flocking to bars and clubs on the weekend.
Students who are not living in Gainesville or don’t feel comfortable voting in person can request an absentee ballot to be sent by mail by filling out a request form through the SG website.
While UF's positivity rate may look minimal, there are still about 50 to 70 cases a day, Dr. Michael Lauzardo, the head of UF Health’s Screen, Test and Protect program, said Friday at a Ben Hill Griffin stadium vaccination event.
Santa Fe’s total reported positive cases is now 664. The college recorded its first student COVID-19 case March 8 and its first employee case the following day.
The online bachelor’s program is available to more students than the roughly 4,000 who are currently enrolled. The courses offered are not exclusive to students only online but are available to traditional students who desire to take online classes.
UF professor Lance Gravlee created a class this semester called Whiteness in response to the racial injustice protests in 2020 over the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. He said the unequal impact of COVID-19 across racial lines also inspired him to create the class.
UF Health and the Alachua County Department of Health partnered to vaccinate 1,100 county residents at Ben Hill Griffin stadium Feb.5. The free vaccinations were by appointment only for Alachua County residents over the age of 65 who previously signed up through the health department.
With the increased test administration this Spring, UF said it is taking the necessary measures to ensure the testing site volunteers, employees and thousands of students getting tested every day feel safe.
The 40-minute training is recommended for all students, faculty and staff and covers topics such as discrimination, intersectionality, oppression, inclusion and identity. The course had a deadline of Jan. 31 for faculty. Students have until April 1.
In December, UF Board of Trustees approved a 2020-30 Campus Master Plan that marked 2 of the 2.9 acres of the McCarty Woods as a future construction site for research buildings. The decision has been met with opposition from UF students, faculty and staff who have banded together to prevent the implementation of the proposal.
Santa Fe’s total reported positive cases since March is now 643.
Accent Speakers Bureau hosted the trio in a free event to UF students and faculty over Zoom. During the show, they spoke about their experience with YouTube and what is to come in their futures.
With the merging of the two minority parties on the last day of slating, there will be two candidates running for each executive position. Both Gator and Change announced their executive ticket candidates in the last week.
![Photo of Santa Fe College commencement from Fall 2019 [Courtesy of Matt Stamey]](https://snworksceo.imgix.net/ufa/7e516a8a-d1ae-4fc1-b0ef-c2c21da5c9af.sized-1000x1000.jpg?w=1500&ar=4%3A3&fit=crop&crop=faces&facepad=3&auto=format)
The ceremonies are scheduled for April 29-30 on a website created specifically for the graduation, according to Santa Fe’s website.
UF reported 362 COVID-19 positive cases among students in the last week on Tuesday, according to UF's testing dashboard. Now, the total positive student cases for Spring is 854.
Solutions by The State News
