News: Campus, Student Life

Attendees of puppy yoga hosted by Gator Service dogs pet Dmitiri, a golden retriever companion dog, at Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday, March 7, 2026.

Gator Service Dogs hosts first puppy yoga event under new club name

By Caroline Walsh | Mar. 8

Around 115 participants overtook the lawn in front of Swamp Head Brewery at 11 a.m. for a puppy yoga event hosted by the Gator Service Dogs club.

Students grabbing Krishna Lunch on Plaza of Americas on University of Florida campus, Friday, Jan. 16th, 2026.

UF Krishna Lunch suspended from campus until further notice

By Alabama Weninegar | Mar. 2

Gators students sing “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty during a gymnastics meet against Auburn University in Gainesville, Fla., on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.

What’s the story behind the Gators’ third-quarter Tom Petty tribute?

By Alabama Weninegar | Feb. 25

Donovan Francois celebrates becoming the Spring 2026 vice president in the Reitz Union, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

Vision Party takes Senate in walkover election

By Alligator Staff report | Feb. 25

UF Taekwondo Club finishes their performance at a show celebrating Seollal, hosted by KUSA, in the Reitz Ballroom, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

Kicking, singing, dancing: UF students celebrate Lunar New Year

By Julianna Bendeck | Feb. 23

Ayira Alston walks the runway at the Cut Different event hosted by the Leadership Development Institute at the Institute of Black Culture at the University of Florida, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.

UF’s Leadership Development Institute showcases Black fashion

By Nevaeh Baker Harris | Feb. 21

More News: Campus, Student Life

Junior Jennifer Rodriguez Perez, Sophomore Zoe Englander, and Junior Charley Fike celebrate their top 3 finishes during the UF Lettuce Club lettuce eating competition on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

News

Crunch time: UF’s Lettuce Club holds its first eating competition

By Lilianne Fernandez | Feb. 19

A crowd of around 40 people gathered by a bench to watch 20 members of UF’s Lettuce Club, including Rodriguez Perez, compete in a lettuce eating competition. Many watched with their own pieces of lettuce in hand, and some even gripped personal bottles of dressing to complement the leafy greens

News

For some UF students, Latino culture clashes with college dating norms

By Dulce Rodriguez-Escamilla | Feb. 18

For many Latino students at UF, relationships are closely tied to tradition, family expectations, respect and gestures.

Dennis McCarty, Director of Public Speaking Lab and Assistant Instructional Professor at the University of Florida studying Information Systems, takes a stand on the soap box for Hope Speech on Plaza of the Americas on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

News

Students take to soapboxes for hope-themed UF speech event

By Riana Morales | Feb. 17

Launched in Spring 2023 by the public speaking lab, the event aims to make public speaking less intimidating while promoting positive discourse on campus.

Members of the Gator Grill Club executive board are pictured by a grill on the University of Florida campus, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.

News

For Gator Grill Club, barbecue isn’t just a hobby — it’s a lifestyle

By Nevaeh Baker Harris | Feb. 15

The executive board members of Gator Grill Club have a simpler explanation — it's the grill.

Social media posts showcasing Valentine’s Day gifts and celebrations can increase pressure to spend, reinforcing consumer habits tied to the holiday.

News

Candy hearts and carousel posts: How is social media impacting couples on Valentine’s Day?

By Leona Masangkay | Feb. 14

While Valentine’s Day’s digitalization has the potential to positively impact relationships, it can also create false expectations of reality, according to Rachel Rodgers, a psychology professor at Northeastern University. Her research specializes in social media and how it impacts body image.

Sweetwater Gainesville Apartments is pictured along West University Ave, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

News

Rising rent across Florida hits Gainesville students close to home

By Reagan Bresnahan | Feb. 11

With enrollment climbing and most students living off campus, rising rent prices are reshaping how Gainesville students decide where to live. Santa Fe College does not offer on-campus housing, and roughly 75% of UF students live off campus.

Study Edge's midtown Gainesville location is seen along NW First Avenue, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

News

Study Edge becomes a second classroom for many UF students

By Mia Giannicchi | Feb. 6

Thousands of students budget between $50 and $90 a month for Study Edge, a third-party tutoring service near UF’s campus that offers course-specific exam preparation.

The UF Student Health Care Center stands at 2140 Stadium Rd, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla.

News

UF Health patients left confused, frustrated after gender-affirming care ban

By Leona Masangkay | Feb. 2

The SHCC encouraged students utilizing gender-affirming care to seek alternative health care providers. It offered assistance in finding alternative providers and transferring medical records.

Non-consensual Intimate Image Abuse (NCII) is widespread across the United States, with college students and young adults disproportionately affected.

News

What the internet doesn’t forget: UF student, experts on nonconsensual image sharing

By Julianna Bendeck | Feb. 2

NCII includes a wide range of behaviors, from the sharing of private sexual images without consent to threatening or coercing someone using intimate photos or videos.

The Young Democratic Socialists of America gather at Turlington Plaza in Gainesville, Fla. Friday, Jan 30, 2026.

News

UF students gather for anti-ICE solidarity fest

By Molly Freeburg | Jan. 31

Over 100 students and community members gathered on UF’s Turlington Plaza for “Solidarity Fest” Friday afternoon to support international and immigrant students amid a partnership between the University Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Marbella Deininger sings at the University of Florida School of Music for the Resonance Festival in Gainesville, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.

News

Resonance Festival echoes the legacy of African American composers

By Isabel Kraby | Jan. 29

Beucher created the Resonance Festival to celebrate the rich legacy of Black composers.

A crowd listens to Kathi Earles speak about the climate justice equation as a part of Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture series in Pugh Hall in Gainesville Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.

News

Dr. Kathi A. Earles delivers Martin Luther King Jr. lecture on climate disparities

By Alabama Weninegar | Jan. 23

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Dr. Kathi A. Earles visited UF’s Bob Graham Center for Public Services Thursday evening to share her research on health disparities.

Ariella Hershfield speaks with Auschwitz survivor Sora Vigorito at an International Holocaust Remembrance Day event at the Chabad UF Jewish Center in Gainesville, Fla., Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026.

News

Holocaust survivor speaks at UF Chabad

By Alabama Weninegar | Jan. 23

Close to 400 people gathered at Chabad UF to listen to a Holocaust survivor speak about endurance and faith Wednesday evening.

UF Ukraine Rebuilding Initiative members stand with Gainesville mayor to mark sister-city partnership Oct. 31, 2024.

News

UF Ukraine Rebuilding Initiative implements new wastewater pump station in Nizhyn

By Alabama Weninegar | Jan. 22

Thanks to efforts from a group of UF students, a city in Ukraine now has a more reliable and energy-efficient wastewater pump.