News - The Independent Florida Alligator

The street sign for West University Avenue along the UF campus on Sunday, June 6, 2021. The Newell Gateway, one of two gateways to be constructed, will be implemented at the intersection of Newell Drive and West University Avenue as part of an effort to create an auto-free zone at the core of campus.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF plans to create an auto-free zone on campus

By Camila Pereira | June 7, 2021

To accomplish the long-term goal of increasing traffic safety, the university will implement an 86-acre bicycle and pedestrian zone in the heart of campus. This project includes the construction of the Newell and Northeast Gateway projects, which will incorporate more pedestrian access into campus and a connection from UF to the city, respectively.

Santa Fe College's new athletic director, Greg McVey, 51, poses inside the school’s gym on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. McVey, who hails from the Midwest, said he's looking forward to working with "great people" and "great student athletes.

NEWS | SFC

Greg McVey is Santa Fe College’s new director of athletics

By Antonia LaRocca | June 7, 2021

Santa Fe College's new director of athletics, Greg McVey, has over 20 years of experience in college athletics.

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF students create app to combat misinformation

By Makiya Seminera | June 4, 2021

Seeking to counter the spread of misinformation on social media, a group of nine UF students developed an app called String News. The founding team envisioned the app as a platform for users to view free, reliable news stories without distractions, such as misleading infographics and memes easily found on social media.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College COVID-19 update: No COVID-19 positive cases were reported

By Antonia LaRocca | June 2, 2021

Santa Fe College reported no positive COVID-19 cases for the week of May 25 to Monday. The college’s total number of reported positive cases is now 757.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF students reflect on Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month

By Juliana Ferrie | June 2, 2021

Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month was celebrated across the U.S. in May, commemorating Asian American and Pacific Islander culture and history. UF students shared what the month and their heritage means to them.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College promotes diversity and inclusion with events and trainings

By Antonia LaRocca | June 2, 2021

Santa Fe College promotes diversity and inclusion with events and trainings. Students and staff learned about AAPI heritage with activity bags and a trivia night.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Senate completes first meeting of the Summer in person

By Alexandra Harris | June 2, 2021

After calling an emergency meeting to fill the excessive number of vacant Senate seats, 60 Senators met Tuesday in person in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom — completing not only Senate’s first meeting of the semester, but also its first successful in-person meeting since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Pedestrians walk down West University Avenue on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Signs down the road redirect traffic due to ongoing construction on the road, near UF campus and Midtown.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

West University Avenue changes prioritize pedestrian safety

By Isabella Douglas and Phong Huynh | June 1, 2021

Nearly a year after three deadly accidents took place on West University Avenue, the city of Gainesville is working with UF and the Florida Department of Transportation to address traffic safety near campus. Efforts include decreased speed limits, license plate readers, LED message boards, increased police patrols, signal retiming and crosswalk enhancements.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College to go maskless

By Antonia LaRocca | June 1, 2021

At Santa Fe College, people can now be maskless outside and will soon not have to wear masks indoors due to the college's updated COVID-19 safety protocols.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Electric Scooters Are Coming to UF

By Eve Thompson | June 1, 2021

The city of Gainesville plans to introduce electric scooters, or e-scooters, throughout UF and surrounding areas this month. E-scooter companies Bird, Spin and Veo will be allowed to install small fleets of scooters available for rent.

Shariff Manlosa (second from the left) stands on the graduation stage at Santa Fe College's Drive-Thru Grad Walk with his daughters, Monina (left) and Sofia (third from the left), and his wife, Margarita (right) on Thursday, April 29, 2021.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College graduates remember their pasts and look toward the future

By Antonia LaRocca | May 28, 2021

Santa Fe College graduates share the struggles and joys they faced on their paths to graduation and look forward to the future.

On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, more than 200 UF students and Gainesville residents gathered on the corner of West University Avenue and Northwest 13th Street to show solidarity with Palestinians during the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Solidarity with Palestine protest was organized by UF Students for Justice in Palestine. Protestors chanted "Free, Free, Palestine," listened to poetry and speeches, sang liberation songs and hoisted signs like "occupation is a crime" and "defund Israeli apartheid." After about an hour, a small group of counter-protestors gathered across the street. One of their signs read "Israel is not the oppressor." The pro-Palestine protest continued even after the sun went down and lasted for over two hours.

 (Photos by Mingmei Li)

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF community responds to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

By Makiya Seminera | May 24, 2021

Over the past three years, numerous critical moments for both pro-Palestine and pro-Israel supporters at UF have set the stage for the current climate between the groups.

NEWS | CAMPUS UF ADMINISTRATION

UF lifts hiring pause as it shifts to pre-COVID-19 operations

By Camila Pereira | May 24, 2021

The university announced May 13 it will lift the hiring pause, along with all other COVID-related restrictions on travel and visitors put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The update is effective immediately as UF’s campus prepares to return to full capacity for Summer B and Fall.

NEWS | CAMPUS

Ralph D. Turlington Sr., namesake of Turlington Plaza, dies at 100

By Juliana Ferrie | May 24, 2021

Ralph D. Turlington Sr. died May 12 at 100 years old. He served as the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and as the state's commissioner of education.

Members of the Food Justice Coalition pose for a photo with a "Boycott the Reitz" banner that was hung outside of the Tigert Hall administration building on Friday, April 23, 2021.

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF students and Gainesville activists denied opportunity to change the university’s food system

By Julia Cooper and Jake Reyes | May 21, 2021

The Food Justice Coalition, a group of 36 UF and Gainesville organizations, formed in January to address food injustice at UF. With less than two weeks for the coalition to incorporate its demands into UF’s next food service contract, UF denied the coalitions’ request for a seat on the committee shaping the new contract.

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF Blueberry Lab aims to create a better berry

By Eve Thompson | May 21, 2021

The UF/IFAS Blueberry Breeding and Genomics Lab is responsible for breeding and cultivating many varieties of the beloved blueberry. Patricio Muñoz, an assistant professor at UF’s Horticultural Science Department, is the principal investigator at the lab.

Scott Murphey, 52, a Santa Fe college math department professor, gets his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday morning at Santa Fe College Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall, Gainesville, Fla., May 13, 2021.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College hosted a COVID-19 vaccine event Thursday

By Antonia LaRocca | May 19, 2021

Santa Fe College partnered with the Florida Department of Health in Alachua County to host a COVID-19 vaccine event Thursday, providing 442 doses of the Moderna vaccine to students, faculty, staff and community members.

NEWS | SFC

Santa Fe College students build relationships and skills through global collaboration

By Antonia LaRocca | May 19, 2021

Two teams from Santa Fe College worked with colleges in Jordan in a competition through a virtual exchange program this Spring to produce business concepts for sustainable development in technology without jeopardizing future generations.

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Senate President Franco Luis Announced Senate Will Meet In Person This Summer

By Eve Thompson | May 19, 2021

This is the second meeting in two weeks that has been canceled after the first meeting last week could not begin due to an insufficient amount of senators present. This is a result of Senate codes limiting virtual meetings passed over Fall. Last week, Luis had to choose between breaking its own codes or the university’s COVID-19 policies to hold Senate online or in person.

NEWS | CAMPUS UF ADMINISTRATION

UF will no longer require masks on campus

By Alexandra Harris | May 17, 2021

The university will no longer require masks for students, faculty, staff and guests on UF property effective immediately. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and UF still recommend anyone who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should wear a mask.