If students want to see tangible changes during their time at UF, they need to start paying closer attention to state and local races that directly affect campus life.
I’ve previously been an editor and reporter for The Alligator, but this semester I will take on a different role: a columnist.
I’m a junior exchange student from Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. I arrived in Gainesville a few days ago, and I’ll be writing in this recurring column about what the move actually feels like, from culture shock and logistics to the small stuff people don’t warn you about.
The University Police Department states its mission is "to preserve a safe, secure campus environment where diverse social, cultural and academic values are allowed to develop and prosper." But UF's continued cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement directly undermines these stated values.
This seems to be an effort to breed intellectual diversity, ensuring departments and colleges are filled with many differing opinions and ideologies.
I’m India Houghton, a Gator athlete on the women’s tennis team and your freshly minted Alligator sports columnist.
Despite the countless initiatives, services and even new grocery stores appearing in Gainesville, food insecurity is back on the rise as of late 2025, with local food shelters such as Deeper Purpose Community Food Ministries reporting an increase from 10 to 40 phone calls per day directed toward food assistance.
I’ve lived in Florida for my entire life. Since 2012, my family has lived in the same home on the outskirts of Orlando. Drives that once took 40 minutes now stretch into an hour or more, a result of rapid population growth and unchecked development in a state unprepared to absorb it.
UF journalism department interim chair welcomes you back.
Harvey Ward welcomes students to Gainesville.
Since I stepped foot on campus as a sports journalism major, I knew I wanted to work for the largest student-run independent newspaper in the country. What I didn’t know was how much The Alligator would shape me into the person I am today.
The Independent Florida Alligator is looking for its next team of reporters, editors, photographers and more for the Spring semester.
To The Alligator: Thanks for giving my college years a purpose. I’m honored to be part of this paper’s legacy.
My time with The Independent Florida Alligator was defined by love and laughter.
I swore I wouldn’t come back to The Alligator.
For the longest time, I never felt I belonged at The Alligator. Though I spent every Sunday afternoon there, I was terrified of anyone knowing too much — which is ironic when you work with a group of people who want to know everything.
I never thought I’d be writing a goodbye to The Alligator.
In all the movies I’ve seen about college, classes have always seemed so magical. I imagined myself sitting in a lecture hall surrounded by classmates and listening to my professor teach as I took notes.
The end of Fall semester means the holidays are coming, and flu season is here.
Solutions by The State News
