University General Assignment reporter Alana Nguyen is a first-year journalism major at the University of Florida. She is a General Assignment writer for The Alligator. When she's not writing, she enjoys running and reading travel magazines.
Decorated in a glittery blue Gator jersey, stand-up comedian Nikki Glaser, waving and thanking everyone for coming to see her, took the stage at the 103rd Gator Growl to cement the 10th stop on her “The Stunning Tour.”
The voices of students outside the entrance of the New College of Florida cried “racist, sexist, anti-gay Ron DeSantis go away,” as Gov. Ron DeSantis arrived to sign papers to approve of the removal of diversity, education and inclusion programs. The scene is captured in “First They Came for My College,” a film that began its theatrical run Sept. 17 at the Hippodrome Theatre, where it showed until Sept. 26. It aims to teach the general public about the “hostile takeover” of New College of Florida after DeSantis’ 2023 Florida Board of Governors appointments.
Sickness doesn’t have a slot on most students’ calendars, but catching illnesses is common when living or going to class on a college campus. More than half of nearly 6,000 U.S. college students reported getting an illness like the cold or other respiratory illness during Fall 2025, according to Statistica’s college student survey. UF students have nicknamed the infamous Fall illness season the “frat flu.”
The UF Police Department welcomed a new four-legged detective — and his name is Maverick. A black labrador retriever, Maverick joins three other furry officers at UFPD, older colleagues Libby, Beto and Bailey.
Students roared and danced in the stands in the O’Connell Center to watch the Asian American Student Assembly on Saturday. The theme of this year’s performance was Kairos, an ancient Greek term describing a decisive moment in time. The event name was meant to represent how life’s unpredictability makes “action, words and movement” necessary.
Dorothy Zimmerman — or Dotty, to loved ones — died Aug. 16 after battling ovarian cancer for the second time. She was 66.
On Aug. 15, a congregation of Gators moved onto UF’s campus. Among them was Isaiah Narain, an 18-year-old computer engineering freshman who was shocked when he received his acceptance letter.
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