Jinelle Vazquez - The Independent Florida Alligator

Hillel Norman H. Lipoff Hall is the center for Jewish life on campus on University Avenue on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023.

Gabriella Aulisio

NEWS

Recent antisemitic vandalizations cause safety concerns among UF Jewish students

By Jinelle Vazquez | Dec. 4

The escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict has brewed a growing tension among pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian members of the UF community. While people have mostly expressed their opinions through peaceful protests, a series of antisemitic incidents on campus, such as the Nov. 27 vandalization of the Chabad UF Jewish Student Center, have left many Jewish community members worried for their security and well-being.

Statues of the Calusa Indians sit inside a hut as part of the “South Florida Peoples and Their Environment” exhibit at the Florida Museum of Natural History on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023.

Gabriella Aulisio

NEWS | CAMPUS

Florida Museums work toward Native American repatriation

By Jinelle Vazquez | Nov. 13

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 requires institutions receiving federal funds, like UF, to return ancestors and sacred objects to federally recognized tribes. The museum has recently reinforced its commitment to NAGPRA by resuming its initiative to return ancestral remains and planning renovations for a 20-year-old exhibit on indigenous history.

Emma Hayakawa

NEWS | CAMPUS

UF Black student enrollment remains stagnant despite increase in applicants

By Jinelle Vazquez | Oct. 16

Only 5.5% of students enrolled at UF in Fall 2022 identified their ethnicity as Black. While UF undergraduate Black student applications reached a record high during the Fall 2022 admissions cycle, admission and enrollment rates for Black students have remained the same over the last 10 years.

Project Continuity with UF Health educating the public about Pap tests and cervical cancer on Sept. 30, 2023.

Ashley C. Hicks

METRO | ALACHUA COUNTY

Alachua County immigrants fear new SB 1718’s impact on health care

By Valentina Sandoval and Jinelle Vazquez | Oct. 2

Senate Bill 1718 took effect July 1 and is among the strictest immigration laws in the country. One of the controversial aspects of the law is the provision requiring any hospital that accepts Medicaid to ask about patients’ immigration status. Local advocacy organizations, health care workers and community members worry about the impacts the law could have on immigrant households across Alachua County.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, front left, gestures as speaks to supporters and members of the media before a bill signing by Gov. Ron DeSantis, front right, Nov. 18, 2021, in Brandon, Fla. This week, Ladapo asked the state medical board to draft new policies that would likely restrict gender dysphoria treatments for transgender youth. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Chris O'Meara

NEWS | CAMPUS UF ADMINISTRATION

Florida surgeon general disagrees with UF over efficacy, safety of new COVID-19 boosters

By Garrett Shanley and Jinelle Vazquez | Sep. 25

Florida’s controversial surgeon general Joseph Ladapo — who is also a tenured professor of medicine at UF — is at odds with the university over whether the public should receive new COVID-19 boosters.

Diego Perdomo

METRO

UF falls behind state colleges to provide free on-campus Narcan

By Jinelle Vazquez | Sep. 18

Substance use is common at EDM events, which are popular among college students. While universities across Florida have established Narcan distribution programs to provide students with free and easy access to the vital drug safety resource, UF has not.

Patricia Pascual

METRO

UF students beware the ‘Gainesville Plague’

By Jinelle Vazquez | Sep. 11

A few weeks into the Fall semester, countless UF students are getting sick with various viruses, including the common cold and the latest COVID-19 strain, resulting in an outbreak of what has been dubbed as the 'Gainesville Plague.'

Patricia Pascual

METRO

Hurricane Idalia leaves minimal effects on health and emergency facilities

By Jinelle Vazquez | Sep. 3

As concerned Gainesville residents spent last week huddled around their TVs to follow Hurricane Idalia's path, first responders prepared for the worst. Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida's Big Bend region Aug. 30. Although earlier projections predicted a direct hit to Gainesville, cities such as Cedar Key, Steinhatchee and Perry suffered the brunt of the storm's 125 mph winds and 7-foot water surges.

The Alan and Cathy Hitchcock Field & Fork Pantry is seen at the Reitz Union North Lawn on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023.

Evelyn Miguel

METRO | ALACHUA COUNTY

Students across Gainesville struggle with food insecurity

By Jinelle Vazquez | Aug. 28

The food insecurity rate in Alachua County has remained higher than the overall rate in Florida since 2014. A 2021 report from the city based on USDA data identified 11 food deserts — low-income areas where a substantial number of residents have low access to a supermarket or large grocery store — in Gainesville.

Signage giving a brief description of the Timucua tribe is seen near the Levin College of Law on Saturday, July 29, 2023.

Sawyer Lamers

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

UF’s efforts to preserve Native American history remain despite implications from new legislation

By Jinelle Vazquez | July 31

The new law prompts some worry from the UF community about the future of Native American history at the university, while others believe their efforts to preserve the history will last.