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VOLUME 116 ISSUE 43
MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2022
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Rally addresses Gainesville gun violence prior to school year’s start ALACHUA COUNTY ADVOCATES FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION THROUGH EDUCATION, PROVIDES FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Midtown Apartments residents fear security breach, management denies allegations
By Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp Alligator Staff Writer
Ethel Porras, a 38-year-old UF student adviser, fears sending her son to school in Gainesville. She feels overwhelmed ahead of her son’s first day of kindergarten at Stephen Foster Elementary this Fall, and the looming threat of violence only feeds her fear, she said. Thousands of Alachua County residents including students, parents and teachers filled Santa Fe’s gymnasium Saturday for Alachua County’s 23rd annual Stop the Violence Back to School Rally. Attendees learned how to prevent and spread awareness for gun violence while they collected back-to-school materials and reviewed vaccination information. “The whole explosion of school shootings recently is really, really scary, but I’m hoping events like this will help,” Porras said. The U.S has seen 384 mass shootings this year alone, 24 of which were school shoot-
SEE RALLY, PAGE 5
POLICE ARRESTED MAN FOR TRESPASSING AND ASSAULTING COMPLEX RESIDENT TUESDAY
By Mickenzie Hannon Alligator Staff Writer
nonprofit organization. About 9,000 teacher vacancies need to be filled statewide for the upcoming school year, according to the Florida Department of Education. In an effort to help fill some vacancies, Florida recently announced military veterans and their spouses could teach without a teacher’s degree. Alachua County Public Schools dealt with 265 resignations from teachers, counselors and media specialists over the 20212022 school year. While UF’s College of Education has seen a steady increase in annual enrollment, UF’s total elementary education majors dropped from 647 students in 2009 to only 248 in 2021. Abigail Darius, a 22-year-old former Alachua County Public School reading teacher, taught at Fort Clarke Middle School for the 2021-2022 Spring semester after she graduated last December. She studied elementary education, but
“You're sure to find a space that is perfect for sharing with your future roommates,” Midtown Apartments’ website reads. But residents’ group chats detail experiences with unwarranted guests: trespassers, squatters and homeless people. Alachua County Sheriff’s Office received 132 calls to the apartment site since May 2019, according to a report. Gainesville police arrested Troy Robinson, a 34-year-old Atlanta resident, for trespassing and assaulting a 19-year-old female resident and UF student at the complex, located at 104 NW 17th St. behind Social at Midtown, Tuesday. Robinson maintained he lived in the building despite management’s insistence he does not, according to the police report. Police found him with three pairs of long socks in his possession. Management requested he be trespassed upon finding out he was also occupying one vacant apartment after another, according to the report. He was being held at Alachua County jail on a bond of $200,000 as of Sunday. The Alligator was able to contact management after seven attempts via email and several calls to three different phone numbers. On-site management, who did not want to be named due to not receiving prior permission from supervisors, denied Robinson occupied vacant units. The manager maintained he resided in the victim’s apartment; his belongings were only found within that unit, they said. Carmen, a 22-year-old Midtown Apartments resident and UF astrophysics senior who requested to conceal her last name due to fear of retaliation, said she has seen propped doors, broken locks and missing door handles during her one year of residence. “If it ends up that one of your residents gets murdered because of it or severely hurt because of it, that blood is not only on the criminal’s hands,” she said. “It is also on the apartment complex’s hands.”
SEE TEACHER, PAGE 5
SEE MIDTOWN, PAGE 4
Photo by Meghan McGlone
Thousands of Alachua County residents including students, parents and teachers filled Santa Fe College’s gymnasium Saturday, July 30, 2022.
Thespians bear Alachua County, College of Education brunt of thinning face Florida’s teacher vacancies SG funds UF students voice concerns about teaching in state FLORIDA PLAYERS RECEIVED $500 OF BASE FUNDING FOR FALL; IT TYPICALLY RECEIVES $18,000
By Sandra McDonald Alligator Staff Writer
Jacqueline St. Pierre’s group did everything right, she said, but they still lost funding. St. Pierre and the other theater club leaders set alarms for 8:30 a.m., skipped class and refreshed SG’s website over and over to access the club funding request form the moment it opened. They drafted requests ahead of time and quickly pasted them into the application. They did everything right to bolster their chance of respectable funding. It didn’t work. UF’s Florida Players club typically receives $18,000 from SG per semester. This Fall, it will receive $500. But St. Pierre, this year’s Artistic Di-
SEE BUDGET, PAGE 4
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT Sports analyst advises authenticity
Story description finish with comma, pg# Stephen A. Smith took to UF’s University Auditorium Wednesday. Find this story on pg. 12.
By Jackson Reyes Alligator Staff Writer
Alyssa Soejima knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was in first grade. The 21-year-old UF education sciences senior lived in Florida for most of her life, but amid rising statewide teacher vacancies, she opted to move to Nashville once she graduates in December. Factors like HB1557/SB1834 (commonly known together as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill) made teaching in Florida less appealing and hurt the classroom environment, she said.
“They can’t even wear rainbow. That’s just so absurd.”
- Alyssa Soejima, UF student
While she does not want to run away from the problems teachers face in Florida’s education system, she said she felt there was not much she could do to fix them. She’ll work as an English as a second language teacher for Teach for America, a
Residents raise voices for police responsibility
About 60 people protested outside City Hall Wednesday after one man lost eye to K-9, another arrested after his home was invaded, pg. 6
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Gainesville tattoo artists to host flash abortion fundraiser
All proceeds from Sunday’s 9-hour event will be donated to Florida Access Network, pg. 5
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