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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2026

VOLUME 120 - ISSUE 19 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

UF Health patients left confused, frustrated after gender-affirming care ban ABOUT 100 PEOPLE RECEIVED A MESSAGE ALERTING THEM TO THE CHANGE JAN. 14

By Leona Masangkay Alligator Staff Writer

Noah Lantor // Alligator Staff

A demonstrator holds a sign and chants during an ICE protest, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, on Bo Diddley Plaza in Gainesville, Fla. Find this story in El Caimán on pg. 7.

When Daniel Hogan learned the UF Student Health Care Center would soon stop providing his hormone replacement therapy, he was “shocked, but not surprised.” Hogan was one of 99 patients who received a message through the MyUFHealth portal Jan. 14 that the center was discontinuing gender-affirming care, according to UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldán. The change takes effect May 1. In the message, the SHCC encouraged students utilizing gender-affirming care to seek alternative health care providers. It offered assistance in finding alternative providers and transferring medical records. The change comes about three years after a bill was passed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that banned gender-affirming care for minors. The bill also affected gender-affirming care access for adults; it barred nurses and nurse practitioners from providing those services, only permitting physicians to do so. It’s unclear why the SHCC, which is located on UF’s main campus on Stadium Road, is now discontinuing these services. There are five physicians employed with

the center as of January 2026, according to its website. Over two-thirds of patients seen in all Gainesville-based UF Health locations reporting gender dysphoria were aged 18 years or older as of 2022, the latest available data via public record request. UF did not have any further comments on the SHCC’s policy change aside from the message initially sent on MyUFHealth. Hogan, a 21-year-old UF natural resource conservation junior and transgender man, said he felt the change to genderaffirming care at the SHCC was inevitable. He began hormone replacement therapy, a process that adds testosterone to his body so his physical appearance better aligns with his gender identity, with Planned Parenthood in 2022. After Florida began putting pressure on doctors to halt gender-affirming care, Planned Parenthood stopped providing hormone replacement therapy, and Hogan was redirected to his primary care provider. His primary care provider stopped providing his services shortly after, leading Hogan to seek care at the SHCC. There, Hogan’s provider told him the center would not discontinue gender-affirming services during their first conversation together in Spring 2025. “That specific conversation came to mind, just because I didn’t believe her then,” Hogan said. “I hate to say that it

SEE SHCC, PAGE 4

What the internet doesn’t forget: UF student, experts on nonconsensual image sharing The digital crime carries lasting mental health, safety and academic consequences By Julianna Bendeck Alligator Staff Writer

A single click can turn a private moment into permanent public exposure. Madison Kowalski imagined a future as an actor. After an intimate video was shared without her consent, she says that future now feels uncertain. Kowalski, a 19-year-old UF media production, management and technology sophomore, said her life has changed drastically in the three months since a nude video of her was posted online. Even simple tasks have become difficult, she said, describing mornings when anxiety left her unable to move or speak. “I just saw my entire life fall apart in front

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT City and county commission

Story description finish with comma, Florida includes Alachua County, pg# City of Gainesville in DOGE spending report. Read more on pg. 2.

of my eyes,” she said in an interview with The Alligator. Her experience is not isolated. Nonconsensual intimate image abuse has become an increasingly common form of digital harm. Research suggests that anywhere between 6% and 32% of young adults have experienced NCII, depending on how the definition is applied. NCII includes a wide range of behaviors, from the sharing of private sexual images without consent to threatening or coercing someone using intimate photos or videos. In Florida, the nonconsensual sharing of intimate images is a crime under the state’s sexual cyberharassment law. The law, first enacted in 2015, has been amended over the years to refine its definitions and penalties. In 2025, the

statute was amended to clarify that intimate images do not need to include personally identifying information to be considered criminal. National research from the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative shows women report higher rates of NCII than men. At UF, where women make up more than half of the student body, complaints must be submitted formally to the Title IX office to be investigated. Impact on mental health After Kowalski discovered nude videos of herself being posted on social media, she said, her roommates began receiving harassing phone calls. The situation escalated to the point that her parents learned what had happened. Kowalski described them as

Graduate school

Soon, Florida law students won’t need to graduate from an ABAaccredited school to sit for the Florida Bar exam, pg. 3

The Avenue: Lifestyle

Gainesville walking club offers a safe space for women and LGBTQ+ fitness enthusiasts, pg. 6

“very supportive.” The online harassment soon spilled into her offline life. She said she has lost friends and is often harassed by strangers in public. To “blend in,” Kowalski dyed her hair blonde and now takes online classes. “My entire life changed in one day, because somebody posted something that wasn’t theirs to share,” she said. “That needs to end.” Julie Stout, a Gainesville-based mental health counselor, said she has worked with UF students affected by NCII for three years. She said many of her clients are from Greek life, but she’s also seen international and LGBTQ+ students. “When it’s online, or you’re getting any kind of harassment that comes through text or email, it follows the victims into their safe

SEE NCII, PAGE 4

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