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MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2025
VOLUME 119 - ISSUE 33 Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
New fire station is one of multiple being added in Alachua County Fire Station 21 officially opened May 30 By Logan McBride Alligator Staff Writer
of its international student population in 2022. They also make up the secondlargest group of international students in the country, behind India, with 277,398 Chinese students attending U.S. universities in the 2023-2024 school year. Joaquin Rafaele Marcelino, a 20-yearold UF biochemistry, political science and Chinese senior, said universities are going to miss out on Chinese students’ contributions if the U.S. starts revoking their visas. “Everybody deserves a chance at a higher education and to be part of our community and civil society,” Marcelino said. The visa revocation announcement follows a tirade of anti-immigrant policies in a trend they said is unlawful and goes against due process. Florida has a history of targeting Chinese students. In December 2023, Senate Bill 846 banned “partnerships,” including recruitment programs, between state universities and any non-U.S. citizen living
Alachua County hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 30 to officially open Fire Station 21 near Santa Fe High School and Interstate 75 in Alachua. It will replace the former station on the corner of U.S. 441 and Northwest 140th Street. The project broke ground in March 2024. Alachua County Fire Rescue Chief Harold Theus said Fire Station 21 helps create an overlap of coverage where the predominant population of the city of Alachua resides. Theus said the department wanted a property that could access I-75 and stay within a few miles of downtown Alachua. The property accomplishes both, being located only 2.3 miles from Alachua City Hall. “A lot has gone into this location, and a lot has gone into this property,” Theus said. “We’re so very excited to be here, and we’re very excited about serving the community in this area for the next 50 years as this station is here.” Alachua County bought Fire Station 21’s property in 2020. It purchased the site for $45,000, when similar acreage approached $1 million, Theus said. The one-story, 11,500 square feet structure had a $7 million budget. It includes a new water tanker, an advanced life support ambulance and an E-One Typhoon fire truck that was delivered a few weeks ago. The station will have five staff on duty 24/7 and house Battalion 7. Each battalion manages a different geographical area of Alachua County. Battalion 7 is responsible for the northwest corner of the county. The Lunz Group, an architecture firm located in Lakeland, led the project’s engineering and architecture, while the D.E. Scorpio Corporation handled construc-
SEE VISAS, PAGE 3
SEE RIBBON CUTTING, PAGE 4
Libby Clifton // Alligator Staff
Alachua County Fire Rescue Chief Harold Theus (center left) and Alachua Mayor Walter Welch (center right) clap after ceremonially unscrewing a firehose to mark the grand opening of Fire Station 21 in Alachua on Friday, May 30, 2025.
UF Chinese international students are at risk of losing student visas
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will start “aggressively” revoking Chinese student visas By Maria Avlonitis Alligator Staff Writer
Amid a tariff war between the U.S. and China, international students who traveled overseas in pursuit of education find themselves stuck in the middle. The U.S. will start "aggressively" revoking Chinese student visas, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a May 28 press statement, “including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.” What qualifies as a “critical field” and what qualifies as a connection to the CCP is unclear. Students weigh in A UF Chinese international student studying chemistry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of jeopardizing her student visa, is worried about what this means for her future. She said losing her student visa wouldn’t
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT
Ono's confirmation Story description finish with comma,
What’s next in Ono’s path to UF pg# presidency? Read more on pg. 4.
have been as bad if she just started her degree or was in the middle of it, which would allow her to apply for another school. But as she starts her last year of graduate school, it would make it harder to transfer or start over elsewhere. “I feel a little bit worried because I'm about to finish,” she said. It’s not easy to become a member of the CCP, she said, and you have to go through a long process to gain that status. Even though she doesn’t fit the criteria, she’s worried about her student visa being revoked. “It seems like [the government] doesn't care what you say,” she said. “They don't care really who you are. I don't think the truth matters.” There are a lot of Chinese students in her department and other STEM programs at UF. Universities will lose a large, qualified workforce in science and research if Chinese student visas are revoked, she said. Chinese students, the largest group of international students at UF, made up 24.1%
Homeless help
Two UF students’ project to aid unhoused communities, pg. 5
The Avenue: La Maracucha
A Gainesville restaurant cooks up Venezuelan family recipes, pg. 6
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