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TUESDAY, MAY 27, 2025

VOLUME 119 - ISSUE 32 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

Libby Clifton // Alligator Staff

Errol Nelson weaves a blue ribbon around a palm tree maypole alongside 11 others during the Florida Emancipation Celebration at the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center in Gainesville, on May 24, 2025. Each year, attendees join together to plait the maypole in honor of Florida’s Emancipation Day, which occurred on May 20, 1865. Find this story on pg. 4.

New sports facilities coming to campus Transfer students find UF’s $6 million RecSports complex hopes to redefine campus life By Swasthi Maharaj Alligator Staff Writer

From pickleball’s growing popularity to post-Nationals basketball hype, the University of Florida has seen a growing demand for on-campus recreational sports sites in recent years. The Flavet Outdoor Recreational Complex can meet it. Interim President Kent Fuchs proposed the complex in response to the demand during his tenure as president. The project has been in the planning stages ever since and is intended to be fully functional by early 2026. The plan includes six pickleball courts, two sand volleyball courts, three table tennis courts and lawn space, adding to the six existing tennis courts. The complex will be located on Flavet Field, near Tolbert residential area and fraternity row. Marty Dempsey, RecSports

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

White House finish with comStory description

UF Basketball team visits the ma, pg# Oval Office. Read more on pg. 6.

director of facilities and operations, said one of the initiative’s main goals was to replace facilities from the Broward Outdoor Recreational Complex, which was torn down to make room for the Honors Village. “We were very committed to making sure that the student voice was heard loud and clear and was the biggest driver in what we put into the final design,” Dempsey said. RecSports wants the complex to offer more than sporting grounds, he said. Its design includes a shaded pavilion, green space, lawn games and hammocks for UF’s athletic and non-athletic students alike. “We are hoping that the whole area creates almost a Central Park vibe in the middle of campus,” he said. While the complex is the only current RecSports initiative underway, Dempsey said other indemand facility plans may develop in the future.

Elly Beshears, a 21-year-old UF economics senior, has played beach volleyball for two years and serves as a social chair for the UF Beach Volleyball team. “I’m super excited about that [the new complex], especially since sometimes it gets overcrowded at Southwest,” Beshears said. “You try and get a court available, showing up with your friends, but then you can’t get on one. With this initiative, sporting facilities will be made more readily accessible to the UF community.” Jennifer Kennymore Royer, interim director of GatorWell Health Promotion Services, said the facility would have a positive effect on UF students’ holistic development. “Physical well-being is an important aspect of overall wellbeing and has the potential to impact many aspects of well-being,

There are fewer transfer students at UF than first-time students By Alanna Robbert Alligator Staff Writer

Enrollment at the University of Florida has steadily increased over the last two years. Since 2021, UF saw a notable rise in first-time student enrollment numbers. However, there is one group whose numbers continue to stay low: transfer students. A smaller number of transfer students means fewer programs catered to them, leading to fewer chances for community compared to students who attend UF as freshmen. In universities across the United States, transfers represented an average of 13.2% of 11.7 million undergraduate students in Fall 2023. Transfer students at UF made up 18% of the 10,027 undergraduate students enrolled in Fall 2024.

SEE TRANSFER, PAGE 3

SEE SPORTS COMPLEX, PAGE 4

Antique malls

All things antiquing, pg. 5

The Avenue: Crooked Counsel

community at UF

Local tribute keeps rock music alive, pg. 7

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