The Fine Print, Fall 2015

VOLUME VIII, ISSUE I

thefineprintmag.org

FALL 2015 FREE

E M O H G STRIKIN

ighborhood e n rs e rt o P n e downtow e businesses id Residents in th ts u o y b d e plac are being dis p. 34

A LOCAL GROUP FIGHTS TO MAKE A LIVING WAGE COUNTY LAW, p.16

from the

EDITORIAL DESK

S

ometimes I wonder how often I let the city stiffen into inanimacy, letting it become just a thing I have to navigate. Gainesville — its history, its plants, the swelling and quieting of its energy throughout the day — becomes more or less a tool, useful enough.

(Then again, sometimes I’m not about to pick up on the special virtues of some downtown street; I really just have to walk to the bank.)

The feeling of seeing something you know intimately as strange and new is called the uncanny. For example, you can see an uncanny likeness when it’s not just a simple resemblance (e.g.

Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanel), but echos something in a way that is jolting and unsettling (e.g. any humanoid robot). Uncanniness can be upsetting or refreshing or peculiar. It is a prickly feeling.

For example, one time I took a different route to Northeast Park, which had me approach it from a totally different direction. For a moment I thought I had found a new place entirely. When I realized my mistake I

felt a strange shiver, seeing it for a brief moment as new and familiar at the same time. Uncanny.

I say this because I can sense a kind of unity in this issue’s pieces. We don’t start off with an intentional theme, but sometimes they wind up appearing — loose ones, because it’s hard not to look at a series of topics without catching on to some sort of pattern. Of course, some are just about burritos.

If you wind up, over the course of this issue, seeing something that had calcified into Just The Way Things Are with fresh eyes — awesome. Maybe you don’t get the spook of the uncanny, but seeing something old as new is revitalizing, lifegiving. At least, the thing — the problem, the person, the place — becomes, for a moment, less predictable.

Published with support from Generation Progress/Center for American Progress (online at GenerationProgress.org).

Editor-in-Chief

Samantha Schuyler

Managing Editor

Sarah Senfeld

Photo Directors

Erica Sterling Steven Longmire

Art Director

Sara Nettle

Creative Writing Editor

Melia Jacquot

Copy Editors

Kai Su Adriana Barbat

Web Editors

Samantha Schuyler Sarah Senfeld

Advertising Director

Vanessa Kinsey

Social Media

Erick Edwing Lissa Aderholdt

Page Designers

Mark Disselkoen Aylin Kavrakov Lauren Johnson Alex Morrison Maitane Romagosa Kelley Taksier

MISSION STATEMENT

Multimedia, more stories, blogs and a community calendar.

PLUS! Comment on stories, see photos from the printed issue (and more!) IN COLOR, flip through a digital version of the printed edition and much, much more, all updated throughout the month.

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Our mission is to serve the Gainesville community by providing an independent outlet for political, social and arts coverage through local, in-depth reporting.

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DISCLAIMER

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FINE PRINT|

The Fine Print reserves the right to deny or accept the publication of articles or advertisements according to the decisions of its editorial board. The views of our writers do not necessarily express those of The Fine Print.

thefineprintmag.org

IN THIS ISSUE Cover art by Samantha Schuyler.

COLUMNS Monthly Manifesto, p. 05 Family Promise of Gainesville provides shelter for families with children.

Opinion, p. 06 Cultural appropriation reinforces structural oppression.

For the Record, p. 10 The scoop on locally grown tunes. This time we cover Boyfriend Material; Julie Karr; and Bells and Robes.

Simply Science, p. 12 Brandon talks about invasive species in Alachua County.

Homestead Instead, p. 14 Nestle your beloved houseplants in a D.I.Y. hanging planter.

Prose + Poetry, p. 38 Prose by Maitane Romagosa

SPOTLIGHTS The Wage of Reason, p. 16 A local group is fighting to make a living wage county law.

Rebels with a Cause, p. 20 Ex-memebers of Students for Democratic Society launch a new radical group.

Food for Thought, p. 18 A field guide to the burritos of Gainesville.

She Sonders, p. 23 A new comic by Aneri Pandya.

FEATURES Peace of Mind, p. 27 This January, a peer-run crisis respite will be coming to Gainesville.

Setting Boundaries, p. 30 We break down Florida’s electoral district fiasco.

It Takes a Village, p. 24

Cycle Savvy, p. 32 Be a safe cycler with some important tips.

Striking Home, p. 34 As private investors push into the Porters neighborhood, long-time residents are being displaced.

A photostory on the lives of residents at Dignity Village, a local homeless encampment.

Read Up, Chown Down, p. 08

East End Eatery offers homey food in a cozy environment.

FEATURED STAFFER Brandon Corder

Brandon Corder is a third-year UF student passionate enough about moss to count their spores in the lab on a regular basis. He would like to add that he is sorry that his food is too spicy; he doesn’t notice it anymore.

After graduation, Brandon plans to continue insisting that “Signs” is an underrated film, writing puns on petri dishes, and tending to his garden(s).

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COLUMN / PAPER CUTS

Paper Ouch! That hurts doesn’t it? Paper Cuts are our short, erratic and slightly painful updates on current, local and national events.

See our website for more Paper Cuts at thefineprintmag.org

SA FE AN D UN SO UN D EVER WONDER, PERHAPS in a fit of masochism, what a campus-rape bill largely backed by fraternities would look like?

Wonder no more, because the nightmare is real! The “Safe Campus Act” was introduced to the House in July. It would limit universities from punishing students accused of sexual assault unless the police are involved. And it’s gaining money and clout: Most recently, the same fraternity groups that backed the bill have hired former Republican Senator and majority whip Trent Lott — the same guy who called homosexuality “dangerous, unhealthy” and “just plain wrong” — to lobby for it.

So what does the bill do? Should it pass, it will require schools to follow the Department of Education’s investigative standard, which calls for a “preponderance of evidence,” or over 51-percent certainty, to find a student in violation. Under the act, schools could choose their own standard, including the criminal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt,” or a 99-percent certainty.

In September, The Huffington Post contacted national groups that work with sexual assault victims. Twenty-eight actively opposed the bill; “a handful” didn’t take a position; none of the groups would endorse it.

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The vast majority of rape survivors already do not report to police for a number of reasons — police have a track record of not respecting victims and generally not holding perpetrators accountable. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 7 percent of reported rape results in an arrest; 3 percent are turned over to a prosecutor. And many student victims don’t have the money to go to trial. And even if they do, as University of Virginia advocacy group One Less wrote in an open letter, because of the 100,000 rape kits untested nationwide and because of the dozens of intermediary steps between report and conviction in which most cases get dropped, rape cases often seem “unwinnable.”

So I’m not sure what they mean by “Safe Campus.” Safe? For whom? •

By Samantha Schuyler

AIR BEWARE IF YOU LISTEN closely you can hear the collective nag of every grandparent in the world saying, “I told you so.” Turns out, we do need to get off our butts and go play outside.

A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives shows that indoor air pollutants are impacting the way we think and make decisions. Carbon

dioxide levels; chemicals from things like newspapers and ceiling tiles; and poor ventilation were major culprits in the study, which focused on environmentally controlled spaces like office spaces and classrooms.

The study — led by a group of scientists from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, SUNY Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University — investigated the results of exposure to the combination of these chemicals rather than singling them out and focusing on them individually, as healthrelated research tends to do. The study is one of the many that suggest indoor pollution is becoming a serious health issue.

The participants’ average cognitive scores were 61 percent higher when tested in “green” buildings with low volatile organic compounds compared to the participants tested inside conventional buildings. In addition to green buildings’ positive impact on the environment, they also prove to be beneficial in tasks that test productivity, learning and safety.

Indoor pollutants can be 100 times worse than outdoor pollutants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This is especially alarming, as we spend most of our time inside — more than 90 percent of it, in fact.

What does this mean for you? Maybe next time you want to Netflix and chill, think about taking it outdoors. •

By Sarah Senfeld

COLUMN / MONTHLY MANIFESTO

FAMILY PROMISE of

GAINESVILLE

BY JAYNE MORASKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“I am living in my car with my two children and have no family to help me. The other shelter won’t take kids.”

“My husband beat me, but because he is in jail, I cannot stay at the domestic violence shelter. His family owns our home, so I have nowhere to go” “I had to give up my job because I couldn’t afford childcare. Won’t you please help me?”

Family Promise of Gainesville hears calls like this every day. We are one of the only shelters in town that focuses on families with children. There are 549 homeless children in the Alachua County School system.

them get a place of their own. They are looking for a hand up, not a hand out. Here is what a mother of three kids wrote when she graduated into permanent affordable housing on October 24th (last week): “Family Promise is a wonderful place. The name explains everything. Family Promise has helped me see what I needed to change about myself and us as a family. I loved everyone we met.

Thank you. God bless you!”

YOU can help these homeless kids find a home of their own. With a 76% success rate nationwide, you can rest assured knowing your donation to Family Promise is going to good use.

WHAT IS FAMILY PROMISE

Family Promise (formerly known as the Interfaith Hospitality Network) relies on a network of caring volunteers to provide shelter, meals, and compassionate assistance for up to four families (or maximum of 15 people) in crisis situations. We have helped over 1,000 people end homelessness since we opened our doors in 1998.

HOW IT WORKS

As a group the families rotate from congregation to congregation on a weekly basis. By uniting congregations and the support of social service agencies, our Family Promise program can assist the families in finding sustainable housing, job training, employment, or whatever needs they may have. Family Promisenever has any religious requirements of any kind. We currently receive federal, state and local dollars to carry out of mission of helping homeless children.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Family Promise is supported by the generosity of caring people like you. If your organization would like to hold a supply drive to support our wish list, or volunteer, please call 352-378-2030.

You can also join Club 180: to turn around the lives of homeless kids. A $180 donation will provide services to a parent and child for 4 days. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated. • Contact us to make a tax-deductible donation, or donate online atwww.familypromisegvl.org.

WHY IT WORKS

So many families are only one crisis away from homelessness. Our families strive to find jobs within 30 days of joining Family Promise. They save 30% of their income each paycheck to help Photo provided by Family Promise of Gainesville.

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BEG,BORROW or

STEAL

Isensitively taking from minority cultures reinforces oppressive power dynamics.

BY NATHALIE CHYBIK ILLUSTRATIONS BY SARA NETTLE, SAMANTHA SCHUYLER AND SARAH SENFELD

T

here are people who deny racism still exists; people who are convinced we live in a “post-racial” society; people with conceivably good intentions who, in an attempt to engage in a social justice conversation, find themselves saying things that paradoxically show the covert racism they initially argued doesn’t exist.

I came across an online article recently published by WUFT News covering a controversial Snapchat photo. The photo received a complaint from UF’s Black Student Union for perpetuating harmful stereotypes of black people. The photo showed four white women from a sorority with their arms crossed, wearing long black T-shirts with the words “Trap Queen” printed across them. The WUFT News story didn’t necessarily shame anyone, it simply called attention to the photo’s racial insensitivity.

The article was immediately met with an abundance of negative feedback from readers, some commenting that the “article is beyond ignorant,” “to assume ‘trap queen’ has anything to do with race is inherently racist” and, worst of all, “the whole thing makes the Black Student Union look stupid, which of course everyone is afraid to say in fear of offending them. Yeah, you look stupid. Deal with it.”

The most troubling part of the online dialogue that erupted 06 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

was that nearly everyone who commented seemed to feel targeted as an oppressor, even reacting aggressively to defend their point, as if the article was pointedly shaming them and everything they identified with. They didn’t seem to see anything wrong with the situation or why anyone from the black community would feel offended. Someone commented that the article is a “perfect example of another blatant attack piece on the Greek community.”

Another commenter wrote, “There was no offense intended and there should’ve been none taken. Ever heard of dressing up in a costume just for the fun of it?” This comment, while aiming to wave away claims of cultural insensitivity, was itself insensitive: Someone else’s culture is not a costume you can simply put on and then throw away. To do that is to dehumanize an entire community of people.

“When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure,” feminist writer bell hooks writes, “the culture of specific groups, as well as the bodies of individuals, can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races, genders, sexual practices affirm their powerover.”

Due to the ubiquitous nature of social media, black slang specifically is constantly reinterpreted and overused by people

COLUMN /OPINION

who have no interest in, or understanding of, its original ever the case may be — you have a particular amount of cultural significance. For example, take “bae,” #squadgoals, power that allows you to temporarily participate in a cul“on fleek,” “ratchet,” “fuckboy,” “basic,” “shade,” “Bye Feli- ture or take from a culture and use it for your own ends,” cia,” “turn up” and “nigga,” which have saturated popular Sadler said. “This may be the No. 1 issue with appropriaculture so heavily it’s hard to remember where the terms tion, that people who have no investment in the actual came from or what they originally meant. Consequently well-being of black people are able to have access to black the politics concerning who uses black slang, and in what cultural expression and black cultural production. There context, becomes a matter of contention when the original isn’t actually any credit being given to the black cultural meaning of a word is worn out by popular use. producers.”

Many people who use black slang may not realize they At the same time, it could be (and has been) argued that are participating in, or creating, a double discourse that this form of cultural exchange is ultimately a good thing — reinforces oppression in racialized communities. While a that it is building a tolerance for diversity, and that black person may not intend to offend, claiming ignorance — or people and black culture are becoming more commonly being ignorant of one’s own ignorance — cannot be used accepted. If it weren’t for the historical exclusion of anyone as an acceptable excuse. who is not white from mainstream society, which continTo be white is to have arbitrary, historical power that ues to exist as structural racism, then this argument could monopolizes a space in the center of our society. To be make sense — but this is not the case. We live in a sociwhite is to be the benchmark, the standard. This poses a ety that loves black culture but doesn’t like black people problem because (as we’ve seen it puts all white so frequently people in conin police viotrol of power lence against SOMEONE ELSE'S CULTURE IS structures — a black men NOT A COSTUME YOU CAN position no raand women), cial group should so what may SIMPLY PUT ON AND THEN ever occupy. And appear to be THROW AWAY. if “whiteness” widespread continues to acceptance of be inextricably black people is linked with power, then our words and behavior surely actually a reorientation of white privilege that reinforces must have socio-political implications we should all be oppressive power dynamics. aware of.

“Don’t tell me you identify with something and then The Atlantic journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates calls it “The your actual personal politics don’t even acknowledge the Dream,” a fantasy of American greatness that largely ex- culture or engage with black people,” Sadler added. cludes black men and women, despite the wealth of our If people want to engage with black culture, or black country being built off the backs of slaves. It is ignorant to cultural expression, there’s nothing wrong with that on the assume that black people are institutionally equal, having surface. When people fail to acknowledge — or are unjust as many resources and equal opportunity, simply be- willing to acknowledge — the power dynamics between cause the culture has been commodified and used by white themselves and the culture they’re trying to engage with, people. they are abusing a power that stems from invisible ideoUF African-American and Postcolonial Studies scholar logical forces.

Randi Gill-Sadler said the problem with these structures is “If you’re able to take that, if you’re able to make monthat you have people participating and invested in black ey off that, exploit that, and gain something off that in a culture who are divorced from caring about actual black way that the people from that culture cannot,” Sadler said, people. “that’s a power structure that we need to evaluate and dis“Power that comes from whiteness, from class, what- mantle.” •

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COLUMN / READ UP, CHOW DOWN

P U D N W O REA D HOW C

East End Eatery’s crunchy and refreshing tabbouleh.

Photo by Samantha Schuyler

BY SHAYNA TANEN ILLUSTRATIONS BY SHANNON NEHILEY

Y

our stomach is rumbling. You have a paper due.

You’re low on caffeine. The cozy alcove at your parent’s place sounds like a great spot to be right now, but (aw, shoot!) they live four hours away. Plus, the benefits of visiting home for mom’s meatloaf barely exceed the costs of having to mow the lawn, clean the dishes and change the cat’s litter box.

Lucky you, you can just visit East End Eatery, where you’ll get a guaranteed low-cost, high-reward meal. Plus, Monday meatloaf is made by a real-life mom: owner Sandra Carlisi.

Its calming, bright and quiet dining area is just the right place to write papers, complete assignments and relax with a soothing acoustic soundtrack. French press coffee is delivered right to your table. And a menu full of Mediterraneaninspired sandwiches, wraps and salads is prepared to order.

Oh, and breakfast all day.

Carlisi opened the well kept secret in 2008 after she decided her catering business, Elegant Events Catering, needed more space. The chic dishes, cake stands, cups and platters that Carlisi used for catering make up much of the restaurant’s decor.

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A vegetarian, Carlisi made sure to include options like the grilled tempeh, vegetable panini and her tomato gazpacho. Vegan variations and gluten-free millet bread from Florida are also gladly substituted.

Daily specials and Sunday brunch add variety to the regular menu. The outside dining area, complete with a plastic flamingo, is a charming and welcoming spot to relax. And that’s what Carlisi wants you to do.

“I want people [to] come and feel like they can stay all day if they want to,” she said. “I want it to feel comfortable and homey.”

Got kids? Carlisi has a 5-year-old son, so she’s got you covered. Order the kids their meals (they’ll be ready quick), then it’s off to the play area for them. It’s just like McDonald’s, except Carlisi sources local, organic ingredients when she can. And her food waste goes to Gainesville Compost.

So, actually, nothing like McDonald’s. Only the play area.

Then you can enjoy your turkey and brie panini in peace.

Don’t forget to bring cash. Sorry, millennials. •

COLUMN / READ UP, CHOW DOWN

East End Eatery presents

TABBOULEH INGREDIENTS:

INSTRUCTIONS:

1 cup quinoa 1 cup boiling water 1/2 cup lemon juice 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/2 cup chopped mint 1 cup chopped parsley 1/2 cup diced red onion 4 diced plum tomatoes 1 diced cucumber 2 teaspoons garlic salt and pepper to taste

1. Pour boiling water over quinoa and let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients.

3. Eat!

1202 NE 8th Ave. • (352) 378-9870 Monday – Friday Saturday Sunday

8:30 AM – 3:00 PM Closed 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM

IN SEASON A N D F R E SH pumpkin strawberries quinces mandarins kale corn carrots cilantro navel oranges zucchini and more!

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FOR THE RECORD

Showcasing local bands, the next big thing, and all your friends.

Shauna Healey, the singer/songstress behind Boyfriend Material hangs out in the grass of Paynes Prairie.

Photo by Erica Sterling

>> Boyfriend Material Far From Home

Twangy Singer/songwriter

June 9, 2015 A basement studio in Chicago SOUNDS LIKE Early Waxahatchee, acoustic Zee Avi INSPIRATION Angel Olsen, Bright Eyes KEY TRACKS Coast to Coast, Small Cups of Tea, Scraped Knees WHERE TO GET IT Physical copies available at shows; boyfriendmaterialfl.bandcamp. com UPCOMING SHOWS TBA RELEASED

RECORDED AT

UKULELE,

VOCALS

Shauna Healey

AMID THE TURBULENT sea of loud, garish figures in popular music, there has always been a significant undercurrent toward soft and simple. Record labels like Orchid Tapes and bands like Girlpool take a stripped down approach to their music, making sure creative power has a home in DIY outfits.

Shauna Healey’s project Boyfriend Material swims pleasantly in this current, creating sparse acoustic tunes comprised solely of a strummed ukulele and Healey’s wispy, bright voice.

“I like to go for simplicity,” Healey said. “It doesn’t have to be complicated or tricky. I like to just get it out.”

The straightforward vehicle of her music gives her room to earnestly explore herself and her past on her latest album, “Far From Home.” A sense of catharsis is evident in her creative process, which begins with a free-form, diaristic writing session.

“I rant and write everything down. Usually when I write I’m probably upset about something,” she said. “Once I have a good part, I try to morph it into something that could be lyrical.”

“I went through a lot in the past two years that I sing about in the album,” she said. “People may or may not relate to it, but maybe it can teach a lesson in some way. I decided to get more personal, rather than just catchy or what people want to hear.”

Album opener “Lights” bursts out the gates with a punchy strum that carries through the song, leading up to the line, “I’ve got the wheel / And I’m not giving it back” — a forceful, mischievous declaration

10 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

If you’d like to see your band reviewed in For The Record or if you want to be considered to play at our next benefit show, email

that matches the confident pluck of the ukulele. editors@thefineprintmag.org “The and let us know. beginning of my album is a little more upbeat with some confessional lyrics,” Healey said. “But as you get closer to the end, it becomes more expressive and real.”

Both the mood of the music and the lyrics follow this arc, teasing out through simple plucks and strums the struggle to feel happiness in the present while contending with the turbulence of the past.

Healey said this is contrast is what she finds most compelling about the album, but also the most difficult to swallow.

“At times, recording and releasing this album seemed impossible due to its confessional nature,” she said. “‘Small Cups of Tea’ was the first time I got serious about writing about my own life. It was really hard for me to write — but was also the most fun.” •

BY MICHAEL HOLCOMB

>> Julie Karr Let's Exchange The Experience

Dive-bar crooner

July 31, 2015 A studio space in Gainesville by Ian Bernacett SOUNDS LIKE Cat Power, Mazzy Star, Warpaint INSPIRATION Neil Young, Stevie Wonder, Jason Molina KEY TRACKS Take Your Time, Sleep Tight, ACR WHERE TO GET IT Arrow’s Aim Records or juliekarr.bandcamp. com UPCOMING SHOWS TBA RELEASED

RECORDED AT

GUITAR, VOCALS

AT THE END of a long and tiresome day, when all you

want to do is kick off your shoes and faceplant into a pile of pillows, do yourself a favor and let the delicate and tranquil sounds of Julie Karr relieve your accumulated stresses. The Gainesville-born artist has put a folk twist on alternative indie rock through strong female vocals and cool, melodic acoustics, creating an ethereal ‘90s sound that will lull you into a reflective and peaceful state.

Although Karr is relatively new to making music, everything from the gospel music she listened to as a child to artists such as Neil Young and Stevie Wonder has influenced her life and music.

“I was always drawn to going to shows in Gainesville, but I never actually thought of becoming an active music-maker,” she said. “I'm not sure why I was hesitant to play music. The likely culprit was self-doubt.”

She returned to Gainesville after spending six years in Virginia, where she bought her first guitar at 25 for $30.

“There was no particular catalyst to start playing,

Legend of Zelda soundtrack on hallucinogens RELEASED

March 2015 Home studio LIKE RIVKA, X3SR, Wave

RECORDED AT SOUNDS

Racer

Flying Lotus KEY TRACKS Amorealis, Leo, Neurofeedback (ft. Wilson Stern) WHERE TO GET IT soundcloud.com/ bellsandrobes; bellsrobes.com UPCOMING SHOWS Zen Awakening Festival in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 20 – 22 INSPIRATION

except for maybe boredom,” Karr said.

She said she was by no means a good guitarist, but shortly after teaching herself to play the combined four chords of Bruce Springstein’s “Atlantic City,” a friend urged her to perform her first show in Richmond.

“If she hadn’t forced me to play that show,” Karr said, “I probably wouldn’t be making music now.”

Her debut album, “Let’s Exchange the Experience,” was a creative outlet for Karr, who added that she thinks of her songs as conversations about the feelings she can’t say out loud. These conversations, real and imaginary, are mostly directed to her loved ones. For example, “Take Your Time,” one of Karr’s favorite songs, was written for a friend going through a time of hardship.

Karr said creating the album was a long and thoughtful process — and it shows. Karr’s direct but soft-spoken lyrics speak louder than the dreamy instrumentals, digging deep into the listener’s feelings, essentially eavesdropping on Karr’s innermost thoughts. •

BY TALA EL-GHALI

>> Bells and Robes One Should See Sound Pt. ll

Julie Karr

KEYBOARDS, SAMPLING

Luke Sipka Dean Spaniol

DRUMS, PERCUSSION, SAMPLING

DIAL UP THE VOLUME before pressing play — what’s to come is a wild range of ambient electronic grooves that will make you want to dance. Regardless of the time, these energetic tunes will make you feel as though your day has just begun.

“I would describe it as intelligent dance music,” said Dean Spaniol, half of the two-man outfit. “A lot of it is chilled out, almost psychedelic.

Tracks like “Leo” start that way, beginning in slow, dreamy movement that shifts to a heavier, atmospheric sound in a whirling, heart-pounding rush.

The rest of “One Should See Sound Pt. II” is filled with electronic drifts that draw you in with serene transitions. If you were to blend sight and sound, listening to Bells and Robes would be like sitting on the shore watching waves kiss your toes until you get swallowed up by a vast current.

Bells and Robes began in Gainesville on the summer solstice of 2012. When the two members began making music, they gave themselves a deadline for their first project. Spaniol and his partner, Luke Sipka, agreed to make and release an EP by the end of the year.

“We signed a contract with ourselves with the penalty of death,” Spaniol said. “By the winter sol-

stice we’ll have our first project released.”

Sipka and Spaniol blend their own styles and aural quirks with musical influences like Flying Lotus to create an ambient melting pot. Sipka is a classically trained jazz musician who is influenced by the jazz greats of the past. Spaniol’s sound stems from musicians and bands like Pete Rocks, Gorillaz and old hip-hop producers.

“We wanted to make something that gives everyone a chance to tell their own story while listening to our music,” Spaniol said. “Each individual listens so they can paint a different picture.”

Since the release of “One Should See Sound Pt. II,” the duo have moved to Atlanta and have some projects in the works.

“Our goal right now is to just release one new piece of music every month,” Spaniol said. •

BY AINESEY FOIRA

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INTRUDER ALERT

Alachua is one of the top counties in the state for numbers of invasive species, and Brandon explains what that means.

BY BRANDON CORDER

O

n any given sunny summer afternoon, you can spot them. They scurry from bush to bush, shrub to shrub, under shoes and bike tires. They are young, brown lizards, and they seem to be multiplying. Most Floridians can’t remember a time when they weren’t here. But on an evolutionary scale, they are very recent residents of Alachua County.

These small reptiles are brown anoles (that’s uhnoles), scientifically known as Anolis sagrei, part of a group of tropical lizards that includes about 400 other species. There is another resident anole here, too: the bright green Carolina anole, Anolis carolinensis. But you don’t see those too often anymore. The brown anole, thought to have arrived here as a plant trade stowaway and pet trade escapee from Cuba and the Bahamas, is now firmly entrenched in Alachua County and beyond. And its population is outgrowing its green counterpart, the sole anole native to the United States.

To Deah Lieurance, Ph.D., coordinator of the UF/ IFAS Assessment of Non-native Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas, this is nothing new — especially in Florida.

To her and other scientists, pesky organisms such as the brown anole are known as invasive species, and they are a serious problem.

An invasive species, Lieurance said, is any plant, pathogen, animal or insect that is not native to the area and causes ecological, environmental or economic harm. With 368 listed,

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ILLUSTRATIONS BY EMMA ROULETTE Alachua County ranks seventh out of 67 Florida counties for the most reported invasive species, according to University of Georgia’s Mid-Atlantic Early Detection Network annual report. Local natural areas such as Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park and San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park are susceptible to such invaders and are at the root of an ongoing management battle. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), one of the worst aquatic weeds in the world, and coral ardisia (Ardisia crenata) are both prevalent here, choking out natural ecosystems and inflicting hefty environmental costs.

“I was shocked to see [water hyacinth] that dense this far north,” Lieurance said.

But those aren’t the only species worrying scientists.

“Air potato is pretty widespread,” she said. “Japanese climbing fern, Mexican petunia, Chinese tallow tree… those are all invasive in Alachua County.”

At their best, invasive species are simply nuisances, creating a droll palate of a single species called a monoculture. At their worst, prolonged stays by invaders can lead to the expulsion or extinction of the area’s native species.

Invasive species can negatively influence the way nutrients like nitrogen cycle through the system, hinder adaptations to natural fire regimes and even contribute to erosion, Lieurance said. All of these processes open the door to other invaders, further damaging the ecosystem.

Many species that become established invasives be-

COLUMN / SIMPLY SCIENCE

gin life as a pretty, ornamental plant, cultivated for long- release. In Alachua County and across much of Florida, City lasting vibrant blooms or shade tolerance. In fact, according of Gainesville habitat naturalist Grace Howell said transplanto Lieurance, about 82 percent of woody plants, shrubs and tation of air potato leaf beetles in 2013 took a big bite out of trees have some connection to horticulture, landscaping or air potato population. This is a clear example of a biological agriculture. control tactic “reuniting” invader and natural enemy, reducing “A lot of these plants were introduced with the best in- the need for mechanical or chemical controls, which are costly tentions,” she said. “And now we know the traits that make to wallets and the environment. them invasive.”

In fact, these small red beetles are so effective that the Illustrating this is the case of Lantana camara, a flower- Great Air Potato Round-Up, a 16-year-old local tradition, ing shrub that has become a has had to rebrand, Howell said. problem in Gainesville and The Great Invader Raider Rally, around the world. On UF’s LOCAL NATURAL AREAS SUCH as it is now known, is entering its campus, Lantana camara is year under the new name AS PAYNE’S PRAIRIE PRESERVE second a common sight, used for a this January and now focuses on welcome splash of color in STATE PARK AND SAN FELAS- other invaders such as coral ardithe built landscape. However, and camphor tree. It attracts CO HAMMOCK PRESERVE STATE sia its beauty is supplanted by its more than 1,000 volunteers each deadliness. The toxic plant PARK ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO year. has a high capacity for seed Volunteer manual labor isn’t SUCH INVADERS. dispersal. This allows it to outthe only way to fight invaders: compete the now-endangered One can simply refuse to buy and closely related native Lanthem at the nursery. Resources, tana depressa in the wild. such as those at UF/IFAS, allow buyers to select alternative In Lieurance’s office, researchers work to assess plants, native species that have benefits such as needing less waterincluding ornamentals such as Lantana camara, for their in- ing. vasive potential. This way, researchers ensure cultivars don’t To prevent invasive species from gaining a foothold on bring in potentially problematic species and that plants used your property, or to learn more about invasions or the Raider ornamentally are bred to be sterile or less troublesome.

Rally, contact your local Florida Fish and Wildlife Conserva“Essentially we compile all that data and make a recom- tion Commission, city parks department or IFAS extension mendation on whether a plant should be used or not in Flori- office. da,” Lieurance said. “If there’s ample evidence that something Globally, the number of established non-native species is invasive, if it’s encroaching in natural areas and causing is steadily increasing as the climate changes and the world ecological harm, we would not want to recommend that as becomes increasingly connected. Nowhere is that more a university.” evident than in Florida, where we have our fair share of In their home ranges, species that may become invasive invasives. However, thanks to the efforts of scientists and elsewhere are often held in check by factors that limit their management professionals studying and educating the next dispersal or competitiveness. For instance, those air potatoes generation, we are mentioned earlier (Dioscorea bulbifera) are held in check in not going down their native range by predation from the hungry air potato leaf without a fight. • beetle (Lilioceris cheni). When a species is transported across borders and becomes established in a strange, exotic new land (such as Gainesville), they no longer have to worry about getting eaten, and they are free to colonize and spread all over the place in a phenomenon known as enemy

COLUMN / HOMESTEAD INSTEAD

S T N E L U SUCC IN THE SKY PHOTO AND TEXT BY BAILEY BENNINGFIELD ILLUSTRATION BY SARA NETTLE Everyone loves succulents: They’re cute, compact and, most importantly—for those of us who don’t have a green thumb— incredibly easy to keep alive. If you’re looking for a way to take your succulent love to a whole new level, consider hanging rope planters. They are simple to make and add a healthy dose of nature to any space. The wonderful thing about rope planters is that, although they all use the same basic supplies, they are infinitely customizable.

I sat down with frequent plantermaker Catalina Sanders and her two tabbies to make one of these pulchritudinous planters. •

14 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

COLUMN / HOMESTEAD INSTEAD

DIY HANGING ROPE PLANTER

string through a hole in the doily and make a knot about one inch from the edge. Repeat this process with all the pieces of string.

STEP 3 Take two adjacent pieces of string and knot them together about three inches from the edge of the doily. Repeat this for each set of adjacent loose string. (Because I used six pieces of string, I had three sets of two strings knotted together.) Make sure the knot you make for each set of strings lines up with the knots you make in the other sets of string.

STEP 4

WHAT YOU’LL NEED • • • • •

A potted succulent Rope, twine or hemp string Lace doilies Scissors Two cats

STEP 1 Get your supplies. The doilies and pots can be thrifted, and small plants and succulents are available for $1 every Wednesday at the farmers market in downtown Gainesville. If you don’t have cats and can’t borrow friends’ cats or find stray cats, stop by Gainesville Pet Rescue on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to adopt!*

STEP 2 Depending on the size of your doily, cut several pieces of string of the same length.

(For my hanging rope planter, I used six pieces of string.) Thread the bottom of the

Make designs in the hanging rope planter by knotting strings together from different sections.

For instance, you can take a string from the first set of strings and knot it with a string from the second set to create the macramé-like design of the planter. Continue this pattern by knotting the second string from the second set with a string from the third set, then knotting the second string from your third set with the loose string from your first set.

STEP 5 Decorate your planter. You can add colored string, beads, seashells, etc. The world is your oyster when it comes to hanging rope planters. (For my planter, I wrapped purple embroidery floss around each of my three sections of string.)

STEP 6 Place your potted plant in the middle of the doily. Make sure the knots are even and that you love your design. Take all six pieces of string and, near the top of the planter, knot a loop.

STEP 7 Hang the planter handiwork! •

and

admire

your

Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 15

THE

WAGE OF REASON

BY MOLLY MINTA ILLUSTRATION BY SIDNEY HOWARD

This year the Alachua County Labor Coalition wants to make a livable wage the law.

16 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

SPOTLIGHT

T

his year, the Alachua County Labor Coalition wants to make a livable wage the law.

Of the 319 million people living in the United States, 47 million live below the poverty line. And of those 47 million, 63,340 live in Alachua County.

To reduce this number, the Alachua County Labor Coalition — a local group of individuals, unions and worker-friendly organizations that works to defend the rights of working people — are combating an outdated minimum wage.

This year, the group launched a campaign to raise the county’s minimum wage from the current Florida standard of $8.05 to what is called a living wage: one that affords workers and their families the most basic cost of living without the need for government

support or poverty programs.

To do this, the coalition plans to meet with the 10 largest employers in the county to discuss raising their minimum wages, as well as petitioning local businesses and religious organizations for support. The coalition hopes that once it has the community’s support, the Alachua County government will be open to passing a countywide ordinance that makes a living wage the law.

“So far we have not gotten a lot of resistance,” coalition secretary Sheila Payne said. “We’ve gotten businesses to sign on [to endorse the campaign], and we’ve met with a lot of smaller units, like the Young Entrepreneurs.”

Because the local government is the ninth largest employer in the county, Jeremiah Tattersall, union liaison for the coalition, said the ordinance will have a positive effect in the community by increasing consumer spending: The more money in people’s pockets, the more they will spend.

“The ordinance would benefit a couple hundred workers in total, which isn’t a lot when you consider how large Alachua County is,” Tattersall said. “But in the end it adds to our vision for a more just economy.”

Congress created the minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938, creating a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees. But since the minimum wage increase in 2009, the price of apples has increased by 16 percent, coffee by 27 percent and milk by 21 percent. The minimum wage has not risen alongside inflation, and a paycheck now buys less. The current minimum wage fails to provide security, the very thing it was created to do.

But, according to Tattersall, the biggest argument for raising the minimum wage is not about numbers — it’s about morality.

“That’s why so many churches and synagogues and mosques have

signed on this,” he said. “Because all work is supposed to be dignified, whether you’re serving coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts or you’re a paramedic.

And when you pay someone $8.05 an hour ... it’s very insulting to their dignity.”

So far 35 organizations, including the Gainesville chapter of National Women’s Liberation and local business Karma Cream, have endorsed the coalition’s campaign. In addition, the campaign’s goal has garnered strong national support. A Feb. 2014 Pew Research Center survey concluded 73 percent of Americans are in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour.

“Everyone wants to be paid a wage where they can support their families, live with dignity and don’t have to rely on assistance,” Payne said.

But according to Pam Whittle, president of the North Florida Regional Chamber of Commerce, the issue is not so simple.

“Unless you do something about the whole genre, there’s not much you can do about it,” she said. “And it’s not that everyone doesn’t want more money in their pocket, it’s that the reality is raising the minimum

“Everyone wants to be paid a wage where they can support their families, live with dignity, and don’t have to rely on assistance.” wage doesn’t result in everyone having more money in their pockets. All boats rise with the tide: If the minimum wage goes up, the price of all things goes up.”

In 2004, Floridians voted to add the Florida Minimum Wage Amendment to the state constitution. The provision states that all working Floridians are entitled to a minimum wage sufficient to provide “a decent and healthy life” and does not force working Floridians to rely on “taxpayer-funded public services.”

However, reality has not reflected this sentiment. Many companies that are against an increased minimum wage profit by not having to pay their workers more, Tattersall said, because the difference between the wage they pay and a living wage is supplemented by taxpayer subsidies.

“We made this pact years and years ago, before any of us were born, that if you live here and work here, we’re not going to let you starve.

We’re not going to let your children starve,” he said. “That’s our pact, and it’s being taken advantage of by a lot of these companies that are paying below the minimum wage.”

With the Florida Legislature and even the University of Florida against it, the coalition faces a tough fight. Despite the Aug. 3 decision to raise the minimum wage for UF employees from $10 an hour to $12, President Kent Fuchs has so far declined to meet with the coalition.

“We would love to sit down with him and talk about our campaign, because it would be huge,” coalition co-chairman Jason Fults said. “It would have ripples throughout the community. We’re really interested in dialoguing with UF.” Dialogue, Fults said, is one of the coalition’s main goals. The coalition wants a living wage to be something everybody is talking about.

“Because when we have a conversation, we win,” he said. “That’s really why wages are the way they are now — because we’ve stopped having that conversation.” • Gabriela Delva contributed to this report.

Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 17

F

D

for

THOUGHT

BY THE EDITORS • ILLUSTRATIONS BY SAMANTHA SCHUYLER

BURRITO BROS

ban) local restaurants, asking for their house special--the burrito people come to their establishment specifically to eat. And folks, we ate them.

Though we tasted one ‘rito per restaurant, we hope we can give you a sense of their style, approach, philosophy.

Happy eating, friends. For the sake of your stomachs, may the question “I wonder what all the different burritos in Gainesville taste like” never have to occur to you. •

LINDA VISTA

1402 W. University Ave.

Our selection: beef burrito Price: $6.80 Approximate size: 6 inches

7070 SW Archer Rd. #3102

Some options come with rice; ours didn’t.

Burrito Bros has a high spillage factor, with crumbly bits of filling falling out of either unfolded end, requiring a delicate touch to navigate without it falling apart. Its simplicity in design (protein, cheese, lettuce) made it seem like an enormous taco -- which, depending on what you want, is definitely not a bad thing.

Sauces: red sauce — smooth, smoky, simple, vinegar-y--a beginning sauce tomatillo sauce — sweet, chunky, hardy with a roasted, garlicky flavor chipotle sauce — smoky, meaty, robust, peppery with a slight heat corn salsa — sweet, fresh, chunks of veggies with a kick

“

T

he humble burrito: at its most simple, a mound of stuff enclosed in a tortilla. But every restaurant has its spin, playing with fillings, tinkering with presentation. Perhaps they grill the outside until it crisps, perhaps they go heavy on the rice.

Do they fold the tortilla into a snug cylinder or a loose roll?

Beans or no beans? What’s their stance on avocado?

These are the hard-hitting questions, so we sampled from 11 (Mexican, Tex-Mex or Cu-

Our selection: chicken burrito grande Price: $7.80 Approximate size: 7.5 inches The compact, tightly wrapped tortilla bound together a mixture that reminded us of Thanksgiving leftovers. The large chunks of grilled chicken swam in a thick, gravylike mash spangled with Mexican rice and cooked peppers and onions, which made for a mellow, tame flavor.

Sauces: green sauce — thin, oily, intense cilantro flavor.

“

I think this is a Thanksgiving burrito.

This is a tasteful amount of cheese.

”

”

BOCA FIESTA 232 SE 1st St.

Our selection: gator burrito Price: $9 Approximate size: 7.5 inches Despite being a sit-down restaurant, Boca’s burrito was perhaps the most portable of them all, everything tucked with extraordinary neatness into a tightly rolled rectangle. Alongside the gator, there were discrete layers, all cradled in a doughy, sticky tortilla. The result was light and full of texture, what with the toothsome beans, chewy gator and crunchy vegetables. It reminded us of something in the breed of California cuisine.

Sauces: The gator burrito comes with a chipotle aioli, which was refreshing a little spicy. With all the discrete layers, it acted as an effective binding agent and source of moisture.

“

Burrito nouveau.

”

EL INDIO 407 NW 13th St.

BURRITO FAMOUS 3412 W. University Ave.

Our selection: steak burrito Price: $4.75 Approximate size: 6 inches

Our selection: chicken burrito Price: $6.75 Approximate size: 6 inches Burritos here are done in an assemblyline fashion, with a comprehensive list of fillings. The result is a girthy, bulging mound (they pack a lot in there) with a thick, lightly pressed (but also chewy) tortilla. The filling tasted fresh and flavorful, and we enjoyed the ratio of meat to rice and beans.

“

The burrito for the masses — you can’t go wrong.

BLUE AGAVE

”

If you’re looking to satisfy a deep, fleshly urge, we point you toward El Indio’s greasy, salty, cheesy jumble of fillings tucked into a loose and doughy burrito.

We found that the burrito eventually buckled under its own weight, a result of the tortilla essentially dissolving from the oil, which seeped from the foil and stained the paper bag. For a certain mood, those stains are a work of art. Also has a drivethru.

Sauces: red sauce — fresh, light, mild, with flavors of garlic and cilantro green sauce — Zesty, chunky, with flavors of citrus and cilantro

“

It’s like high-quality Taco Bell.

LA TIENDA 2204 SW 13th St.

Our selection: Al Pastor Price: $5.50 Approximate size: 6 inches

4401 NW 25 Pl.

Our selection: pork burrito Price: $8.50 Approximate size: pushing 9 inches Even ordered to-go, Blue Agave is carefully nestled into a bed of garnishes, with a layer of queso blanco drizzled over the top in a way that reminded us of enchiladas. It doesn’t take long for the cheese to saturate the doughy tortilla and seep into the filling, dampening everything and blending all the tastes together. Another one that recalled California.

“

This is a fork-and-knife burrito.

LA FIESTA

”

9513 NW 39th Ave. Our selection: Fajita burrito Price: $8.25 Approximate size: 7 inches

Have you ever had a fajita? It was pretty much an enormous fajita.

“

It came with queso and two salsas, but no chips to-go--we assume you usually get chips if you order in.

”

Six inches is a little misleading--this burrito seemed almost as thick as it was long, and every inch of it tasted like a warm hug. The tortilla, which in its intense, fresh flavor seemed homemade, gave way to a hearty mix of meat, Mexican rice and refried beans. The filling tasted like it had been cooked slowly for hours until all the flavors and spices rendered together, with moments of chewiness and pliancy throughout.

FLACO’S

200 W. University Ave. Our selection: pork burrito with avocado garlic salsa Price: $6 Approximate size: 7.5 inches Theirs is a dense, tightly wrapped burrito, which in combination with a crisply grilled outer shell is perfectly portable -- hardly any spillage. We enjoyed striking wells of sour cream, which in combination with the sauce helps cut the layer of heavy white rice. Otherwise, this is an embellishmentfree, straight-to-the-point burrito. garlic avocado mild, creamy, intense garlic flavor (costs extra) pineapple chipotle spicy, tangy, marinade-like

” “

mango habanero sweet then smoky, well-rounded pink sriracha essentially the spicy mayo they use in sushi

This’ll sober you up real quick.

”

avocado sauce creamy, thin, cilantro flavor with a tiny kick red sauce liquid heat, mouth-numbing

“

It tastes like someone put a lot of love into it.

”

HUNGRY FOR MORE?

Visit thefineprintmag.org to read our write-up on the burrito joints that aren’t featured here.

with a After discovering that their parent organization was corrupt, members of Students for a Democratic Society launched a new, independent organization.

O

BY ASHLEY LOMBARDO ILLUSTRATION BY ADELINE KON

n the night of Radical Student Alliance’s first event as an autonomous group, the Civic Media Center hummed with life.

Bit by bit, students and community members found their places among the mismatched furniture in front of a screen with the question, “What is Capitalism?” magnified across it by a projector, set against bookshelves overflowing with countless timeworn books. A toddler wiggled by.

The event, called Capi-

talism 101, aimed to challenge systems of oppression that stem from capitalism. The more than 40 people in attendance left no seat empty.

Members of RSA and Dream Defenders leaned against a wooden table and talked among themselves, buzzing with excitement.

This was the alliance’s first teach-in, the first of anything they could call their own. The event, a collaboration of social justice groups in Gainesville, embodied a strong, unified front in the activist community — a partnership

SPOTLIGHT strengthened by the recent birth of Radical Student Alliance.

Tristan Worthington, one of RSA’s core members, began by thanking the CMC for hosting. Then Malu Brooks and Jabari Mickles from Dream Defenders presented an unscripted expression of the mechanisms capitalists use to perpetuate racism.

The two played off one another, describing problems with police, prisons and educational systems, echoing the flow of spoken-word poets. Michael Reyes, a student armed with a pen and paper, drew charts to visually depict how these systems interact. A woman who appeared to be in her 60s listened carefully.

This wouldn’t have been possible under RSA’s previous incarnation, as a local chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a multi-issue social justice organization represented at universities nationwide.

This year, members of the University of Florida chapter found out that SDS had previously been informally controlled by another organization: Freedom Road Socialist Organization. Upon breaking ties with FRSO, the new, independent society found that the local activist community was much more open to organizing with it “We are seeing the fruits of that breakup everywhere we turn, both on and off campus,” said Leah Robbins, one of the founding members of RSA. “Now, the Gainesville activists have embraced us with open arms after having severed that toxic relationship.”

The Gainesville chapter of SDS was formed in the 1960s but later disbanded after the Vietnam War movement faded.

In the mid-2000s, the group reformed at UF. But as time passed, members moved on. Campus activism gained fresh faces, unaware of the tangled web of past controversies.

Sky Button, a 19-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation major, joined SDS in September 2014. Button was one of many students unfamiliar with the organization’s intricate history. To Button, SDS seemed like the only campus organization with an anti-capitalist presence.

Upon joining, Button formed relationships with other members, notably Tristan Worthington, Farah Khan and Leah Robbins, who shared his passions.

After a year of taking part in campaigns for causes such as police demilitarization and in-state tuition for undocumented students, they discovered that SDS was a front group for another organization’s agenda.

SDS had been informally controlled by FRSO since about 2008, Button said. FRSO is an activist group with a strong Marxist-Leninist ideology built on the core principle of democratic centralism. The idea is that leaders should listen to the will of the people but ultimately make the final decision, Button said.

SDS isn’t explicitly communist, which makes it attractive to a broader variety of progressives, Button said. This difference in ideology had kept many from joining FRSO in the first place.

Button said that a friend, who wished to remain unnamed, confided in him and revealed the underlying power structure

that was driving SDS decisions.

Although Button said he had a vague idea that FRSO was attempting to assimilate members of SDS into the MarxistLeninist ideology, he was unaware of the hegemonic interactions between the two organizations.

“FRSO members would meet the night before SDS meetings to plan out how the SDS meetings would go,” Button said. “Everyone in FRSO would take the same stance so it would look like some organically or naturally formed majority.”

Non-FRSO members were kept in the dark until Button’s friend broke the ranks. Tristan Worthington, an English major and former SDS member, had been under the impression that everything was on the table. She said she had believed all members were coming as equals.

“When we did find out about this going on, it was a sense of betrayal for a lot of people,” she said. “It was very secretive; it was very controlling and manipulative.”

Button and his peers discovered that structural corruption ran deeper than prearranging the meeting outcomes. There was a strong sense of misogyny in SDS chapters throughout Florida, Worthington said, which showed in its hierarchical and male-dominated structure.

“Sexual assault would go unchecked, where women who experienced abuse at the hands of their fellow members couldn’t get justice or have a voice,” Worthington said. “We didn’t want anything to do with an organization that was allowing people to get away with such actions.”

The Gainesville and Tampa chapters of SDS had established a line of communication. When former members of the Tampa chapter informed the group about a sexual predator operating within FRSO, the core group decided something had to change.

According to former Tampa SDS member Bridget White, a woman had been sexually assaulted by an FRSO member.

When she attempted to speak out against her abuser, the organization’s leaders turned a blind eye.

At an SDS meeting, White suggested the group take on a Coalition To End Rape Culture campaign. When the idea was rejected, she confronted FRSO about the predator and severed ties with the organization completely.

“You don’t really know at first that SDS is part of the bigger tree that is FRSO — it’s like a branch,” she said. “They tried to downplay what he did and acted as if they were trying to get him out as hard as they could.

A similar confrontation occurred on the UF campus when SDS members met to discuss the information. During the meeting, a FRSO mediator denied the accusations.

“When we saw that there would be no justice for the victim, we decided to produce a statement condemning rape apologia and formally separating ourselves from them,” Robbins said.

In the statement, they wrote: “In the eyes of many, SDS serves as a front group for FRSO and we understand this claim to have merit in many locations. Given that reality, we want to make it clear that UF SDS refuses to be a FRSO front Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 21

SPOTLIGHT group and we do not align ourselves with their mishandling of instances of sexual violence.”

Button said issuing the statement was arduous, but it effectively purged FRSO members from SDS. Despite members’ knowledge of misconduct, Button said it was hard for many of them to let go of the name.

“For some members it was the only activist group that they had been heavily involved in,” Button said. “They associated it with their first experiences with activism.”

Shortly after the statement was released, an SDS member still associated with FRSO helped hijack the group’s Facebook page to delete the statement. The hijack prompted the group to wonder why it held onto the name in the first place, Button said.

Button, Worthington, Robbins and Kahn, along with other SDS members Claudia Conger and Lara Alqasem, held a conference call during the summer.

Each student was in a different location, traveling, studying and working. During the call they agreed to take the next step. Thus RSA was born.

“As upsetting as it was to witness SDS dissolve, it ended up being a blessing in disguise,” Robbins said. “It forced us all to reevaluate and solidify our convictions as a group.”

RSA is based on an antiimperialist, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, pro-women and proLGBTQ+ foundation. While not all members share the same views, the group relies on organizing principles based on the belief that most social problems stem from capitalism and other forms of oppression.

But spearheading an entirely new activist organization, especially without a traditional power structure, has come with obstacles. Though the hierarchy was seemingly poisonous to the idea of democracy, SDS was efficient because it forced a sense of responsibility.

Finding out how to liberate all marginalized groups both on and off campus involves rejecting band-aid solutions and working in conjunction with other organizations.

“It’s not just about seeing a symptom and trying to fix it, it’s going to the root of the problem and addressing it directly,” Worthington said.

Since the purge, activist groups have been more interested in collaborating, Button said. RSA has also been able to build closer ties with community centers, specifically the Civic Media Center. And October’s Capitalism 101 event demonstrated just how tightly knit the community had become.

Uriel Perez, membership director of CHISPAS, said each organization respects, learns from and works to understand the other. From sharing resources like button-makers to hosting group socials on the weekends, they are building a coalition.

“Developing real relationships is arguably the most important thing,” Perez said, “because you know that people have your back and you can count on them. Not just on Wednesdays at a 6:30 meeting, but anytime.”

While RSA focuses on combating the overarching problem of capitalism, it shows its support to a variety of race-related campaigns. The organizations agree that these differences are not a dividing factor. It is a cultural melting pot that acts as a catalyst to reach more audiences than ever before, Perez said.

“RSA tackles what imperialism is, what capitalism is, what ableism is,” he said. “They’re tackling the big topics. So there is some intersectionality in all of our causes.”

Malu Brooks, a member of Dream Defenders, called the group “a rainbow coalition,” comprised of people from different ethnic backgrounds and unique histories. He said when atrocities happen, he’s confident that more than 100 activists will come out — ready to plan, build and work.

“Real power comes from the people. Real power comes from coalitions that can bring out the people — and different people,” Brooks said. “Everyone’s not going to dig the bravado of Dream Defenders, but you can dig the bravado of RSA.” At the beginning of the Fall semester, FRSO attempted to revive an SDS chapter at UF. But with the help of the Gainesville activist community, Worthington said FRSO was unable to reinstate its authority on campus.

RSA is still in its developing phase, Worthington said. It plans to focus on lending help to other organizations, like the Civic Media Center; Dream Defenders; CHISPAS; Students for Sensible Drug Policy; Students for Justice in Palestine; and the Alachua County Labor Coalition. Currently, RSA is working on the Alachua County Labor Coalition’s Fight For 15 and the CHISPAS #SwipeLeftOnWendys campaign. It plans to launch its own campaign this Spring.

“No matter your race, your gender, your class — if you can empathize with struggle, you’re more likely to get involved,” Brooks said. “As we build this coalition, it has to be through love — because there has been enough pain.” • Alec Carver contributed to this report.

“Developing real relationships is arguably the most important thing,” Perez said, “because you know that people have your back and you can count on them. Not just on Wednesdays at a 6:30 meeting, but anytime.”

22 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

COMIC

SPOTLIGHT

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

The stories of people who live in Gainesville’s homeless encampment.

E

PHOTO STORY BY SEAN DOOLAN AND STEVEN LONGMIRE

ven before GRACE Marketplace, a multi-resource facility for the homeless located off Waldo Road, opened in June 2014, homeless men and women migrated from across the city to set up tents in the adjacent land. Half of the residents agreed to the name Dignity Village. Since then, the city has

24 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

purchased the 10 acres the camp stands on and voted to take responsibility for the encampment following two violent attacks in April.

Helping Hands, a medical clinic for the homeless, helped install sinks and two showers and distributed necessities like tents, flashlights, cleaning supplies and toilet paper. Being next to the GRACE facilities, the over-200 residents of Dignity Village can receive mail, store belongings and use the resources such as

computer labs and libraries.

Bo Diddley Plaza has been closed since February. The residents of Tent City, an encampment in the woods south of the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail, were evicted in July 2014. And the directors of St. Francis House have said they are concerned about closing due to lack of funds. As it stands, Dignity Village is the one of the only places in the city for a homeless person to live. •

SPOTLIGHT

Opposite page: (top, left) A view inside Peter Dannenhoffer’s, 53, home. “I’ve got one of the better set-ups out here,” Dannenhoffer said. “The issue is that these tents belong in the closet most of the time, not out in the sun being lived in for six months or a year.” (top, right) Shoes scattered outside one of the many tents taht make up Dignity Village, which is occupied by over 200 people. (bottom) “[GRACE Marketplace] is very nice, and they help us with everything, really,” said Judith Flarity, 60. “[GRACE]

has certain people you can talk to, and if one person can’t help you, they’ll send you to another one that can, and they are all just so nice. Even if you need someone to just talk to and vent, they will do that.” Current page: (top) Rlei Beighley, 47, kneels next to his dog, Tank. In August, advocates at the St. Francis Pet Care Clinic and the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine came to provide food and vet care. (bottom, right) Scott Beveridge, 52, built his elaborate wooden house, which he calls Pallet Palace.

(bottom, left) Dannenhoffer has lived in Dignity Village since August 2014 after losing his job as a maintenance worker at Santa Fe Crossings. “I’m 53 years old, I can’t run up and down stairs with couches anymore,” he said. “I was married and had my $250,000 house paid off, but when I got laid off I was all on-again off-again employment. Here I am now, homeless.” He paused. “Actually, I call it houseless--because I do have a home.”

Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 25

SPOTLIGHT

Current page: (top left) Resident Roger Manos holds up a Double Bubble bucket full of his loot--he gathered dandelion greens, grape leaves and shepherd’s needle from the surrounding land. (bottom, left) Residents of Dignity Village have set up tents throughout the encampment’s 10 acres. The seat of a car pokes through the window of one tent. “Camping should be a three-day weekend, not a lifestyle,” Guerry said. “I am trying to find some low income housing, especially with the cold weather coming soon.” (top, right) Clothing hangs from string affixed to a tarp in one of the structures. (bottom, right) “I used 26| T H E F I N E P R I N T | thefineprintmag.org

to be in the dorms, but because of the Mouth of the South,” 63-yearold resident Elizabeth Guerry said, referring to her dog, Bob Barker, “and the fact that you had to be up at 6 a.m. to be out of the dorm by 7. Then you have to stay out under the pavilion all day long, no matter what the weather is like, and they don’t let you back in the dorms until 7 in the evening. During that big Fourth of July storm we had to be out under the pavilion all day, and rain and wind was coming in from all directions, and we were shivering, but they never came to let us in the dorms.”

PEACE of MIND

By next year, Gainesville will be home to one of the few respite houses in the United States, reflecting the city’s increasing access to alternative mental health care.

BY SAMANTHA SCHUYLER ILLUSTRATIONS BY SYDNEY MARTIN

B

y the time Rusti Poulette moved to Gainesville, they had run out of options. Since middle school, when they began feeling severe anxiety and depression, they sought treatment only to find each doctor say there was nothing they could do. The experimental drugs, the endless different psychiatrists and psychologists — nothing helped for long.

This changed when Poulette began to hang around the

Civic Media Center and the former Wayward Council, a nonprofit, volunteer-run record store. They were places, Poulette said, where they found a sense of purpose.

“People were giving me responsibilities and creative outlets,” they said. “I found this sense of community and people that could support me.”

Within a year of being engaged in these communities, Poulette said they threw out all of their medication. They Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 27

FEATURE stopped going to the doctor.

“I haven’t had a problem since,” they said. “Gainesville has kind of been like a healing ground for me.”

Poulette calls themself a psychiatric survivor, someone who has rejected what they felt were disorienting and disempowering mental health services — some of which can exacerbate a person’s trauma — and now seeks alternate forms of therapy that embrace self-determination.

Having survived, they said, they wanted to help others experience the same. In 2011, Poulette and other survivors began to meet regularly, sharing their stories and providing support to one another. They conducted their meetings using the framework and language of peer support, a larger international mental health movement that aims to empower mental health care consumers to help and advocate for each other. Sometimes this can supplement traditional mental health services; sometimes it can supplant them.

The peer support movement has been percolating through Gainesville for a long time, but it has hit its stride over the past five years as groups popped up at the University of Florida and around the city. And a culminating point is soon to come: By January, Gainesville will have its own peer respite center, a house staffed and operated by people who have personally experienced mental illness, operated under a philosophy of community-based healing.

The goal, said respite director Phil Schulman, is to create a community of peers who can be there for one another in times of distress.

“When you are in distress, when you’re having extreme states, or if you’re having them and you’re looking to prevent them from growing, you don’t have to do it alone,” he said. “There’s a community, there’s a place to reach out.” he idea of peer-support came out of the mental health consumer movement in the ‘70s, a drive among mental health consumers advocating for fair treatment. Peer support as a process is grounded in the belief that those who have experienced mental illness themselves can, through compassion, openness and encouragement, create an environment that helps those in crisis find relief.

By doing this — what Poulette said is called “holding space” — people can help themselves find the route to their own recovery.

As with Poulette, this kind of process can happen without being sought. Gainesville resident Ali Brody, for example, also found open dialogue, support and encourage-

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ment from people already in her life. She had experienced depression and anxiety in the past, but in the past year she started waking up feeling defeated, finding it difficult to leave the comfort of her own space. The feelings would linger until she was overwhelmed by anxiety, shame and uncertainty. For days, then weeks, she would wake up like this, distressed by the idea of interacting with others. She had seen therapists before for depression, but to little effect, so she coped through destructive behaviors, including unhealthy drinking habits and deceit, until this May her friends intervened.

Brody said that her friends and other members of the community held space for her, letting her express the fear and shame she felt. They encouraged her to seek treatment with a therapist at the local branch of Meridian Behavioral Healthcare Inc., a statewide mental health facility.

“These resources have been very helpful for me, but I think what has been most helpful was how available others were to me,” Ali wrote in an email. “They sat with me, they heard me, and they believed in me. I think that without them, I would not be where I am now.”

Brody said she falls into the same patterns sometimes, but that through the help of the community and other resources she began to recognize her behaviors and felt empowered to change them. She said she now feels more able to engage in healthy relationships; she feels calmer, happier and more present, and that she is in a place where she can grow with intention and self determination.

Alexis Henderson, who in 2014 founded local peer support group Peer Connect, said that any time she feels sick, she finds herself pulling away from others, retreating into isolation. Since she was 15, and for the past 15 years, doctors have offered various diagnoses — everything from bipolar disorder to obsessive compulsive disorder — and medication. She’s been in and out of psychiatric hospitals. But she said what helps her, despite experiencing intense social anxiety, is sharing with other people.

“There’s a sense that I lose myself every time I start feeling sick,” she said. “When I do finally reach out to other people, I turn around much faster. I start doing more, being more active. I find that I need a shift in perspective, and being confident and happy and my true self.”

Reid Schreiber, another member of Peer Connect, said that engaging in peer support helped him as well — but the process was slow. When he started going to

FEATURE the group meetings, he simply said, “My name is Reid, and I’m still alive.”

“But after volunteering a second time, I actually took the risk and opened up,” he said. “And each time you open up to somebody else about what’s going on with you, I feel like you can heal a little bit more.” he respite, still unnamed, will be run entirely by a small staff of trained peer specialists, with help from other peers in the community who can lead support groups and programs. Schulman and Poulette said it will have a home-like environment with moments of activity and opportunities for solitude--and all of it will be available for free.

The respite aims to be a place where people can go to get away from stressors, said Jim Probert, psychologist at UF’s Counseling and Wellness Center and vice president of the board for the respite. There would be a few rooms available for short-term stays, as well as programming throughout the day. Any services provided at the respite would depend entirely on a person’s needs.

“It’s up to them completely,” said Poulette, who was recently hired as the respite’s first

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“Each time you else about what’s I feel like you can peer specialist. “If they need to sleep for 72 hours and not get up, cool. If they need to just sit in their room and have someone make them food for a couple of days, then that’s cool too.”

According to Phil Schulman, director of the respite, only 15 peer-run crisis respites exist across the country. In 1998 he helped start and run one of the first of these in Essex County in New York, and he said the coming house will be more explicitly community-oriented.

Respites are also created as an alternative to the way some police officers, doctors and others handle those in crisis. For example, involuntary commitment to psychiatric hospitals can be a traumatic experience.

“Police are called, people are put into handcuffs, they’re taken into a hospital,” Schulman said. “And if they resist, they might be tackled, they might be forcibly injected with drugs.”

Frank Blankenship, a local liaison for MindFreedom International, a nonprofit grassroots organization that advocates for the rights of those affected by the mental

health system, said in his experience with psychiatric hospitalization, even voluntary commitment is not always truly voluntary. He said once when he was taken to a hospital he was told that if he did not commit himself voluntarily, he would be involuntarily committed.

“It wasn’t pleasant,” he said. “I didn’t understand what was going on. It wasn’t very grounding. You end up on the third floor of the building, and it was like landing on another planet.” During a person’s first commitment, Schulman said, doctors will often break the news: the condition, mental illness, is chronic, probably requiring a lifetime of medication and therapy.Schulman argues that framing mental illness this way, and in such an environment, could be potentially harmful: The experience can make a person feel less confident about navigating the world and more susceptible to becoming overwhelmed.

For Schreiber, the idea of suicide was deeply preoccupying. He couldn’t stop thinking about it; the compulsion would get stuck in his head. Sometimes, he said, everything he knew about himself, his whole sense of self, would become eclipsed by darkness,

open up to somebody going on with you, heal a little bit more.” and in these moments he felt inescapably alone.

It felt, he said, like falling into a hole. In his senior year of high school, he was checked into the psychiatric hospital for the first time.

“You have to ask for basically everything,” he said. “It’s kind of like being a small child again, in a way.”

The respite would offer an alternative to this kind of treatment, Schulman said, providing support that is not violent or coercive, in an environment developed to build trust and compassion.

“I like to use the metaphor of the steering wheel,” he said. “When you take the steering wheel away from people, that’s disempowering. So as much as possible we want to keep the steering wheel in people’s hands and ask them, ‘What kind of supports are you looking for? What kind of support have you found has helped you when you’ve been overwhelmed in the past? And what kind of things do you not want?’” •

Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 29

FEATURE

SB OEU NTDTA IR N G IES: REDISTRICTING EXPLAINED

A

BY ALEX MORRISON

n essential part of an effective democratic system is making sure everyone is appropriately and fairly represented. The system known as redistricting, though seemingly random and confusing, was originally meant to accomplish this.

Electoral districts are districts within which only the people in a demarcated area are allowed to vote in their local election.

They are meant to thwart voter fraud by assigning citizens to specific voting locations by address, as well as to avoid eventual inequalities in representation that develop over time if district lines are held static. The idea is that if demographics change, districts should change with them so they accurately represent the citizenry.

But redistricting has a long history of being used to manipulate voters.

Gerrymandering happens when

electoral districts are arbitrarily created, usually by a party, to maximize the effects of supporting votes and minimize the effects of opposing ones, rather than to represent the people. And Florida, according to Pamela Goodman, president of the League of Women Voters Florida, has been one of the most gerrymandered states in the country.

Seriously, what is redistricting?

Every decennial census (that is, every 10 years), the lines that demarcate voting districts have to be redrawn.

They’re extremely important, as they’re used for the election of state representatives, senators and the U.S. House.

Florida relies on its partisan legislature to redraw district lines.

Until 2010, when the Fair Districts Amendment was added to the Florida constitution, there was no oversight

2012 CONGRESSIONAL MAP

to legally enforce the creation of compact, contiguous, sensible districts that keep cities and counties together in representation.

Instead, districts were often drawn long and sprawling, with the aim of packing them with people who favor a particular political party.

The 2010 Fair Districts Amendment was created to enforce accountability by prohibiting any line-drawing that intentionally favors one political party over another.

But old habits die hard: After long legal battles at the lower court levels, the Florida Supreme Court declared in July that eight of the districts redrawn in the 2012 map were “tainted by unconstitutional intent to favor the Republican Party and incumbent lawmakers.”

When asked how soon they identified gerrymandering after the maps were released, Goodman did not mince words.

“Immediately,” she said. “It was

2015 HOUSE PROPOSED MAP 9071 5

4

4 City of Gainesville 2

3

5

3

6 6 City of Gainesville 11

11

10

7

8

12

7 15

8

10 9

MAPPING OUT THE PROBLEM (left) The gerrymandered 2012 Congressional map, with the City of Gainesville straddling Districts 3 and 5. (right) The 2015 House Proposed Congressional Map (H110C9071), with the City of Gainesville entirely in District 3. See floridaredistricting.org/2015B.aspx for more maps and information.

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FEATURE apparent as soon as they were released.”

A Supreme Court case against Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner deemed the 2012 maps unconstitutional. The coalition of plaintiffs in the case included Common Cause, a national citizen’s lobbying organization, and the Florida League of Women Voters. = The league, which started as a Progressive-era institution to organize women’s newly obtained voting power, has been fighting to uphold voting rights for 76 years and recognizes the fight is important to every citizen regardless of gender. “[Redistricting is] really not a sexy topic. People’s eyes tend to glaze over when you bring it up,” Goodman said. “But it’s at the core of our right to vote and our choice of candidates.”

Hold up.

Run that back!

In the Supreme Court case, eight districts were deemed unconstitutional by the court, with Districts 5 and 13 being the most overt and 14, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27 needing redrawing as well.

To understand the kind of political engineering attempted in the 2012 maps, it’s worthwhile to look at District 5, which includes parts of Gainesville.

In order to carve out adjacent white, Republican-leaning districts, new district lines were drawn from Jacksonville north, cutting through Gainesville and ending in Orlando. This concentrated African-American voters into one district rather than spreading them among what should have been multiple districts.

This is not the only case of gerrymandering in the state. To remedy this, the fifth district is being redrawn from east to west with a second look at the surrounding districts.

This time, Gainesville will be represented within the same district, no longer divided in half.

This kind of change is seen in many non-partisan replacement maps.

The Congressional map that is being redrawn over the 100day special session mandated by the court is just one of three

being evaluated. One House Congressional map, two Senate Congressional maps and two Coalition Plaintiff Congressional maps were submitted to the Supreme Court on Sept. 15 with changes meant to remedy political biases.

The Senate, ultimately unable to come to a compromise, sent in two non-preferential maps. The Coalition Plaintiffs submitted two as well, because although they agree with and largely based their maps upon the House-proposed map, they feel that the 26th and 27th districts in South Florida still show evidence of gerrymandering.

All of these maps will be presented in court, where they will be defended by attorneys on either side. After the proceedings Judge Terry P. Lewis of Florida’s Second Circuit Court will decide which map will be implemented.

What does this mean for the local community?

On its face, Florida has always been an important swing state in national elections, and with the 2016 election looming on the national stage, it’s important that everyone has a fair hand.

But also, compact and fair district borders ensure that we have a broader, more nuanced choice of elected officials at the local level and that election results represent what the electorate really wants, instead of reflecting the whims of officials already in power.

Most importantly, this whole process stands as an example of how our democracy still functions as it was intended to. When the Fair Districts Amendment was initially passed, people were sure the legislature would try to bend the rules and test the limits of the permissible. What all of this ended up testing was whether the checkand-balance system that forms the foundation of our democracy could still be on the side of the citizen, or if it had been co-opted by personal ambitions.•

November 2, 2010 Passing of the “Fair Districts” amendment to the Florida Constitution

November 6, 2012 New redistricting maps used for Congressional, State, and House Representative elections

July 9, 2015 Supreme Court rules redistricting process and maps unconstitutional

September 15, 2015 Replacement maps from House, Senate, and Coalition Plaintiffs submitted to court

September 24–25, 2015 Judge determines most equitable map and decrees its use October 21,2015 Active litigation begins on Senate map

HOW DID WE END UP HERE? Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 31

CYCLE

SAVVY

BY TORI DEUTCH ILLUSTRATIONS BY TORI DEUTCH AND BRITNEY EVANS

W

hether you’re biking 4 miles around Gainesville or 4,000 miles cross-country, there are basic rules of the road that everyone should know — and follow. This is a guide for all sorts of riders: the daily commuter, downtown-only rider, the avid cyclist, the roadie, the tourer, whatever other type of cyclist you call yourself. No matter what kind of rider, here’s a basic guide to safe riding:

Use Your Hands Signaling when you turn and stop is the simplest, easiest way to let other riders, cars and pedestrians know what you are doing on the road. In lieu of lights, use your hands! Don’t be afraid to talk to fellow riders as you pass them. Shout “on your left” or “on your right” as you pass with a friendly nod or wave.

LEFT

RIGHT

SLOW/STOP

It's the law

't Don t e Forg

Is another cyclist speeding toward you from the right? A runner about to cross your path? Will that squirrel stay in the middle of the road or dart back to the tree on your left at the last second? It’s a dangerous world out there for cyclists, so stay aware!

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he It's t law!

According to Florida Statute 316.205 (5) “….if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations…”

It's the It law

's t h law e !

FEATURE

Under Florida statute 316.205, "Every person propelling a vehicle by human power has all of the rights and all of the duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle."

On The Road For all the times you have heard “get on the sidewalk,” I will tell you a million times more that you are allowed to ride on the road.

Repeat: Bicycles belong on the road.

Do not ride on the sidewalk unless you feel it is necessary (i.e. for safety). If you do ride on the sidewalk, pedestrians get the right of way.

Why? + + + +

Fewer pedestrians Better visibility other riders and cars Some roads have lanes just for bikes More room to navigate

Take The Lane

Now that you’re on the road, you might find that it doesn’t even have a bike lane, or it has one in has is in bad condition. If so, you can take the full lane. That’s right, you and your sanctioned three feet of glory can take the entire car lane.

So what makes a bad bike lane?

+ There are any obstructions in it, including animals, debris, glass, pedestrians, or cars (this one could turn into you getting whacked by someone opening their door). + Not enough room for a car to pass you while maintaining at least 3 feet of clearance

You can also take the lane to: + Make a left turn + Pass another rider + Avoid a conflict with other cars

Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 33

STRIKING HOME In Porters, the second-oldest historically black community in the city, longtime residents are being pushed out as private investors and companies move in.

BY ASHLEY YO PHOTOS BY SEAN DOOLAN

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FEATURE This is the first in a four-part series on gentrification in Gainesville.

I

n Porters Community, a neighborhood of shotgun houses situated closely together in a tight weave and separated by bursts of foliage and chainlink fences, Charles L. McKnight’s bright green house jumps to the foreground, impossible to miss.

“The color,” he said, surveying the house front, “was a mistake.”

Over 90 years old, McKnight’s is one of four remaining original houses in the Porters Community, which dates back to the early part of the 20th century. Of course, it’s more than a piece of Gainesville history — it’s a chronology of McKnight’s family story.

“I was born in this house with my two brothers and my one sister,” he said. “We were all born in that room right there, where I live now.”

McKnight has lived in and out of Gainesville over the course of 73 years, each time returning to a changed Porters. In the past 10 years, he said, the development has picked up.

And in the past five, the changes have been so rapid and widespread that the neighborhood is becoming hard to recognize. He added that when his sister visited this year, she could hardly believe it was the same neighborhood she grew up in.

“She couldn’t believe it, all of these apartments back there,” he said. “I said, ‘They’re right by our doorstep now.’ You could almost get lost in your own neighborhood.”

Community organizers in the neighborhood are calling these changes for what they are: gentrification.

Gentrification is a process in which houses and commercial property in urban neighborhoods are bought and restored, usually by wealthier private investors and homeowners, with the goal of increasing market value. As a result, many families in the “revitalized” communities are pushed from their homes due to rising rent prices.

This phenomenon is most closely documented in big cities across the

country like Baltimore, D.C. and New York City, but smaller cities like Gainesville are no less susceptible.

Porters, sandwiched between downtown and the University of Florida campus, is prime real-estate. Outside developers, the City of Gainesville and UF are buying property left and right, true to the pattern of gentrification, community organizer Faye Williams said.

“You see what’s happening on Main Street, what’s happening on Depot Avenue, what’s already happening on Sixth Street all the way up to the University Avenue,” Williams said.

“Sixth Street all the way down to Southwest 16th Street — they’re building and expanding,” Porters resident and community organizer Tyra Edwards said. “Rent is going to be high, so if you work a regular a job and you make $11 an hour, and your rent is $600 a month, it’s going to go up to $800 a month. They push people out slowly.”

With rising property prices and the subsequent spike in rents, families that have lived here for generations are forced to move in search of affordable housing, causing the Porters community to rapidly shrink, said Civic Media Center co-coordinator Nailah Summers.

“Porters, at some point, went from 13th to Waldo and is now this tiny, tiny little place. And it’s still disappearing,” Summers said. “It’s Main to Sixth Street, from Depot Road to maybe Fourth Street. Black communities and the homeless community are being pushed and pushed to the margins. Everybody is going to be in Hawthorne in the next six years.”

It’s a telltale sign of gentrification: As the people in the community are displaced, the community itself changes irrevocably. According to a 2010 National Social Science Association Study, “the indigenous sociological community is destroyed and replaced by another,” changing the neighborhood’s demographic profile.

For Edwards, the changes will rob future generations of a sense of history.

“Take your child down that street 10 years from now and—” she said, gesturing into the distance, miming the act of showing a child what the neighborhood used to be like. “‘That’s Mary’s house, and she had the best fried chicken and rice.’”

“We need to keep these communities,” Edwards continued. “If you don’t fight for your community, you will lose it. There will be no community. There will be no, ‘I’m home late from work, and Miss Nancy picked up your mail.’ There will be a Starbucks next to you.”

McKnight agreed with this sentiment.

“It’s a very mixed breed of things, just like the North is now,” he said.

“You don’t know who your neighbor is, not like the old days.” he Porters community, established in 1884, is the second-oldest historically black neighborhood in Gainesville, after the Pleasant Street district. The land was originally owned by Dr. Watson Porter, a former Union Army surgeon assigned to the Third U.S. Colored Troops. He eventually became principal of the city’s first school for black children, Union Academy. He began selling the Southwest Gainesville land exclusively to black families to encourage self-sufficiency.

Unlike the historically black Fifth Avenue and Pleasant Street neighborhoods, which housed prominent churches, businesses and professionals, Porters was a working-class area, according to local historical restoration consultant Murray D. Laurie. It’s streets were unpaved, it had no nearby schools and it received few city amenities, such as trash collection. Similar to McKnight’s home, the original Porters constructions were tiny shotgun houses with one or two bedrooms.

In the 1960s, according to an article from The Gainesville Sun, owned homes became rental properties as the residents moved into public housing projects throughout the city. Many abandoned homes were left vacant, then used as waypoints for drug traf

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Fall 2015 | T H E F I N E P R I N T | 35

“Porter’s Oaks” in the middle of the neighborhood.

The complex, the first big development project to hit the Porters Community, displaced 11 families, relocating them “to other homes throughout Gainesville and Alachua County,” according to a 1988 Gainesville Sun article.

And the On this page: (top) James Hayes, a resident of Porters Community, squints into the sun. (bottom) The Container development, House was built in 2012 entirely out of steel shipping containers and sticks out among the old, traditional houses called an “aggresin the neighborhood. sive program to ficking. In this time the area saw more rid neighborhoods of blight,” continued into crime and violence, as well as neglect from the 1990s.

In a cleanup effort in 1996, the city the city: For years it was called “The Forgotten staged a mass demolition of abandoned homes, Neighborhood,” according to a 1990 Gainesallowing firefighters to burn 12 houses on SW ville Sun article.

Eighth Avenue as a training exercise.

For example, according to the same ar“They’re not into renovation, they’re into ticle, it was only in a push led by community homeowners in the 1970s that the city started relocation,” Edwards said. “People can’t afford paving dirt roads. According to another article to live in these high-priced places. When you in 2001, “The neighborhood lacks sidewalks, don’t have the money, you live on the outstreetlights and neighborhood parks, and it skirts.” nd the development continues is the recipient of the environmental impacts today. Outside businesses and proof industrial activities along Depot Avenue, grams have begun to see untapped which bring dust and fumes into the neighborpotential in the neighborhood — what peohood.”

In another article in 2000, local historical ple call an “up-and-coming” neighborhood. author Ben Pickard was quoted saying, “There Gainesville’s Community Redevelopment was no sort of historical preservation effort Agency, a government program that aims to here. [Some people] thought there was noth- attract private investment to underserved parts of the city, has called the area surrounding ing to save.”

But through all of this, the neighborhood Depot Avenue kept its close-knit, familial character rich with “Gainesville’s history. Post-World War II, “the neighborhood next frontier.”

F r o m was a world unto itself,” longtime resident Janie Williams said in the same article, which also 2012 to 2014, details the way the community cared for one brothers Bret another. “We didn’t have a lot, but we shared and Tim Larbought what we had,” Williams said. “If someone was son property along sick, the community would rally around.”

“It was more of a family-oriented lifestyle as SW Fourth AvI was coming up,” McKnight said. “If the lady enue, including down the street caught me doing something a strip plaza. wrong, she would get onto me. We’ve sort of Tim Larson’s plan, he said, is stretched out now.”

In 1987, nonprofit group United Gaines- to draw young ville Community Development Corp. de- working locals veloped a 32-acre, $2 million complex called to the build-

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ing, which he plans to fill with a collection of cafes and night time spots with live music. According to a June Gainesville Sun article, “he expects to benefit from their location between UF and downtown.”

Larson said he wants to make the area nice. “[It is] a lot nicer than it was, now that we actually have businesses that are open to the public,” he said. “We were trying to put picnic tables out here to make it a place and a space that you could actually bring kids.

“We probably filled seven or eight full trash bags with beer cans, glass bottles, and just trash,” he said. “We cleaned this whole area out. We’ve done it ourselves, so that people can use it in the future. It’s just been neglected for so long.”

Three years ago, Florida Organic Growers established Porters Community Farm, a quadrant of land on SW Fifth Avenue and SW Fourth Street. Volunteers at the garden grow food for St. Francis House, Peaceful Paths and Gainesville Community Ministry.

Kayvon Bahramian, manager of the community farm, said few people from the immediate neighborhood come to work on the farm — the volunteers and interns mostly come from the university.

“Some people feel that the project was started without community support,” he said. “[Community members] were never really engaged and not asked what they wanted from that space.”

“My feeling is that it is here now, and you can get involved,” Bahramian said. “I’m not big on holding people’s hands. If there’s something obvious happening in your neighborhood and you want to know about it, just ask. If there’s a bunch of white people working there, I’m not oblivious to that, but there are also black

people working — ask them.”

Williams said private companies have approached local homeowners, offering to buy their houses for extremely low prices.

“We are resilient and ready to fight back,” Williams said.

“Because we are not going to sell our houses — especially not for $60,000 when we know that each house over there is worth over $103,000.”

The outside businesses and private companies that insert themselves into the community view the uptick in property value as a benefit. But there are few programs that exist to help longtime, low-income residents who can no longer afford to live in their changing neighborhood. Gainesville’s Community Redevelopment Agency, at the instruction of the former property owner, intends to build a mixture of market-rate and affordable housing along Seminary Lane, a neighborhood on NW Fifth Avenue. But according to Nathalie McCrate, a project manager at the agency, this is still in early development.

“The conceptual master plan was only founded this year,” she said. “We’re still figuring out what our definition of ‘affordable housing’ is.”

This year the agency built a 0.4-mile sidewalk along the north side of SW Fourth Avenue, one of the few sidewalks in the neighborhood. It also constructed a large sign on Main Street that reads “Welcome to Porters.” During the sidewalk’s construction, Porters resident Vernon Jackson was able to find a job with the construction workers, McCrate said. Jackson was then hired full-time by the contracting firm and facilitated the hiring of two friends.

Though the rising cost of living is something to consider, McCrate said, the benefits of improving a neighborhood often outweigh the costs.

“Think about what would

happen if somebody wouldn’t make improvements,” McCrate said. “Something can happen if you do do something; something can happen if you don’t. The act of not doing something has extraordinary cost as well.” nd while the process of gentrification is complicated — it correlates with decreased crime rates, for example — the revival of downtown Gainesville and surrounding areas is pushing black communities to rural areas on the outskirts of the city where jobs are scarce, schools are scant and public transportation is absent.

“If you don’t have a car to drive 10 miles into work every day,” Edwards said, “what are you going to do?”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Healthy Places Initiative, homeowners and renters displaced by gentrification often have limited access to “affordable healthy housing, healthy food choices, transportation choices, quality schools, and bicycle and walking paths” and in turn are at higher risk of “asthma, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”

Edwards said that she plans to fight gentrification by staging a long-term investigation of Gainesville’s historic black neighborhoods through a survey — which she calls the LOUDD Survey — assessing how poverty affects these areas. Through this, Edwards said she hopes to bring awareness not only to gentrification, but to how it affects her community and the greater Gainesville area.

“This is home. This might not look like a home to you, but it’s home to us,” Edwards said.

“When you gentrify a neighborhood, you don’t just gentrify their neighborhood, you gentrify their whole life.” • Tori Deutch contributed to this report.

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On this page: (top and bottom) Houses in the Porters neighborhood.

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POETRY + PROSE

The Gate

BY MAITANE ROMAGOSA ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH RHODES

The Halloween lights spin around like halos we are all deserted angels waiting.

On top of the kitchen counter, under the chairs, feet in between the railings of the porch.

Ash in between our molars, like pop rocks.

We carry sadness and study the Bible.

Dressed in Harvard sweatshirts, we are sincere about our gas station purchases.

I don’t remember the ice cream sandwich, but I’m licking my fingers at the register counting sugar-coated pennies.

Steady hands when it’s time to drive home, fingers sticking to the steering wheel, eyes rolling.

Waking up with chocolate stains in the sheets.

It’s an orange and blue morning, so we head to the sea, the old one with the fort.

Listening to punk in the AM like we’ve got something to be angry about, steady hands like we’ve got a burden to carry.

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POE TRY + PROSE

A Season’s End At parties Cora steals the weed Peyton steals the liquor and I steal the hand soap.

Once we walked out with two rolls of paper towels because we ran out at home.

Nobody asked.

Kanye’s “Bound 2” was on. ii You can hear mermaid tails from the coast of Stuart Beach where children with platinum hair and plump lips grow up under the distracted eyes of Bizarre-o Magic Dads. iii.

A wife, barefoot in pajamas, takes a fat hand and pushes her husband back closes the door and sighs.

The neighbor goes into his garage sits in his lawn chair with a cat on his lap and smokes a cigarette.

Lemon Juice I kneel by the shallow end of the pool, dipping a plastic pH tester into the water.

I used to watch my father do this every weekend.

Now the pool just changes from one shade of green to another.

The plastic red containers marked “chlorine” are empty.

My father counts receipts inside. My mother falls asleep reading a John Grisham novel. I buy chlorine alone and walk by storefronts decorated with “for rent” signs.

My sister and I used to suck apples, mangos, and grapes and save the one last drop for testing.

We would watch the water blush like the drugstore makeup we’d try on at the Seven Eleven down the street.

My sister, ten and an Adult, would write down numbers to show our father later. She would squeal in joy, holding secrets from me.

My sister is now 26. Her therapist blames our parents.

We are squeezing lemons into our mouths now, giggling at the wrinkles in our noses.

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