Orange and Blue magazine - Spring 2022 - The Adaptation Issue by UF CJC

The

AdaptationIssue

Orange & Blue Magazine

Spring 2022

Samantha

Lyric Lighty

Lily Girton

Nadine Wilson

BLOG EDTIOR

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Samantha Inselberg, Editor-in-Chief

Thank you to our adviser Nicole Irving, as well as Ted Spiker, Dean Hub Brown, Spiro Kiousis, Cally House, and the Hal Herman Magazine Fund. Orange and Blue is published semiannually by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications students enrolled in Applied Magazines. This issue was printed by Publications Printers. Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any means without written permission. Orange and Blue is protected through trademark registration in the United States. Send letters to Box 118400 College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

Grace Romo

COPY EDITOR

Within this issue, you will read stories about people, projects, and places that underwent changes as reality can be blissfully uncertain. Among these are climate change, the pandemic, motherhood, break-ups and so on. Each piece presents a balance of eudemonic value and educational benefits. I am beyond proud of the work produced by my staff and hope you enjoy it.

Samantha Inselberg

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Our staff chose “Adaptation” for the theme of the Spring 2022 issue as humans have learned to shift their mindsets in accordance to change. Whether a situation is connotated poorly or positively, adaptation transpires. As a class of seven women, most of whom prepare to walk across the stage of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center come April 28, adapting to newness is non-negotiable. Though our future plans differ, we all will face a new phase of our lives.

PHOTO EDITOR

The changeableness of life exists as both a benefit and a burden. The forecast can call for a rainy morning, yet you wake up to sunny skies and dry roads. Whilst you receive a Waze notification indicating that the bridge you use to get to your 9-to-5 is closed and your 30-minute commute has doubled.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Letter From The Editor

meet the staff MEET THE STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

THE ADAPTATION ISSUE

Diane Hernandez

Hayley Veltri

APRIL 2022

ADAPTATION

How Technology Has Shaped the Cleanliness of the New Normal By Samantha Inselberg

what’s inside?

Layers of Stories — The 34th Street Wall By Diane Hernandez

I Got Pregnant on Birth Control By Lyric Lighty

Left, Then Right, Then Left By Grace Romo

Combatting Seasonal Affective Disorder

By Nadine Wilson

Thank you to Kurt Tran for taking the photo for the cover, and Jill Colombo and Alaina Bollen for modeling.

April 2022

APRIL 2022

THE EVOLUTION OF

Activist Groups Changing Gainesville

By Lily Girton

There's No Such Thing as Constructive Self Ham

By Lyric Lighty

Marriage Secrets From Your Neighbors By Samantha Inselberg

Moving on From a Breakup By Hayley Veltri

City Changes Following University Avenue Deaths By Nadine Wilson

GAINESVILLE TECHNO MUSIC S TO R Y A N D P H OTO BY L I LY G I R TO N

Gainesville has experienced waves of techno music, also known as electronic dance music or EDM, stemming from the early 1990s. Techno music lovers would travel from all over Florida to watch their favorite DJs play at Simons Nightclub. An article from Vice Magazine called “The Essential Rave Nightclubs of Floridian History,” named Simons the “Madison Square Garden of Florida rave locations” in the ‘90s. Videographer Eddy Favara experienced this first wave of techno music by taking videos for the group StoneHouse. “Simons in Gainesville was notorious, almost legendary, for hosting really good parties,” Favara said. “I traveled there from Tampa to capture footage for a documentary I was working on called Underground Zero.” Favara said he traveled around central Florida in the 1990s to video record techno music shows after he graduated from the University of South Florida in 1985. He said these shows were especially interesting because they would occur after the clubs shut down at 2 a.m. “Everyone would leave and they’d bring in the DJs and bring a whole new crowd in,” he said. “It wouldn’t start until around 3 a.m., they would play until past dawn, and there was always an after-party. I went to some warehouse parties with over 5,000 people, and this went on for a while until some problems came up.” The first wave of techno music in Gainesville dwindled when these shows became spaces for substance abuse. Favara claims this went on so long because no one really knew what was going on until police became suspicious

of why these parties went so late with no alcohol involved. The second rebirth of techno music occurred around 2008, when Vijaya Seixas, event coordinator of Neon Liger, hosted his first DJ event in his early 20’s living in central Florida. “I started Neon Liger as a way to hear what my friends and I wanted to hear,” Seixas said. “From there, we brought in some artists that were on tour passing Gainesville, and the event grew.” He continued Neon Liger as a DJ show every Saturday for 7 years, then moved to Miami and made the event an annual one. “It became a thing of its own,” he said. “As the music grew popular, so did the crowd.” When Neon Liger became an annual event, there were very few weekly techno music shows in Gainesville for a period of about 10 years, until Christian Estrada, former manager of UF Top Tier, created the event Techno Tuesday at The Range. “Christian approached me and my friend Netgate to do a weekly event,” said Cade Siebecker, also known as Butler, and one of the former resident DJs of Techno Tuesday. “We did the first three events in the summer of 2019 and it was some of the best shows I’ve ever played. It was an absolute hit.” Techno Tuesday continues to be held every Tuesday at The Range, featuring several local DJs and different sub-genres of techno music. As this genre of music continues to evolve, so does its presence in Gainesville.

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The

Sober Baby Show

BY LYRIC LIGHTY

PHOTOS BY GRACE ROMO

Shade sachs, 28, prefers they/them pronouns and asked that their name be written in all lowercase letters where possible.

“I used people who were worse than me to make my addiction seem more manageable.”

On a chilly day last year, sachs was standing outside of their Gainesville art studio when a homeless man approached them to ask for a blanket. The following day, sachs met him in the same place, this time with an armful of blankets. The two began talking and eventually stumbled upon the topic of addiction, something with which they both struggled.

But in 2018, their sister, who had shared in many of their addictions, went to rehab. When she returned sober, sachs felt like they had lost their partner in crime. A day later, they decided it was time for a change.

“You don’t look like an addict,” he said. “You don’t look like me.” Sachs said they were taken aback by this statement, though they had gotten it many times before. “That was the spark behind it,” sachs would later say, describing the reason they began their talk show Sober Baby a month later. “I wanted to offer something that was low stakes for people who might be struggling with addiction.” Throughout their life, sachs has struggled with addictions to alcohol, drugs and spending and has had a rocky relationship with food, exercise, love and sex among other things. They started drinking at 12 years old and then began smoking weed. At 20, they were regularly doing cocaine and Adderall. They all had the same effect, sachs said. “We are here, and we are present, and we are not feeling pain, and we are not feeling much, but what we are feeling is nothing and that feels great,” sachs continued, describing the feeling the substances gave them. Addiction is about trying to feel anything or nothing, they explained. Sachs drank because they liked the feeling of being buzzed, not the taste of the alcohol. “At some point, it took me more drinks to get buzzed, and it just progressed.”

Sachs got sober from both drugs and alcohol for the first time in August of that year. They haven’t taken drugs since, but their first break from alcohol only lasted about a week. The second time lasted a year and a half, followed by another period of daily drinking from December 2019 to July 2020. Although sachs has not taken a drink since then, they said their goal is not to avoid drugs and alcohol forever. “My goal is to not drink today, not use drugs today,” they said. “I can’t think about forever. That’s huge. I’m just trying to put a couple days in a row, and that ends up being forever.” Sachs has used this experience, this lifelong struggle with themself, to offer support to others like them with their Sober Baby talk show. They understand what it’s like to run from one’s problems for years, masking them with drugs, alcohol, sex, shopping, love and other distractions, only to have reality hit like a train when those distractions are no longer there. For sachs, these problems included struggles with their gender identity, sexuality, sexual assault in college, abuse, depression and above all, themself. On their talk show, sachs has featured individuals who battle with addictions “of all flavors,” they said, including shopping, gambling, hoarding, eating, drinking and taking drugs. They have also hosted guests dealing with issues of mental health, identity, sexuality, race, class and trauma.

For years, sachs was able to justify their addictions by comparing themselves to others. Their addiction had been concealed, regulated and controlled, they said.

“I ultimately chose not to bring experts on because experts haven’t gotten me sober,” sachs explained. “I want it (the talk show) to be about storytelling and truth and connected experiences. I think the experts of addiction are addicts.”

“I thought that ‘I’m not that bad; I haven’t been arrested or crashed my car or really f––ed people over yet,’” they said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

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Sachs has also made it their mission to support and provide a platform for marginalized communities by creating a space for them to discuss their experiences with addiction and sobriety.

As a white host, sachs said they recognize that their ability to facilitate these kinds of conversations is limited but that they are willing to hand the show over to other hosts who have this insight.

According to a report by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, “Black/ African Americans with SUDs (substance use disorders) are doubly stigmatized by their minority status and their SUD. Negative images of Black/ African Americans with SUD contribute to mistreatment, discrimination and harsh punishment instead of treatment and recovery services.”

Sober Baby has had an impact on the community at large, but it has also changed the individual lives of many of its listeners around the world.

The report continues, explaining that, “Even today, some Black/African American community leaders indicate that using words such as ‘opioid epidemic’ or ‘crisis’ may be inflammatory in their communities, putting residents on high alert and triggering fears of incarceration.”

The Sober Baby show is currently on a brief hiatus but will return within the year. You can watch the show on Instagram Live on Fridays at 5 p.m. EST and all previous episodes exist on any major podcast platform.

“My favorite part is when people come on the show and then they get sober after,” sachs said, “when people reach out to me and let me know that they’re sober because of it.”

Succeeding in Your Post-Graduate Career S TORY AN D PHOTO BY HAY LE Y V ELTRI

F o r J a m e s D u n b a r, U F a l u m n i, a n d J a c o b Re e d, U F G r a d u a t e s c h o o l a l u m n i, t r a n s i t i o n i n g t o a new job in dif ferent cities has lef t them hopeful for their future in their companies. Dunbar is a projec t engineer for a multi-trade c o n s t r u c t i o n c o n t r a c t o r c a l l e d Po w e r D e s i g n I n c . ( PD I ) l o c a t e d i n S o u t h Ta m p a . H e h a d t h i s j o b lined up right af ter his f ive years at UF through family connec tions and a prior internship with t h e m . “ PD I s t a r t s o f f a l l t h e i r p r o j e c t e n g i n e e r s in a rotational program where you work a few months in ever y depar tment to learn about all a s p e c t s i n t h e c o m p a ny,” h e s a i d . D u n b a r p l a n s t o s t ay w i t h t h e c o m p a ny i n h o p e s of being promoted to assistant projec t manager a n d e v e n t u a l l y t o p r o j e c t m a n a g e r. A d a p t i n g t o t h i s n e w c i t y w a s n’ t a s h a r d f o r h i m a s h e s a i d, “ T h e r e a r e a l o t o f p e o p l e t h a t l i v e i n Ta m p a t h a t I k n e w f r o m c o l l e g e, a n d i n a d d i t i o n t o t h a t , I h av e m a d e m a ny n e w f r i e n d s w h o h av e h e l p e d m e n e v e r f e e l by my s e l f.” With graduating college and entering the professional world comes a new form of i n d e p e n d e n c e. “ B e i n g a b l e t o h av e my o w n i n c o m e a n d n o t h av e t o r e l y o n a ny b o d y f o r a ny t h i n g i s o n e o f my f av o r i t e t h i n g s a b o u t i t . I c a n c h o o s e w h a t I w a n t t o d o e v e r y d ay,” Dunbar said. J a c o b Re e d h a s a s i m i l a r e x p e r i e n c e w i t h h i s c u r r e n t j o b w i t h A c c e n t u r e a s a d a t a e n g i n e e r. “A c c e n t u r e i s l a r g e l y c o n s i d e r e d t h e n u m b e r o n e I T c o n s u l t i n g c o m p a ny i n t h e w o r l d a n d h a s ov e r

6 0 0, 0 0 0 e m p l oy e e s a c r o s s t h e g l o b e,” h e s a i d . Re e d ’s av e r a g e d ay l o o k s a l i t t l e b i t d i f f e r e n t as he works remotely from his apar tment in D o w n t o w n St . Pe t e r s b u r g . H i s d ay u s u a l l y c o n s i s t s o f w o r k i n g 8 a . m . t o 5 p. m ., m o s t l y i n m e e t i n g s , a n d w i t h t h e c u r r e n t p r o j e c t h e’s w o r k i n g o n, h e h a s b e e n l o g g i n g a r o u n d 6 0 -70 hours a week. A d a p t i n g t o t h i s j o b a f t e r c o l l e g e w a s n’ t a l l t h a t e a s y f o r Re e d a t f i r s t . “ I n my l a s t s e m e s t e r o f c o l l e g e, I w a s g o i n g o u t m o s t d ay s a n d s l e e p i n g i n u n t i l 11 a . m . N o w t h a t I h av e a r e a l j o b t h a t t a ke s u p a l o t o f my t i m e, I h av e l e a r n e d t o b e b e t t e r a t p l a n n i n g o u t my d ay. I h av e m a d e a l o t o f f r i e n d s i n my a r e a a n d t r y t o p l a n d ay s w h e r e we all go out or do something fun about once o r t w i c e a w e e k t o m a i n t a i n a h e a l t hy s o c i a l l i f e. I t ’s i m p o r t a n t t o s u r r o u n d y o u r s e l f w i t h p e o p l e t h a t y o u e n j oy b e i n g a r o u n d, e s p e c i a l l y w h e n y o u w o r k f r o m h o m e,” h e s a i d . B o t h D u n b a r a n d Re e d c a n a g r e e o n t h e y ’v e made successful progress in their adult lives and w i t h h a r d w o r k a n d d e d i c a t i o n, h av e e n d e d u p w i t h j o b s t h a t m a ke t h e m h a p py a n d p l a n t o b e with long-term. “ I t h i n k e v e r y o n e w o n d e r s a b o u t t h e ‘w h a t i f ’s’ i n l i f e, b u t I d o n’ t r e a l l y l i ke t o f o c u s o n t h a t t o o m u c h, a t t h e e n d o f t h e d ay I a m p r o u d o f t h e w o r k I d o a n d a s l o n g a s I l o v e i t a n d f e e l l i ke I ’m g o o d a t i t , t h e n I d o n’ t r e a l l y h av e t o w o r r y a b o u t i m p r e s s i n g a ny o n e b u t my s u p e r i o r s , e v e n a s a n o b j e c t i v e l y n e w e m p l o y e e,” Re e d s a i d .

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12 APRIL 2022

HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS SHAPED THE CLEANLINESS OF THE NEW NORMAL BY SAMANTHA INSELBERG ILLUSTRATION BY LYRIC LIGHTY

On Jan. 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States. We all had questions and worries. After a long and omnipresent hiatus, restaurants began to reopen, businesses resumed operations and universities recommenced in-person learning. According to American businessman Roger McNamee, the new normal is a time of significant possibilities if humans are ready to play by the new rules in due course. Though McNamee populated the phrase in response to the 2008 financial crisis, the new normal has been progressively used to touch on the shifts of human behavior because of the pandemic. In adjusting to the new normal, Alachua County Public Schools outlined safety procedures that aligned with regulations set by the Florida Department of Health. Beyond observing state protocols, the district invested in portable air purifiers that use high-efficiency particulate air filters to deliver uncontaminated air throughout our schools. According to Fellowes Brands, the AERAMax Pro 4 units installed at Alachua County Public Schools remove 99.97% COVID-19 particles and additional airborne pathogens hourly. With the development of the air purifiers, not only can schools supply clean air to their faculty and students, but spaces from facilities and sporting arenas to dining halls and restrooms can provide its workers and visitors with improved air quality. While Alachua County Public Schools were installing air purifiers, the Cade Museum located in Gainesville, Florida teamed up with Violet Defense, a manufacturer of ultra-violet disinfecting solutions to help combat COVID-19. The museum took use of UV light technology, which blocks the reproduction of bacteria and viruses. In doing so, the likelihood of museumgoers contracting COVID-19 is lowered. Since the pandemic, technology has turned to focus on reducing the possibility of contracting infectious diseases through surfaces or air contamination.

Supply Association, the cleaning industry has become data-driven over the last five to seven years. "Over the past few years, we have seen the impact of electrostatic spray systems and other technology such as UV to help deactivate harmful pathogens from surfaces in the built environment,” Insero said. “These devices were niche prior to the pandemic and have become more widespread.” Besides UV devices, the introduction of the Internet of Things IoT has impacted the ability to manage cleaning operations. Defined by the computer technology corporation Oracle, the IoT describes the network of devices embedded with sensors for the purpose of exchanging data with other systems over the internet; these devices range from household entities to industrial instruments. According to Insero, IoT allows for dispensers to monitor restroom conditions, reallocating to essential tasks such as the sanitizing of high touchpoints. Without a doubt, professionals and consumers will continue to have a stronger bias to cleaning for health, Insero said. Cleaning professionals globally should embrace technology and leverage it to become even more successful.” Technological advancements have impacted the cleaning industry in both the public and private spheres. Working with robotics for over five years, Brady Watkins, senior vice president at SoftBank Robotics America, performs alongside a team of experts to implement robotic innovations that offer practical solutions. According to Watkins, machine learning and artificial intelligence have unlocked another specialization of robotics that integrates with human functions. Robots have the ability to deliver more efficient and effective results when we leverage data, human insights and the specific business needs to inform the optimization of their functions, Watkins said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

According to Brant Insero, director of education, training, certification and standards at the International Sanitary

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Whiz is an autonomous vacuum designed by SoftBank Robotics to operate alongside commercial cleaning crews to manage the vacuuming of large areas. Additionally, Whiz collects data from completing a task and uses those learnings to improve its functionality in the future. Amidst labor shortages and growing safety protocols for public spaces, Whiz has been particularly relevant during the pandemic. For elderly care facilities, Whiz's presence enabled staff to reduce their physical presence as much as necessary to keep residents safe and the facility clean, Watkins said. In like manner, as the pandemic brought numerous workers home, one’s ability to clean increased due to having had more time at home. According to Roman Peysakhovich, co-founder of Onedesk Cleaning, the market size for robotic vacuum cleaners is estimated to be valued at $9.41 billion in 2027. One factor influencing the growth is that people, more so now following the pandemic, want to keep their homes free of germs.

Another factor is that homeowners simply don’t want to clean their homes. Peysakhovich has found that as there were stimulus checks given to help relieve final distress, customers had more money to spend on cleaning tools. Though SoftBank’s Whiz and other larger area autonomous vacuums have prospered immensely during the pandemic, Peysakhovich reports that the household segment accounted for the largest cleaning robot market stake.

Layers of Stories

Technology is continuously progressing, guiding the cleaning industry through the new normal. With IoT, homeowners can link appliances such as a garbage disposal or dryer to their mobile devices, allowing for one to oversee their house from nearly anywhere. UV lights have roused the sanitization domain and robots have shown dominance sweeping from dust to dirt. Not only are customary tasks becoming less complicated, but technological advancements are also equipping society with more trust in terms of safeness – a crucial matter for us all.

The 3 4t h St reet Wa l l

BY D IANE HERNAN DE Z PHOTO BY JORGE OROZCO

Paintbrushes coated in house paint covered the 34th Street Wall panel in black. Tasha Hunter’s goal was simple. She wanted to advocate. She wanted to grab people’s at tention. The 28 -year- old Gainesville resident wanted to honor her deceased baby Camilla L andow by bringing awarenes s to children’s cancer.

“The new normal is a time of significant possibilities if humans are ready to play by the new rules in due course.”

Like Hunter, Gainesville resident s use the 34th Street Wall to bulletin their lives. L ayer s of paint coat the out side and hide local s tories. Ever y one to t wo days, each one is covered up with new ar t creating a public collec tion of joy, sadnes s and updates on the side of one of Gainesville’s busies t s treet s. The Depar tment of Transpor tation built the 1,120 foot long wall in 1979 when 34th Street expanded from t wo lanes into a four lane ves sel, according to Univer sit y of Florida his tor y profes sor Steven Noll. Something about the wall tempted resident s to paint despite s tigmas about vandalism in the 70 s and 8 0 s, he said. In the 1990 s, af ter the murder of f ive Univer sit y of Florida s tudent s, the wall became a s taple af ter a panel was painted

to honor the vic tims. Noll believes that this was a turning point for the 34th Street Wall. Today, only t wo panels remain untouched — a panel remembering the 1990 murder s and a panel remembering musician Tom Pet t y. Blake Harrison, a f ine ar tis t in Gainesville, watches over the Tom Pet t y panel. In the 70 s, Harrison came to love Pet t y’s music as a disc jockey because he related to Pet t y’s lyric s. In Oc tober 2017, Pet t y died leaving a hole in Gainesville’s hear t. Harrison felt this; as did an anonymous female painter. The woman painted a hear t felt mural despite having no ar tis tic background, Harrison said. He felt the original ar tis t ’s determination to honor Pet t y and his music af ter his death. Since 2017, Harrison cleans up the mural and repaint s it when dis f igured. Murals on the wall don’t las t long, he said. It ’s a bulletin that ’s always get ting covered up with the newes t event s, but some panels las t forever because they embody and showcase what Gainesville is.

“It ’s my gif t to Gainesville,” Harrison said. Yellow color s and sunf lower s adorned a panel Hunter and her friends painted. To advocate for children like her daughter was her goal. On June 19, 2020, it was clear her daughter had neuroblas toma cancer. A tumor sat in the baby’s s tomach, and there was nothing she could do but subjec t her daughter to chemotherapy and other treatment s such as a spinal tap. A few months later in November, she saw her daughter become paraly zed. L andow died on November 20, 2020, at 18 months af ter tumor s continued to grow in dif ferent par t s of her body. In Oc tober 2021, Hunter wanted to honor her daughter and to bring awarenes s to the other children that had los t their lives with a mural. She s tar ted painting at 1 p.m., even withs tanding rain. By 7 p.m., she was done. The resulting wall mural las ted for jus t one shor t month before being trans formed for another cause.

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i got

In other words, I needed to get that thing the heck out of me, and fortunately, the doctor was able to remove it easily. And I did not miscarry within a week of the procedure, as many women do. Once I knew the baby was safe and where it was supposed to be, I had room for other things in my mind: my plans, my boyfriend’s plans and my education. More than anything else, I want to be a tattoo artist. For a moment, that no longer felt possible. My boyfriend and I had been talking about getting married in a few years; he was saving up for an expensive ring, and I was daydreaming of a luxurious wedding. None of that felt possible, either.

pregnant

on birth control

On top of that, I felt alone. When I looked around at the other girls at my school, none of them appeared to be pregnant. How could this happen to me? Why?

What I didn’t know is that about 50% of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, according to the Guttmacher Institute. As an African American college student, I understand that there are statistics supporting the fact that someone of my race and socioeconomic status is more likely to experience an unwanted pregnancy than some others. However, this has nothing to do with any of that. I had access to birth control. I was on it! As of April 2022, I’m five months pregnant, and I can’t say for sure what my future holds, but I have a really solid support system. Without that, it would be nearly impossible for me to believe my dreams can still become a reality. I will become a successful tattoo artist and a wonderful mother and wife. My wedding day will still be one of the happiest days of my life. And my baby is going to grow up healthy and strong and hopefully able to hold off on giving me grandchildren until I’m older than 40! Sorry, mom.

STORY AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY LYRIC LIGHTY

When I had my first kiss at 16, I didn’t think I’d be pregnant just four years later. When I got on birth control at 17, I certainly didn’t think I’d be pregnant just three years later. But here I am: 20 and pregnant. I had an Intrauterine Device (IUD), a kind of birth control that is placed inside the uterus. It was meant to last five years, and my doctor told me it was the most effective form of reversible birth control on the market. According to Planned Parenthood, less than 1% of women with IUDs get pregnant each year. In fact, my mom even vouched for it, since she had never had any problem with hers. At that point, someone could have mentioned that I come from a long line of extremely fertile women. My great-grandmother was pregnant for the first time at 17 and fell pregnant 15 more times. My grandmother had her first child at 18, and my mom got pregnant with me at 19. “All I have to do is think about getting pregnant, and it’s as good as done,” my mother once told me. I had a few issues with my IUD at first. It gave me severe cramps for the first few months and made my period unpredictable, but when my body finally accepted it, it was fantastic. I never had to remember to take a pill. I didn’t gain any weight, and I wasn’t getting pregnant! A year later, I left for college and met the love of my life on a dating app. He had a harder time trusting any form of contraception than I did. He was always paranoid I would get pregnant, but I assured him my birth control was a miracle worker. And it was for the next two years, but one day, not too long ago, sitting behind a small wooden desk in one of my classes, I started to feel nauseous. I was a little bit nervous because I couldn’t really remember the last time I had been on my period, but that morning, one of my roommates had told me she was exposed to

COVID-19 at a party, so I tried to convince myself it was just the virus. Like I mentioned before, my period was a bit unpredictable due to my IUD, so I usually didn’t panic when it didn’t arrive on time, but this time just felt different. The only way I can describe it is that my body knew. It just knew. I didn’t, but something inside me was telling me that something wasn’t right. Not only did I feel nauseous, but I also had this overwhelming sense of anxiety about what was wrong with me. I let my boyfriend know that I was a bit late but that there was nothing to worry about, more so trying to convince myself that everything was OK than him. I thought about taking a pregnancy test that night just to give myself the peace of mind, but something told me not to do it alone. So two days later, when my boyfriend was around, I took a test. And then another. And another. I couldn’t believe my eyeballs. I later found out that my IUD was out of place. Not a lot but enough. I also discovered how terrifying the first few days of being pregnant with an IUD are. Before anything else, my doctor needed to determine what type of pregnancy I had. If it was intrauterine, meaning the fertilized egg was implanted in the uterus, I was in luck. But if it was ectopic, and the egg had implanted itself in a fallopian tube or other location outside of the uterus, I might have had to undergo surgery due to the serious health risks. Additionally, the doctor needed to know where the IUD was and if it could be removed, which is typically the best option for women in my situation who wish to continue their pregnancy. A National Library of Medicine study of nearly 30,000 women who conceived with an IUD found that the combined risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes was 36.8% in the IUD-removed group and 63.3% in the IUD-retained group.

life doesn’t always go as planned... and that’s ok.

APRIL 2022

hatter filled Skylar’s ears as she walked through the

doors of her best friend’s graduation party. Little did she know, this celebration would last her only 12 minutes. She sat down in the living room and nestled in between her after someone pointed at her and yelled, “Skylar! Can you tell us about college?” She began rambling about the ups and downs of her college experience. The surrounding glares began to feel overwhelming, and suddenly her seat felt much more uncomfortable than before. Her story ended as she had rehearsed, and two minutes later she stood up and rushed out the door, saying goodbye to no one. She felt bad doing it, but all she knew was that she needed to leave or

BY NADINE WIL SON

else she felt like she would explode. At 18 years old, PHOTOS BY HARRY RE AMY

Why You Might Need an Emotional Support Cat

best friend and the arm of the couch. The noise lowered

Skylar was unexpectedly diagnosed with anxiety and severe dissociation. “I think I’ve always had anxiety even as a kid, but as an adult I think I just was more aware of it,” said Skylar Boline, University of Florida student. “I think the reason it got so bad is because I was diagnosed with mono, which kept me inside for six months.” According to the American Psychiatric Association, dissociation is a symptom of anxiety, which causes severe out-of-body experiences. For Boline, this cost her the ability to comfortably hang out with friends and do simple tasks for several months. Dissociative disorders most commonly develop before the age of 20, and nearly half of all American adults exhibit dissociative symptoms throughout some point in their life. In November of 2019, Boline found her source of medication – a fluffy white kitten with green eyes named Aspen.

“Whenever I begin to have anxiety, it’s almost like she can sense it,” Boline said. “She comes over to me and purrs in my lap.” After weeks of researching medications, her mother decided to take a different approach with Boline’s anxiety and purchased her an emotional support cat. They never were fond of cats but after Aspen they instantly became cat people, said Boline’s mother. According to Veterinary Technician, Mason Arnold Lusk, when an individual first obtains an emotional support animal his/her anxiety becomes a lot more controllable. “There is a transition period where your emotional support animal will learn how to act in their support role,” Lusk said. “Once they sense your anxiety, they will touch you, lick you and look you in the eyes as their form of comfort.” Adopting an emotional support animal and emotionally adapting to one another can be beneficial for both parties in many ways. Most animals have the instinct of taking on a role, said Fred Shirmer, Veterinary practitioner. When a cat’s new role is to comfort their owner in times of need, this reduces the cat's anxiety as well. Aspen currently resides with Boline in her college home, serving as an emotional aide for her anxiety and dissociation. “Adopting Aspen has changed my life, and I don’t know what I would do without her.”

APRIL 2022

BY HAYLEY VELTRI PHOTO BY GRACE ROMO

“The feeling of getting body art or coloring your hair is almost…euphoric,” said 21-year-old Harley Kovalick. “Committing to body art is a lot easier for me than hair color, personally, but either way it’s a way to show you’re creative and it’s a great serotonin boost.”

“I don’t dare to prescribe a main reason for a tattoo,” McGonigle said. “I like to gently ask my clients what their motivations are. It’s a myriad of responses from loss, coping mechanisms, self-esteem, or even the essence of all their peers doing it.”

Body art such as piercings, tattoos and hair coloring have ended up becoming a form of self-care and self-esteem booster. Being able to commit to these often permanent physical appearance changes is a whole different story.

Kovalick said, “I don’t have an issue with tattoos or piercings because I did it for myself to show off my artsy side, but when I dyed my hair pink, I was terrified it was going to fade or look bad.”

“Tattoos aren’t for everyone, but it’s surprising how smoothly things go for those that decide that commitment isn’t an issue before coming in the door,” said Megan McGonigle, artist at Oasis Tattoo. “Lately, all the solid artists are booked out for a few months with appointments, I think that wait time helps people come to terms with the nature of what’s involved for getting a tattoo,” she said.

Kovalick would consider doing it again, however. Dying her hair feels like more of an impulse decision to her and it’s a lot easier to fix or get rid of than a tattoo.

Zach Griggs, artist at Wunderland Tattoo, said the main reason behind getting a tattoo is for the memories. “It’s just something to keep a good moment or a sad moment in life alive longer,” he said. The growth this provides is to show where you were at in a certain moment in your life, versus where you’re at now, both physically and mentally. These appearance changes and use of body art are often used as stress relievers or “therapy sessions” to help people feel better.

“It’s a strange phenomenon with how quickly people decide to continue getting tattooed,” McGonigle said. “There is something about the confidence and autonomy that comes with choosing to adorn yourself.” Body art and coloring your hair are a huge commitment to make whether they have a special meaning or not. For the most part, once people start showing off their creativity and self-expression people don’t want to stop. It becomes a part of who that person was and who they want to be. “It’s such a confidence boost and reminder that you can always control your life in whatever ways you choose fit,” McGonigle said. “Don’t take things so seriously because we only have one shot at this. It’s more intense emotions than a haircut, a nice outfit or getting your nails done. And it stays with us until the grave. That’s a feeling worth chasing.”

APRIL 2022

THE CRITICALITY OF BY SAMANTHA INSELBERG PHOTOS BY GR ACE ROMO

Survival of the fittest.

While studying Common Loons, a breed of larger aquatic

Living a slow-paced lifestyle, manatees are not as equipped

birds found in Canada and the northern region of the United

to be quick to adapt to rapid changes in their environment.

Whether you were the type of pupil who persistently raised your hand whenever your

States, Kratter has evaluated that migration of the loons

Urged by Mathis, it is up to humans to try and protect the

inversely correlates with sea surface temperatures. Due to

species as much as possible.

science teacher asked for volunteers, or the type who looked forward to reading classical literature or learning about Ancient Rome, then Charles Darwin’s theory of

the sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico being

natural selection is all too familiar.

warmer in the spring, the loons presently tend to migrate

Coleman Sheehy serves as the collections manager for the

earlier. As global warming indicates future upsurges in the

herpetology collection at the Florida Museum of Natural

Concurring with Darwin, it’s reasonable that animals who are sufficiently acclimated

sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico, such shifts

History. While studying diamondback terrapins for the past

could direct a decline in the population of Common Loons.

five years, Sheehy has observed that a great number of the

to their surroundings will have an advantageous likelihood of surviving. However, countless aspects – from environmental conditions to ways of living – have transformed since Darwin shook humanity with his theory in 1859. Throughout the past century,

species in Cedar Key, Florida, stay near the island. As the collection manager for the mammalogy collection at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Verity Mathis has

“Diamondback terrapins are uniquely an estuarine species,

spearheaded research on manatees. Manatees are aquatic

so they must be adaptable to changing environmental

so-called fittest, survival is unpredictable beyond absolute control.

mammals and have adapted to eat aquatic vegetation.

conditions,” Sheehy said. “It is not surprising that these

Studying mammals for 19 years, Mathis remarks December

species are used to dealing with major disruptive events

Located in Gainesville, Florida, the Florida Museum of Natural History is known as

2020 through 2021 as a pivotal period when Florida saw

such as hurricanes.”

weather patterns have recast, consumptive innovations have dominated eco-friendlier versions and infrastructure projects have prolonged. Survival isn’t just about being the

one of the nation’s largest natural history museums. At the helm of species-based scientific research, the Florida Museum of Natural History has drawn a connection between animal adaptation and changes to our planet. Andrew Kratter, Verity Mathis and Coleman Sheehy are among the 22 collection managers who have witnessed

a histrionic increase in manatee mortalities attributed to starvation. Due to poor water conditions caused by

Likewise, to diamondback terrapins, Sheehy has

advancing seawater acidity, there has been a loss of

documented turtles returning to their tiny island after a

seagrass – the manatee’s main food source.

hurricane passes over them. Noted as a characteristic that Sheehy finds most impressive, he hopes that the adaptability

and recorded unique ways animals have reacted to such shifts in water quality and temperature. Andrew Kratter has been the collections manager of birds at the Florida Museum of Natural History for nearly 25 years. According to Kratter, animals are consistently adapting to their environments and evolving in ways to survive through time. “This process is quite slow, as genetic changes need time to spread through populations,” Kratter said. “If environmental changes occur too quickly, a species may go extinct if it does not have enough time to adapt to the changes."

“Their ability to migrate and live in both freshwater, saltwater, and estuarine waters are essential for their survival, so they can disperse to other areas during the warmer months and find other feeding grounds,” - Verity Mathis

turtles retain will allow them to adapt to the consequences of climate change. The activities observed by the Florida Museum of Natural History are among the many ways that animals can adapt to both natural and unprecedented conditions. As not all animals are the same, neither are their abilities to adapt. As our world will continue to undergo changes, animals can react in only three ways: They can relocate, adapt or die.

APRIL 2022

What Does Climate Change Mean? Climate change involves an accumulation of effects on the earth, from shifts in temperatures and weather patterns to inflated levels of carbon dioxide and additional greenhouse gasses, such as nitrous oxide and methane. What climate change tends to do is worsen existing conditions; thus, dry areas get drier and wet areas get wetter.

The science validating climate change is more substantial and agreed upon than one might suppose. Though, the extent of the subject coupled with misinformation makes it challenging for individuals to unravel fact from fiction. With help from Howard Diamond, senior climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory, we’ve done our finest to deliver our readers with scientific truths.

Unfortunately, the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere today are of a height that hasn’t been attained in 3 million years. At NOAA for more than 40 years, with nearly 23 years working in the climate science field, Diamond detected that the relation between carbon dioxide and advancing temperatures has been conceded by scientists as early as 1820. According to Diamond, our oceans have 93% of the heat amassed from global warming. The warming oceans produce more water vapor, leading to plentifuller amounts of precipitation. “Warmer oceans provide more fuel for the greater intensification of tropical cyclones,” said Diamond, “Warmer air and ocean temperatures also lead to other ecosystem issues, the spread of tropical vectors for disease…” Climate change involves a profusion of environmental effects and global warming is the catalyst. Temperatures are not going to remarkably pivot and get cooler. The human fingerprints showing this are unmistakable and it derives from the burning of fossil fuels, leading to one billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, yearly. How Can Scientists Possibly Declare Climate Change? Combined with the observational data, scientists have created climate models that illustrate what increases in carbon dioxide will do to the earth. As mathematical representations of the interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, land, ice, and the sun, climate models are constructed to calculate trends instead of events. If a climate model can accurately predict trends from a starting point in the past, scientists could anticipate it to forecast what might happen in the future. “Some folks pooh-pooh such climate models by saying that ‘if you can’t even predict the weather 7 days out, how can you predict climate 100 years from now,”’ Diamond said. Well, weather and climate are different, and climate predictions do not need the same level of detail that weather predictions do. Weather describes short-term conditions relating to the atmosphere, whereas climate deals with the weather of a specific area over the long term. In simple terms, the weather is what we get and climate is the weather we expect. How Can We Stop Climate Change?

BY SAMANTHA INSLEBERG

No one procedure would fit in all associated applications. Each individual, business, municipal, state, and country must assess their options in view of their distinctive circumstances.

Presented by Diamond, below are some strategies that anyone can practice to slow down human-caused global warming:

Where possible, we can switch to renewable sources of energy (such as solar and wind energy) to power our homes and buildings, thus emitting far less heat-trapping gasses into the atmosphere.

Where affordable, we can conserve energy by better insulating our homes and buildings, and by replacing old, failing appliances with more energy-efficient models.

Where feasible, we can drive electric vehicles instead of those that burn fossil fuels; or we can use mass transit instead of driving our cars.

Where practicable, we can counterbalance our annual carbon dioxide emissions by investing in commercial services that draw down an equal amount of carbon out of the atmosphere, such as through planting trees or carbon capture and storage techniques.

Where practical, we can support more local businesses that use and promote sustainable, climate-smart practices such as those listed above.

Oct. 19, 2021, Mark Lynas, Benjamin Houlton and Simon Perry published “Greater than 99% consensus on humancaused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.” The environmental research took a randomized set of 3,000 journals, extracted from 88,125 climate-related works published since 2012. With statistical confidence, the researchers confirmed that there is no uncertainty about the urgency of ceasing future warming. “Yes, I get the counterpoints all the time about Galileo being a sole voice arguing his theories against the Church,” Diamond said, “However, that is quite a bit different than the body of scientific evidence and literature today.” The science of climate change is fairly objective. While we cannot eliminate global warming by the end of the day, or over the next decades, we can slow its rate. To put this all into perspective, if all emissions of greenhouse gasses were to stop today, Earth’s temperature would continue to advance for a few decades; this is because the excess heat kept in the deep ocean will be brought back to the surface. After that heat emits out to space, our planet’s temperature would stabilize. Climate change is altering Earth in a form that makes it an additionally complex place to live. The outlay of this shift is real and high for not just humans, but also animals, insects, and plants. Climate change imperils forthcoming generations’ power to live in a fit world.

PHOTOS BY GRACE ROMO

A P R I L 2 0 2 2 24

t was a Saturday night when my mom called me. I was exhausted from studying for final exams, but a call from my mother isn’t something I can ignore. She was crying. She never cries, I thought to myself.

“I hate driving,” my mom said as she navigated the streets of Hialeah, FL. I learned to drive in Miami, where people are extremely aggressive. Don’t ask to merge because you will be ignored. “I hate driving, too,” I replied.

She told me my cousin Edvin got into a car accident. “Oh my god, is he okay?” I asked.

Going back to Gainesville is always a nice change. Drivers here have a certain kind of patience I never saw growing up in Miami. When I first arrived in Gainesville almost four years ago, I thought, nobody honks here. What a pleasant surprise.

“He died, Gracie,” she said in almost a whisper. I think it was because she had no air left in her lungs. He was driving home from a friend’s house when someone drove past a stop sign. He was 21 years old. Solidly built, you would never guess that he was one of the shyest people I’ve ever known. His contagious smile always shined through while talking to me; one of the things I miss the most.

n e h

Left

I used to just be a passenger. With hands out the window, I could fly if I closed my eyes tight enough. I only worried about the song I’d play next. That is no longer the case.

OR YA

i g h t ,

t f Le

When I ride in cars now, my hands clench my legs. Left, then right, then left. I have to stay alert. If the person who’s driving me is texting, I can feel my stomach turn to knots. I want to knock their phone out of their hand. I want to yell, “Don’t you know what could happen if you don’t pay attention! What you could lose?” I hope they never know.

T ,

n e h

ILL

AT IO

Miami is about five hours away from Gainesville, and I spend each hour with my eyes fixed on road lines. My heart races when cars speed past us. But I do it so I can see my family, who I miss so often. MO

When I was younger and the person dropping me off asked which house was mine, I said, “The one with the music playing.” Spanish music used to blast in the patio area where Tía, my mom’s sister, was usually singing along. The house is silent now. My Abuela lost her youngest son to cancer when I was 16. And two years ago, my Tía lost her youngest son in that car accident. Sometimes, their cries sound the same. The kind of cry that only comes when you lose a piece of yourself. The last thing Edvin told his mother was that he’d be home soon. And when he never came, she knew something was wrong. “A mother knows,” she said. When I’m home, if I can work up the courage, I’ll go into his old room. The closet is untouched. His shoes still arranged how he liked them. Beside the door is a vision board he created three months before he passed away. His first goal: help my mom retire by 2020. Left, then right, then left. You need to drive to get to most places in Florida. Our public transportation system isn’t as advanced as the Northeast. We can’t take “the T” like in Boston or the “L line” in New York. So, I get in cars every day. And every day, I dread it.

Yet even in the quaint county that is Alachua, my nails still dig into the bottom of my palms. I’m what most people call a backseat driver. “Don’t forget your turn signal.” “Be careful, he’s going really fast.” Most of my friends know it comes from a place of restlessness. Still, every once in a while, I get a “Grace, I know how to drive.” How do I tell them that he knew how to drive, too, and he’s still gone? How do I say that about 98 Americans die in car accidents every day and we could easily be one of them? I don't know how to, so I just smile and tell them, “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Edvin passed away one month into the COVID-19 lockdown, so I never got to say goodbye. I pray for him and my Tío now. “My mom says you watch over us and Abuela says you’re both with God,” I pray. I hope it’s true. I hope that all the people we’ve lost keep their eyes on us. I hope they see the laughs, the tears and everything in between. People have asked me if grief gets easier. I don’t think it does. I think as time goes by, we get stronger. There will always be a pit in the bottom of my stomach when I remember I’ll never hug him again or see him grow old. The last thing I told him was, “You’re doing great,” with a smile when he told me he had filed his own taxes for the first time. I wish it would’ve been “I love you.” I wish I would’ve hugged him. But all we can do is move forward and live the lives our loved ones would have wanted for us. I’m sure he wouldn’t want me to feel anxious in every car I sit in. I hope one day I’m not anxious anymore either and I can let my arm rest outside the window along with my thoughts. Death hurts a bit extra when the person you lose should have had more time in life. More moments filled with joy. I’m 22 now; the age Edvin would’ve been exactly two months after the crash. I glance left, then right, then left to stay alive long enough to honor my family. As I cross out goals from my own vision board, I feel Edvin’s hand guiding mine, each time. nisi quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae proin. Sit amet purus gravida quis blandit turpis cursus. Ut eu sem integer vitae

APRIL 2022

Pole Dancing Changed So Did Those Who Embraced It

BY D IANE HERNAN DE Z PHOTOS BY GR ACE ROMO

Sydney Hoopaugh moved, only focusing on herself in the mirror. She was sexy. Her body was beautiful. She now loved pole dancing. In May, she entered a wooden floored studio. Behind a black curtain, 10 metallic poles reflected a yellow light above and waited for her to dance for the first time. The 18-year-old University of Florida student is one of 80 pupils at Gainesville’s Happy Kiss Pole Fitness. The business started in a curtained off guest room at a home in 2014. Today, it’s a fitness studio that teaches pole as a way to stay fit and happy while working out back, leg and arm muscles. At Happy Kiss, students take off sandals and sneakers. Socks softly press against the floor as a lavender scent fills the air. CEO and Founder Johanna Monserratte designed the studio’s atmosphere to exude acceptance through these little details. Sitting in the back of her studio, the 35-year-old listened to Doja Cat play in the room next door. Footsteps and voices echoed through the empty back as a class went on. Passion filled Monserratte’s voice as she spoke about the pole community and her life. Her dark curly hair outlined her fair-skinned face, and she smiled behind her mask - her brown eyes contracting - when remembering her time with pole. In 2010, Monserratte studied art at Florida International University. Through critiquing her own art and looking for flaws, her love flickered. The flame that burnt brightly started to dim, and the art she created felt like work. That year, she attended her first pole class in a Miami gym after a friend urged her to tag along. Two instructors entered a rented gym room, popped open retractable poles, taught students to dance and lit a new flame in Monserratte’s heart.

“It was a combination of meditation, stretching and then they took us to dance on the poles,” Monserratte said, moving her hands. “It was a lot more of an immersive experience.” Monserratte expected to create sculptures for a living. Now, she helps students learn pole. When she started pole dancing, the art hid in strip clubs and in the homes of strippers. Students reached out to strippers to learn the art, Monserratte said, because strippers understood pole best. She started to see a surge in interest after social media apps like Instagram gained popularity in 2012 and 2013, she said. Community members exposed users to pole, and people wanted to learn. Pole dancing started in China and India, according to Pole Fitness Studio, a website and studio in Las Vegas. Indian professional wrestlers used poles to train. Performances used agility and precision. Chinese pole featured acrobatics and included climbing, sliding and stretching along the pole. Acrobats needed to hold positions and use strength, according to Pole Fitness Studio. Sensual forms of dancing began in ancient times. Sumerians believed in a goddess of love, who danced erotically. Other influences include belly-dancing, rumba and can-can dances, according to Pole Fitness Studio. Today, Monserratte falls among a group who tribute strippers for their contributions. Since opening her business, Monserratte lost count of the people who walked through. In 2020, she upgraded from a 1,000 square foot studio to her current 3,000 square foot business, located at 501 NW 23rd Ave.

She wanted less people attending one class and more people staying, so she opened a membership program to increase consistency. She saw the number of members increase from about 40 when she started the program to 80 at the end of last year. Consistency was key to creating a safe haven, Monserratte said, because it meant her students continued to learn from what pole offered them. Hoopaugh, one of the students, attends class two to three times a week. The pole dancing community obliterated previous beauty standards she carried. As a color guard member in high school, others told her she was too big to perform certain feats, like dance.

" It was a good thing to see myself in a different way." - Hoopaugh

Through seeing her body accomplish new pole tricks in the mirror, she grew to love herself. Her arms hoist her up and help her hold positions. What seemed impossible before, like a pullup, is now achieved because of her newfound strength. Walking through Turlington Plaza when headed to class, Hoopaugh fixes her posture. She carries herself with pride.

Across her social media accounts, she posts pole highlights and TikTok videos. It’s her new personality. Milo Brooks started to pole dance because he yearned to move during the pandemic. As a stunt man, he trained to perform sword shows at the Medieval Fair. As the pandemic canceled most of his events, Brooks needed an escape after sitting behind a computer all day. The 35-year-old pole dancing student works a desk job at a publishing agency from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Right after, he puts on spandex and prepares to pole dance. As he feels his body become liquid, moving like water with every movement, he forgets about his workday and focuses on the present. At Happy Kiss, his classmates strayed from questions about where he came from and what he did. No one cared. What mattered was that he wanted to dance and that he was there. That’s the type of community the students and instructors fostered in the studio, Brooks said. He learned to accept himself as a transgender man who blossomed late through attending three to five classes a week. Coming into his transition, Brooks rejected femininity. He latched onto trucks, beers and anything that felt ultra-masculine because he wanted to shut off other gender identities. When he pole danced, he liked how certain curves looked. He liked how his body moved, and he noticed how his features allowed him to perform tricks. “Do you know the sensation from when you first wake up in the morning - that very first big breath you take where all your muscles contract and release?” he said. “I feel that when I am just dancing.”

APRIL 2022

THE GOOD KIND

“I tell myself, you have to do whatever you need to do to finish school so you can have more time for yourself, for your baby and everything else in life,” Rodriguez said. After hours upon hours of studying and nursing, she said she has to remind herself that things won’t always feel so challenging. Rodriguez is thankful to have her husband, Virdell Bowles III, to help care for Theo. The two met while working at an airport in Orlando together. They are one of five successful couples from that airport shift.

A recent mother discusses the challenges and rewards of

Her husband, who works from home, cares for her son while she is in class or studying for exams. Rodriguez’s mother helps with Theo as well.

STORY AND PHOTO BY GRACE ROMO

“It takes a village,” said Rodriguez.

MOTHERHOOD

Alessandra Rodriguez, 40, used to exercise at 6 a.m. before work. That changed seven months ago when Rodriguez had her son, Theo. Working from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Einstein school and a clinic turned into her a full-time mother. That wasn’t all that shifted in Rodriguez’s life this year. Rodriguez graduated with honors from the University of Florida in her late 30s. Soon after bringing her son into the world, she was offered acceptance to a UF graduate program for speech pathology. One dream came true alongside another: a baby after years of fertility issues and the continuation of her education. Rodriguez was born in Niterói, Brazil, a place where she worried for her safety. According to Statista, Brazil had one of the highest murder rates in the world in 2021 and Rodriguez didn’t doubt it. She said she doesn’t have to look over her shoulder as often in the United States.

She didn’t come from a family that was able to pursue higher education, but she wants to be that role model for Theo. “I want him to know that it may be hard at times but if my mom did it, I’ll be able to do it. You know?” said Rodriguez. She believes there is a little pathologist in every parent when teaching their children how to express themselves. Rodriguez is not shy to admit that she has shed many tears, some falling while she spoke these very words. But she assured that all she does, she does for Theo. Her life has purpose now, as she spends it being the role model she never had. “Don’t worry,” she said. “They’re the good kind of tears now.”

While Rodriguez is no stranger to adaptation after immigrating to the U.S. from another country, she said graduate school, an internship for the speech program and her newborn son can still be overwhelming. Doing barbell squats at sunrise turned into doing papers. Doing lunges turned into singing to Theo in Portuguese to soothe his clockwork crying. As soon as he hears Rodriguez singing, he knows his mom is coming and calms down. Rodriguez learned in school that babies recognize the mother’s voice from the womb and find comfort in the familiarity.

APRIL 2022

When you’re young, it ’s dif f icult to under s tand your parent s and the complexit y of their relationship. It ’s natural to believe married couples who have children are in love and know ever y thing, but that ’s not always the case. My dad’s gender dysphoria, or feelings of belonging to a dif ferent gender than the one as signed at bir th, exis ted long before her relationship with my mom. She suf fered for year s tr ying to suppres s her feelings. However, her decision to follow through with the urge to change gender s, even though it was later in her life, has shown me a completely new side of her I’ve come to love so much. I’ve never seen Steve, now Stevie, so happy. My parent s were always more like bes t friends than a couple. They got divorced when I was an infant, and my mom took me to South Florida while Stevie s tayed in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her family. She grew up in V irginia with my grandparent s who were ver y traditional midwes tern Chris tians. My grandparent s aimed to ins till their belief s in my dad by taking her to Church ever y Sunday and making her behave manly. S TORY AN D ILLUS TR ATI ON BY LILY GIRTON

L i fe Wit h A Tra nsgender Pa rent

L as t summer, my dad told me she had feelings of gender dysphoria.

However, she never quite met their expec tations and I believe the way she was raised made her feel ver y shameful about her gender dysphoria. Music was a huge pas sion of my dad’s. She learned how to play nearly ever y ins trument and opened a record s tudio in Ohio with some of her friends af ter she became a sound engineer. Throughout her career, she met several close friends who under s tood her in a way her family never did. She toured around the world with bands like Aerosmith and the Afghan Whigs, and she even got to at tend Coachella t wice for work. Her career in music should have been fulf illing and exciting for her. However, she fell into subs tance abuse and depres sion, and los t her job along with her recording s tudio. For a few year s, she worked as a sound engineer for some venues in downtown Cincinnati and took on some small par t-time jobs. I cons tantly ques tioned her about it and asked why she wasn’t touring anymore, but I never got a clear answer until las t summer. She called me and told me about her feelings of gender dysphoria, and I was completely taken by surprise, but it all made sense. She used drugs to suppres s her feelings because she was fear ful of being judged. I could not imagine the pain she mus t have endured ever y day not being able to expres s her self completely. E specially with the added pres sure of having an ex-wife and a child, she was cons tantly in fear of disappointing her loved ones by making her self happy and changing gender s. CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

APRIL 2022

g n i S t ea t a b t ive D iso s o m c r

Seasonal depres sion, also referred to as seasonal

According to Achieve TMS Therapy for Depres sion,

af fec tive disorder (SAD), is a mood disorder

rever se SAD occur s due to exces s sun exposure

charac terized by depres sion that occur s at the

that increases the body’s produc tion of

same time each year. According to the Univer sit y

melatonin – or the hormone in control of your wake

of Utah, about 1 in 20 people experience seasonal

c ycle. This t ype of seasonal depres sion can also

depres sion each year, and four out of f ive are

be triggered by other fac tor s besides the weather,

women. This mood change occur s within 5% of

such as daylight pat terns, schedule changes and

adult s in the U.S. and happens more t ypically in the

vacations. These situations all cause a shif t in an

late fall and early winter.

individual’s internal clock. For example, a per son who has a circadian rhy thm, or the natural and

Lisa Gee, 41, has had an ongoing bat tle with SAD

internal proces s that regulates sleep, adjus ted

since her early 20 s. Ever since, she has found ways

to shor t summer days, will be readjus ted af ter

to prepare her self before each winter.

daylight savings ex tends the summer days even longer. Symptoms of rever se SAD include

“Ever y year around the beginning of December, I

insomnia, weight los s, anxiet y, los s of appetite

spend a lot more time indoor s watching movies,”

and avoiding the outdoor s.

said Lisa Gee. “Because of how cold and drear y BY NA D INE WIL SON

PHOTO BY HARRY RE AM Y

the weather is, I avoid hanging out with my friends

Some ways to combat rever se SAD include

which eventually takes a toll on me.”

spending time in darknes s, s taying in cold temperatures and seeking out profes sional help.

But why does this seasonal mood change occur?

An easy way to spend time in darknes s includes going to the movies or even sit ting for a prolonged

According to the American Psychiatr y A s sociation,

amount of time in a dark room.

SAD has been linked to a biochemical imbalance in the brain prompted by shor ter daylight hour s

“ When I am feeling super depres sed in the winter,

and les s sunlight in winter. A s the seasons change,

I usually take a lot of hot shower s and keep all of

a shif t occur s in an individual’s internal clock or

the light s on,” said Gee. “I also like to bake

rhy thm causing them to feel out of s tep with their

warm foods, and basically do any thing jus t

normal routine. Reduced sunlight can result in your

involving s taying warm. I think it is the bes t way

melatonin levels to become unbalanced and your

to not get depres sed.”

serotonin levels to drop.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 35

Common symptoms of SAD include general discontent, anxiet y, lonelines s, mood swings, sadnes s and los s of interes t in hobbies that someone may normally enjoy. Les s commonly, During the frigid winter months, many f ind themselves closing their cur tains and avoiding out side interac tions. They also might f ind themselves wearing les s makeup, ordering in takeout food and f inding it hard to get out of bed. This worldwide occurrence is much more common than one may

people get seasonal depres sion symptoms in the spring and summer. This opposite form of seasonal depres sion is referred to as “Rever se SAD.”

think, and it is called seasonal depres sion. Luckily, there are many ways to combat this mood change and adjus t to these symptoms.

APRIL 2022

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 32

When it comes to bat tling seasonal depres sion, there are many profes sional and non-profes sional ways

In the pas t 20 year s, the general sentiment toward

I believe the music communit y and her friends

transgender individuals has shif ted signif icantly.

within it has helped her tremendously to work up

A s a societ y, we’ve become more under s tanding

the courage to transition. The music communit y

of how other s choose to expres s themselves and

is centered around creativit y and non-judgmental

allowed people to align with any gender of their

expres sion, and this safe space that has been

choosing – or even no gender at all. Transgender

created helps people like my dad f ind themselves.

seasonal depres sion is the s tronges t.

individuals now have a plat form to expres s

She was at f ir s t fear ful of compromising cer tain

themselves, with celebrities such as Caitlyn

relationships by changing gender s. However, I

A s for profes sional treatment s, there are many prescribed by doc tor s for patient s who are under ver y

Jenner, Hunter Schafer and L averne Cox showing

believe her transition has made her relationship

that transgender people are wor thy of praise and

with her good friends even s tronger.

found to ease these har sh symptoms. According to the American Psychiatric A s sociation, some easy and non-profes sional ways include get ting therapy, socializing, taking a trip, get ting sunlight, prac ticing s tres s management and s ticking to your treatment plan. Prac ticing s tres s management can include yoga, meditation and any other techniques designed to decrease s tres s. Taking a trip to locations that are the opposite of the weather that is depres sing you is always a good idea during the months when your

over whelming symptoms. According to John Hopkins Medicine, these treatment s include light therapy, psychotherapy and antidepres sant s. Light therapy is a form of treatment involving a glowing ar tif icial

respec t. I s trongly believe this shif t in societ y has made my dad feel comfor table enough to pur sue

Although I was initially shocked by my dad’s

her true feelings of identif ying as a woman, and

decision to change gender s, I believe her

she’s even told me that some of these celebrities

braver y to do so s trengthened our relationship

suf fer from SAD have found light therapy benef icial.

were role models for her and made her feel more

signif icantly. She cons tantly tex t s me about

normal about transitioning. Her favorite is Hunter

beaut y advice like what color to dye her hair, and

“I don’t per sonally own an ar tif icial light, but those have been recommended to me many times,” said

Schafer who co -s tar s with Zendaya in the HBO

I’m happy to help. Seeing the immense positive

Gee. “Ins tead, I sit by my favorite lamp on the couch.”

series Euphoria.

shif t in her at titude has completely changed my

A s for t ypes of light therapy, there is red, blue and green. Using a red light is ef fec tive when treating

Throughout my dad’s childhood, she said she would

to under s tand the feelings that transgender people

tr y on her sis ter’s clothes when no one was home

have and what makes them feel the need to change

and forced relationships with women to please her

gender s. However, this experience has taught me

and sun damage. Green light s are benef icial for helping those with migraines.

family. Although my grandmother pas sed away

how to under s tand other s’ feelings even if I have

about 10 year s ago, my dad and grandfather are

never felt the same way. It has also taught me how

Another form of profes sional help for SAD is psychotherapy. A form of psychotherapy, called cognitive

s till ver y close, yet my dad chose to not explain her

impor tant it is to suppor t other s in their journey of

transition to my grandfather because she wouldn’t

self- discover y and self-love.

light inside of a box or sphere. To use these ar tif icial light s, individuals mus t place them nearby for at leas t 30 minutes a day while they do some sor t of hobby. According to Natural Medicines, these light s compensate for the lack of exposure that we get from natural sunlight, and about 70% of people who

wounds, pain and ulcer s. According to Natural Medicines, a shining red therapy light is also linked to improved hair grow th and helping to fade scar s. Blue therapy light s help with SAD, but also heal acne

behavioral therapy, helps individuals f ind healthy ways to cope with SAD. According to the National Ins titute of Mental Health, the purpose of this therapy is to heal SAD symptoms by reducing avoidance behavior, scheduling meaningful ac tivities and identif ying and changing negative behavior s that

per spec tive on transgender individuals. It is hard

completely under s tand it. My dad’s f ir s t s top on her tour is in For t Since our conver sation las t summer, my dad s tar ted

L auderdale, Florida, this summer, and af ter t wo

experiencing depres sion related to SAD have shown benef it from it.

taking hormones and changed her name to Stevie,

year s, I’m f inally going to get to see her as a

but I s till call her my dad. She was also invited

woman. I’m so proud of her for overcoming her

Therefore, if you are experiencing SAD symptoms, looking into these numerous methods will help you

to tour with the Afghan Whigs again s tar ting

fear s, discovering her self and following her pas sion

sur vive these challenging seasons.

this summer, and the band paid to send her to

of music. Her s tor y taught me so much, but I

an LGBTQ+ rehabilitation facilit y in Los Angeles,

believe it could also inspire other s with feelings of

According to Gee, seasonal depres sion is hard to work through, but simple home remedies

California, to help her recover from her addic tion

gender dysphoria to follow their feelings and see

and transition safely so that she’s in good

where it takes them.

make you feel wor se. According to the American Psychiatric A s sociation, about 75% of overall people

can do the trick.

condition to tour.

APRIL 2022

Healthy

LIVING

Can Change Your

LIfe.

BY HAYLEY VELTRI PHOTO BY LYRIC LIGHTY

Hannah Carpenter, a student at the University of Florida, is an example of how changing your unhealthy ways doesn't mean going overboard. “I’ve just been very inconsistent in the past with trying to work out and eat better,” she said. “I was briefly following the Weight Watchers diet with my mom, but since I eat the meals at my sorority house, it was hard to follow it at school.” Once you’re on your own at college it’s hard to keep a steady routine of cooking for yourself.

“Skip the latest trends and don’t take advice from celebrities,” Crawford said. Carpenter has been doing exactly that, she said she makes sure to not overeat or undereat. “I know it’s not healthy to just starve myself, so I try to keep about the same diet, just less sweets and fast food.” Carpenter has been going to the gym just about every day with her roommates and has picked up the hobby of weightlifting and strength training, not just cardio.

Genell Crawford, a personal trainer and nutrition specialist at Ballatore Training in Gainesville, said, “While meal prepping is great, it’s not as helpful if you don’t know what to eat or how to put a meal together.” She added that, “Most importantly, there is no one-size-fits-all. We are all different and respond differently to things, it will take some experimenting to find what works for an individual.”

Ja Kya Romea, the owner of The Fitness Empire and wellness coach since 2012, said, “A knowledgeable fitness instructor is definitely going to be able to help their client reach their goals, but it’s different for every person. I provide a nutrition plan and help with weight training after their consultation and talking about their ideal goal for themselves.” When beginning your workout journey, you want to start off with something you like, and then build up the routine from there, Romea said.

Some additional advice, especially for young adults living on their own, is, “Focus on balanced meals--eat a balanced breakfast (coffee isn’t breakfast), try to eat your meals 3 to 5 hours apart, be sure to eat enough and nourish yourself,” Crawford said.

Carpenter realized she loved weightlifting, and she’s only going to get stronger from here. Ease into your workout journey, set a goal for yourself and hold yourself accountable by being consistent.

She stated the importance of making sure you’re not undereating and/or under-nourishing because that tends to be the default for a lot of people.

With all the conflicting nutrition advice and workout routines, it may be hard to come up with a

plan that works for your body when trying to change your lifestyle. According to Help Guide, eating healthy and working out is not about strict limitations, killing yourself at the gym every day or

depriving yourself of the foods you love. It all starts with creating a goal for yourself and potentially seeking help from professionals to hold you accountable to get you there.

AAPPRRI ILL 22002222 38 36

Gainesville Butterflies A Symbol Of Change

The Florida Museum of Natural His tor y’s But ter f ly exhibit opened in 20 04 and ser ves as a 6,40 0 square foot containment unit to keep non-native species from harming local communities. It also ser ves as a place where people can learn about insec t s through but ter f lies, but ter f ly rainfores t manager Ryan Fes senden said. But ter f lies out side

BY D IANE HERNAN DE Z

the enclosure in Gainesville, however, come

Because the yucca giant-skipper eat s yucca, which

PHOTO BY JORGE OROZCO

face -to -face with habitat los s and other human-

grows in sandy regions, it ’s losing it s home and

induced threat s, he said.

place to lay eggs. A s a result, yucca giant-skipper caterpillar s can’t eat.

On March 4, both Munoz and Eady s tood among 40 to 50 species of but ter f lies. In total, about 1,0 0 0

Monarchs are also in danger due to habitat los s

but ter f lies live in the enclosure. Some f lew close

and global warming, said Jaret Daniels, a curator

to the pavement, and other s f lew high and might y.

at the Univer sit y of Florida’s Mc Guire Center for

O ther s even sat on the arms of visitor s.

Lepidoptera and Biodiver sit y.

“But ter f lies are so cute,” Munoz said, smiling.

The monarch but ter f ly is perhaps one of the mos t well-known insec t s and ser ves as a f lagship for

In Alachua Count y, resident s might come

conser vation, he said. With it s bright yellow and

acros s several t ypes of but ter f lies out side of

black color s and famous migration, it at trac t s

the enclosure. Location mat ter s when chasing

at tention and is easily recognizable.

f lut tering wings. Some but ter f lies, like the monarch, eat plant s like milk weed that grow

However, research over the las t decade has shown

near residential homes. O ther but ter f lies like

an 8 0% decrease in the number of monarchs in the

the dark yucca giant-skipper are found in

eas tern par t of Nor th America. The wes t coas t has

dr yer areas in Gainesville.

seen a 99% decrease, Daniels said.

In shady areas with lot s of trees, resident s

So, how can people help but ter f lies? Plant local

might f ind a zebra swallow tail f lying around

plant s, Daniels said. In doing so, people can

too, Fes senden said.

give but ter f lies the chance to live in the habitat s they’ve previously los t. Local plant s allow

The yucca giant-skipper, Fes senden said, is

but ter f lies to lay eggs and to eat.

in danger currently due to habitat los s in dr y It was midday when Cecilia Munoz and Alex Eady s tood on a wood bridge, overlooking vibrant, f lut tering but ter f lies. Chat ting and laughing, they took in their f ir s t time at the Univer sit y of Florida’s But ter f ly Rainfores t. Under them, a man-made river f lowed, whooshing and splashing as it touched the dir t in the small nature enclosure. The experience was rela xing, Munoz said, because she felt in touch with the Ear th.

Gainesville regions.

He recommends those interes ted contac t their local count y ex tension agent or go to the Ins titute for Agricultural Science at the Univer sit y of Florida. “ We have a long way to go,” Daniels said.

APRIL 2022

Citizens Climate Lobby The Citizens Climate Lobby is a nonprof it, nonpar tisan organization that advocates for the pas sage of the Carbon Fee and Dividend polic y. This polic y works to discourage carbon emis sions and f ight climate change by put ting a price on carbon pollutant s such as fos sil fuels, oil, gas and coal. The fees collec ted will then be dis tributed in equal shares to American households, so those who spend les s on carbon emit ting produc t s will prof it more than those who spend more. “Our economis t s did an analysis which showed that 2 /3 of American households would get more back in the dividend than they would pay because of the increased cos t s as sociated with the carbon fee,” said Gainesville Chapter Leader Bob Tancig. “It ’s a way to encourage conser vation, and it would also drive innovation and creativit y because in our capitalis t economy, we’re always looking for price signals and we would be seeking those prices in produc t s that aren’t using as much fos sil fuels.” Citizens Climate Lobby also educates volunteer s so they can raise awarenes s about climate change in a responsible and informed way. “ We educate the public and we lobby to U.S. public of f icials, the House of Representatives, and U.S. Senator s,” said Tancig. “One of the mos t impor tant things we can do to addres s climate change is to talk to people about it and get them to be advocates.”

Unspoken Treasure Society Unspoken Treasure Societ y is a 501(c)3 nonprof it organization founded by Regina Livings ton in Gainesville, Florida. The organization aims to give a plat form to the mos t marginalized groups in central Florida by providing resources such as peer suppor t, educational information, HIV tes ting, counseling, and other need-based resources. “I s tar ted this organization because I’m a transgender woman of color,” said Founder Regina BY LILY GIRTON PHOTO COURTESY OF @ON LYI NGAI N ESVI LLE

Livings ton. “I’ve been os tracized and put to the side my entire life I know what it feels like when you have nowhere to go, and I felt there wasn’t enough representation for what marginalized communities needed here in Gainesville. I knew if I couldn’t f ind it, I needed to put it in place.”

Ac tivist groups across Alachua Count y mobilize to bring awareness and advocate for change regarding several issues facing the state of Florida. These organizations take unique approaches to solving the issues impor tant to them such as climate change, racial equalit y and social justice. With the help of volunteers and donations, these organizations are working daily to bet ter the Gainesville communit y. In order to shed light on the impor tant work these groups are doing in our communit y, we’ve compiled a shor t list of local ac tivist groups and some of their achievement s.

Since the organization was founded in 2018, the Unspoken Treasure Societ y has opened t wo additional chapter s in Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a transgender home with the help of the organization A V ision 4 Hope in Atlanta. Livings ton is currently working on launching an LGBTQ+ Drop - In Center Initiative in Gainesville to provide vital ser vices within the communit y. She said she encourages people in the communit y to show suppor t by providing donations or volunteering.

APRIL 2022

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 42

Dream Defenders

Climate Reality Projec t

The Gainesville chapter of Dream Defender s work s

The Climate Realit y Projec t is a projec t s tar ted in

alongside the s tate organization to mobilize the

20 06 by former V ice President Al Gore to educate

black and brown youth to advocate and organize

the public on is sues of climate change. Several

around the is sues that af fec t them in their

times each year, Gore provides training ses sions

communities. The organization was founded 10

to large groups of people who have been chosen

year s ago af ter the killing of Trey von Mar tin. That

as communit y leader s. These leader s then go into

spring, young people of color gathered to march

their communities and provide presentations for

from Day tona Beach, Florida, to Sanford, Florida,

various groups such as churches, civic groups,

to advocate for change.

women’s organizations and schools. Gainesville resident and Climate Realit y leader Debra Trione

A recent campaign the organization has been

said the organization’s mos t recent meeting was to

working on is an initiative called Jus tice for Heaven

discus s is sues regarding carbon emis sions at the

and Ava. On Aug. 9, 2021, Erica Thompson, also

Univer sit y of Florida.

Books to Help Cope With Mental Illness S TORY AN D PHOTO BY LILY GIRTON

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illnes s, one in f ive adult s in the United States has lived through a t ype of mental illnes s in 2020. To bet ter under s tand these prevalent conditions, here are a few novels that explore mental health and it s complexities through dif ferent lenses. "The Midnight Librar y" by Mat t Haig

known as Heaven, was forced to give bir th in the Alachua Count y Jail resulting in the death of her

“ We talked about the ef for t s people are making to

baby, Ava. The Gainesville Dream Defender s have

oppose the plan by the UF board of trus tees to put

been circulating petitions and asking for several

in a gas-f ired central energy plant that will power

demands from the Alachua Count y Sherif f, Clovis

the univer sit y for the nex t 50 year s using fos sil

Wat son, surrounding the is sue.

fuels,” said Trione. “ We’re opposed to that. We think they should use renewable energy to

“ We’ve been asking for a formal apology to

the larges t degree absolutely pos sible, so we

the family and to Heaven, public release of the

talked about ways we can get that mes sage

inf irmar y footage regarding the case, as well as

to the board of trus tees.”

ending the Alachua Count y Jail’s contrac t with Corizon Health,” said organizer in training and

The general goal of the Climate Realit y

trans formative jus tice co -lead Conjay Dahn.

Projec t, however, is to raise awarenes s and educate the public.

A s of Februar y 2022, the Alachua Count y Jail has ended it s contrac t with Corizon and acquired a new

“Making people aware of the problem, the

healthcare provider.

parameter s, and the urgenc y is a ver y big s tep in the right direc tion,” said Trione. “ We have to

“I do feel that our campaigns have inf luenced

work to elec trif y ever y thing, and then we have to

them [Alachua Count y Jail] in meeting that

make sure that the elec tricit y we get comes from

demand, so that was a big win for us. O verall,

renewable sources like solar and wind. I would urge

the campaign was meant to bring healing to

people to go through Al Gore’s training if they

Heaven and her family. We’re s till pushing for those

have any interes t at all about climate change.”

demands,” said Dahn.

Reading to a Healthy Mind

This f ic tion novel explores the pos sibilities of life from the per spec tive of the charac ter Nora Seed. When Nora falls into a depres sive episode, she tries to end her life. However, she f inds her self in a mys terious librar y where she can acces s dif ferent ver sions of her life. By living through dif ferent ver sions of her exis tence, she f inds the meaning of life and a new found appreciation for her self. Haig’s novel provides an uplif ting introspec tive view of a per son living with depres sion. You can purchase this novel on Amazon for $13. 29 "Together We Will Go" by J. Michael Strac z ynski Strac z ynski’s realis tic f ic tion novel sheds light on a few mental illnes ses such as depres sion, bipolar disorder and addic tion through each charac ter’s per spec tive. The book s tar t s with the main charac ter, Mark, a failing writer who pos t s an anonymous adver tisement online to gather a group of dishear tened souls for a cros s- countr y road trip. However, at the end of the trip, they’ll go to San Francisco, California, to watch the sun set, then drive of f a clif f. Mark hires a retired army veteran to drive an old tour bus and, s tar ting from Florida, they drive acros s the countr y to pick up pas senger s along the way.

This novel is unique because it ’s writ ten as journal entries from each of the pas senger s and ends with a surprising t wis t. It s thought-provoking but hear t felt per spec tive on dif ferent forms of mental illnes s gives the reader a holis tic under s tanding of how these diseases af fec t dif ferent kinds of people. You can purchase this novel on Amazon for $13.59 "Buy Your self the F*cking Lilies" by Tara Schus ter Buy Your self the F*cking Lilies is somewhat of an autobiography mixed with a self-help book based on the true s tor y of Tara Schus ter’s life, the former vice president of Comedy Central. Schus ter details her rough childhood and how she’s used “reparenting” techniques to help her self out of depres sion and anxiet y. Schus ter’s book is great for young adult s, as she explains how she made major lifes t yle changes upon her graduation from Brown Univer sit y. This inspirational novel includes several trick s on how to love your self, get out of a rut and live a fulf illing life, which can easily be applied for people living with depres sion or anxiet y. You can purchase this novel on Amazon for $15.9 9 If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thought s, please contac t the suicide prevention hotline at 1- 8 0 0 -273 - 8255.

APRIL 2022

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS

CONSTRUCTIVE SELF HARM STORY AND ILLUSTRATION BY LYRIC LIGHTY

All that to say, I cannot accept that any reputable piercer would ever tell you it’s OK to pierce yourself at home, especially if you haven’t been properly trained. An untrained person trying to pierce his or herself could use the wrong needle or contaminated tools, pierce too quickly, too slowly or use too much force. These are just a few things that could go wrong, leading to rejection or migration of the jewelry, keloids, piercing bumps or infection, which can be severe if not properly addressed. Most people don’t have access to a sterile location within their homes or have the proper resources to perform the piercing correctly. Advocating for at-home piercings because they are more “constructive,” is encouraging people – kids and teens – on TikTok to cope with their mental health problems at the expense of their physical health.

ikTok has taught us a lot. From how to wear leather pants 16 different ways, to how to make the perfect oatmeal, to how to fix a broken toilet with ramen noodles, there are infinite things to learn from experts, amateurs and clout-chasers on the app. But not all of the information these TikTok gurus have to offer is accurate or helpful; in fact, some of it is downright detrimental to society. Scrolling through YouTube one fateful evening, I stumbled upon a new video from one of my favorite commentary YouTubers, Roly. In this particular video, he reacts to another video posted on TikTok in which a woman demonstrates what she calls a “harm-reduction technique.” In the world of public health, these techniques are typically meant to combat the negative effects of drug use, according to Harm Reduction International. However, this TikTok user presents the idea in regards to self-harm.

In the YouTube video, Roly watches as she addresses people who are suffering with mental health issues and are using any method of self harm to cope with it. These methods include cutting, burning and head-banging or hitting among other things.

However, according to the TikTok user, there are more “constructive” ways of harming yourself, one of which is to give yourself a piercing. She starts the video with a disclaimer: “I’m not a professional piercer… I do not recommend doing this just for sh–– and giggles or because you don’t feel like going to a piercer. I recommend doing this if you struggle with self injury and are looking to do something constructive instead of destructive.” The rest of the video gives a step-by-step demonstration of how to give yourself a piercing at home. My main takeaway from this video is that it’s OK to harm yourself as long as you’re doing it in a “constructive” way, meaning it has some useful purpose. In my opinion, not only is this terrible advice from a psychological standpoint, but it can also be detrimental to one’s physical health. I do not think there is anything wrong with piercing for the simple sake of having piercings. This has been a cultural and artistic method of self-expression for centuries. In fact, I have been getting pierced by professionals for years now and currently have a total of 20 piercings.

Even worse, I think this video and the idea of piercing oneself without proper training justifies self harm, which is destructive by definition. It sugarcoats the idea of inflicting pain upon yourself in a way that makes people comfortable enough to continue doing it. I see this as a huge problem because there is a major, unmet need for proper mental health treatment in the United States. According to the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 1 to 4% of adults, approximately 15% of teens and 17 to 35% of college students in the U.S. engage in self-harm. On top of that, since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Mental Health America has reported that over 178,000 people are suffering from frequent suicidal ideations. 37% of these people also reported having thoughts of suicide more than half or nearly every day in September 2020. I have struggled with my mental health since I was a sophomore in high school. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had considerable childhood trauma that had never been dealt with, and it was manifesting itself in anxiety and subsequent depressive episodes that would last for weeks or months at a time. Now a senior in college, I have learned that there are ways to cope with mental anguish that do nothing more than put a bandage on the problem. Self-harm is one of those bandage “solutions.”

Not only did cutting myself not address my past trauma or relieve my anxiety, it also led to more anxiety, guilt and shame. I was constantly worried that someone would find out what I was doing, that they would see the evidence on my arms. If they knew, I would have to explain to them that I was depressed, even though, as the child of an upper-middle-class family with a roof over my head and food on my table, I thought I wasn’t allowed to be. I felt ashamed because I knew that what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn’t stop myself. It became a habit and an addiction. It gave me a temporary connectedness to my pain, like I could put my finger on exactly where the problem was for a moment. I’m sure many people who cut themselves feel this way. You might be depressed, angry, rejected, desperate, lonely or all of those things, but no matter what kind of pain you are dealing with, self harm – cutting, burning, piercing, whatever – is never the answer. A study from Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology shows self-harm and childhood trauma like physical or sexual abuse or neglect. Sugarcoating self-harm to look like a cute, little piercing does not heal that pain. Self-injury has also been linked to other mental health issues including borderline personality disorder, suicidality, anxiety and depression, according to the Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. A new nose ring is not a solution to these problems; it’s merely an act of self-medicating, and it puts your overall mental health at risk. As someone who has tried both self-harm and traditional medication to deal with my anxiety and depression, I can confidently say that no one thing is going to “fix” me. It has taken me years to get where I am today, and it will take me years to fully heal from some of the things I have been through. I have found that exercise, journaling and regular therapy help keep my head above the water. By no means have those things cured my anxiety, but those are true examples of constructive coping mechanisms. There is no such thing as constructive self-harm.

APRIL 2022

147 horses and a dream STORY AND PHOTO BY GRACE ROMO

ver 40 years ago, Peter and Mary Gregory visited a farm in England where horses were given a two week break from their work in London. Peaceful and surrounded by greenery, the couple fed the horses carrots and promised themselves that if they had enough money one day, they would make a safe space for horses, too. They did. In 1983, the couple bought 140 acres in Alachua County. With that space, they created The Retirement Home for Horses at Mill Creek Farm. Peter passed away in March 2014, but Mary and their son Paul keep the dream alive with help from the community. “They are at their end,“ said Mary, “But they have the best food, the best veterinary care, grooming, everything. We want them to be happy.” Skarlett Stuchell, 48, has volunteered at the farm since January. She said that as of today, the farm has 345 acres, 147 horses, three donkeys and one zorse. She said she misses the farm when she’s away. Stallions (male horses) and mares (female), travel from across the country, from Kentucky to Tampa, and many arrive at the farm in bad shape. “Some horses come to us in horrible conditions” said Gregory, “Hungry, neglected, abandoned. If you saw them, you would think they wouldn’t survive. But after a few days with us, it’s like they’re a new horse.” When Cinderella, a 36-year-old mare, was rescued by the South Florida SPCA, she was starving and emaciated. With the care she’s been provided over the last nine years at Mill Creek Farm, she now appears youthful, even at her older age.

Volunteers keep the farm running and one of them, Nora Denslow, 76, said that many of the horses on the land are retired police and military horses. “The horses we accept are 20 years or older except for police and military horses,” said Denslow, “We take them at any age because they often retire because of injuries or arthritis.” One of those horses is Valor. She is a 20-yearold mare who has been on the farm for about three years. After working for the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Mounted Unit for 10 years, Valor retired. Large and beautiful, she is known to be very friendly. Some horses, like Gus and Mikey, are packaged deals. The two stallions were found wandering together by Clay County Animal Services after their owner abandoned them. “They are always together,” said Denslow. The farm is a not for profit organization and although the yearly cost of running the farm is approximately $350,000, the farm runs solely on donations from the community. “I planted every live oak tree on the property in 1984 and they were only about two feet long,” said Mary, “Now, they stand tall and give our horses shade.” Huddled together under those oak trees, horses from different places and conditions can live out their last days in comfort, a feeling some had never known before.

APRIL 2022

Movie Theaters

Are they a thing of the past or future? STORY AND PHOTOS BY GRACE ROMO

The year is 2006. You’re standing in one of three lines at the movie theater concession waiting to buy your $6 ticket to see “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.” Life is good.

According to NPR, the first motion picture theater in Pittsburgh was opened in June 1905. Harry Davis and John P. Harris put 96 seats into a storeroom and transformed it into a visual experience. A nickel, the cost of entrance, and odeon, the Greek word for theater, combined to make the venue’s name: The Nickelodeon. For the last century, movie theaters have been a staple of entertainment. Wars have been fought and people went to the movies. Rights have been taken and given and people celebrated by going to the theater. People of color are now able to sit in the same theater seats as their white acquaintances. The internet was born. All the while, movies played. Today, the price of movie tickets ranges from $10 to $18 and the long lines that previously greeted movie-goers are rarely found. Shawn Robbins, chief analyst for the industry magazine, Boxoffice Pro, told AARP the increased price of movie tickets is the result of a combination of economic factors. These factors include movie theater staff wages, premises upkeep and new amenities while splitting the revenue with studios. The raised prices and popular movies from franchises like Marvel allow theaters to stay afloat but attendance is still declining, according to Business Insider. With streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max and more, people have the option to watch things from the comfort of their home. That’s why Breanna Griffith, a 25-year-old Gainesville entrepreneur, doesn’t go to the movies anymore. Griffith said she likes to watch films in her own private space. She can pause the movie and use the bathroom without having to worry about missing things like she would in a theater. “If I go to the movies, it’s only because a friend asked me to,” she said. “I just don’t enjoy going to them like I used to.” She said these feelings were around before 2020 and that the coronavirus didn’t affect her thoughts towards theaters, but this isn’t the case for everyone. The pandemic caused many theaters to close because of the lack of social distancing. From the first week of March 2020 to the third week, the five biggest theater chains lost more than half of their market value, according to Variety. Cineworld, Regal Cinemas owner, fell nearly 76% while Cinemark dropped 68%. Cineplex was sold to Cineworld after it lost 72% and Marcus Corp. lost 58%. Meanwhile, streaming services like Netflix continue releasing its own movies and shows. The same year, theater monopolies net worth shrank in half while two Netflix originals were nominated for Oscars: “The Marriage Story” and “Irishman.” Since the summer of 2020, movie theaters have struggled. The chief executive officer of Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas, Luis Olloqui, said 2022 likely won’t be the year theaters return to pre-pandemic box-office numbers.

Less money coming in from ticket purchases means less movies. This year, 70 movies are currently set to play in theaters while 873 were shown in 2018. A 92% decrease across the span of four years. Not all hope is lost. The film “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was released December, 2021, and made $260 million at U.S. Box Office, the second biggest domestic debut ever, according to Business Insider. Tracy Palmer, 57, said she would be devastated if movie theaters shut down. Palmer remembers being a teenager and envying her friends who got to go to the movies. She has loved theaters her entire life. “It doesn’t even have to be the iMax or in 3D. Just being there and feeling the sound in your gut, you know,” said Palmer. “The sear shaking from the noise, that’s why I go.” Palmer described the movie theater as a place where she can escape for two hours and worry about nothing else. “It’s like a fantasy world,” she said. “And that would be lost if movie theaters stopped operating.” Unlike indoor movie theaters, which have lost a large chunk of their customers, drive-in movies tripled the amount of weekend box office dollars they brought in from 2019 to 2021, according to CNN. They offer a safer movie experience in terms of contact, as the death rate for COVID-19 has spiked since November 2021, according to the New York Times coronavirus tracker. Being able to self-isolate is an option people like to have. During the height of the pandemic, Sydney Lee, 22, was one of the people who found comfort in drive-in movies. “Drive-ins are personal and safe. I enjoy having that security,” they said. Now that they are fully vaccinated and boosted, they have slowly resumed seating in the reclining seats. Movie theaters are like concerts. Viewers experience something for the first time with people around them, feeling the exact same way while laughing, gasping and crying in unison. Over the last hundred years, strangers have experienced this together. Through the century, movies have been no stranger to change. Black and white became red, green and everything in between. Sound became an option and now it can surround a group of people from every angle. Movies are now simultaneously released in theaters and streaming services to keep up with the changing times. Animation is so advanced that fabricated characters look real. The end of the coronavirus outbreak is still nowhere in sight and Netflix and Hulu originals continue to excel. Movie theater companies and organizations are preparing for the worst, but many are holding onto the hope that people like Tracy, who view movie theaters as a world to escape to, will keep them alive.

APRIL 2022

Marriage Secrets from your neighbors BY SAMANTHA INSELBERG PHOTO BY GR ACE ROMO

While the divorce rate in America is not nearly as high as it is as sumed to be, it's s till an exis tence. And though s tatis tic s measured by s tate, generation and/or race feed a big pic ture look at the divorce rate, ever y couple’s situation is dif ferent. Whether a couple is tr ying to work through their concerns or is entering the divorce proces s, each par tner is challenged with newnes s and change.

It's a deep -rooted, discouraging belief that 50% of American marriages end in divorce. At that rate, why tr y? For tunately, that so - called rate is merely a my th that dates to the 1970 s. According to Glen Elder Jr. and Eliza Pavalko, contributor s of the American Journal of Sociology, the rate was based on the trend of 2% of marriages divorcing each year. The predic tion indicated that the likelihood of divorce could get to 50% if that trend were to resume; it never did. In 2019, the National V ital Statis tic s Sys tem repor ted that the marriage rate was 6.1 per 1,0 0 0 people and the divorce rate was 2.7 per 1,0 0 0 people. If one were to divide the yearly divorce rate by the yearly marriage rate, the result would show that 44.3% of marriages end in divorce. However, that calculation is imprac tical as the same people get ting married in 2019 aren't neces sarily the couples calling quit s in 2019. Nonetheles s, the narrative of divorce is a trick y one. The realit y is, where there is marriage, there is divorce. Yarelis Serrano is a licensed mental health counselor who prac tices out of Gainesville, Florida, as well as through Headway, a vir tual healthcare provider. Serrano has found that the is sues couples face are of ten not about a problem it self, but about how they talk about it.

“My husband and I have been married for almost 10 years. We believe saying what you need to say is one of the best things you can do in a marriage/relationship... It helps set expec tations with each other, builds trust and clears the air so no one feels weird or guilty for days.” - Lora Field

“People believe they only need couples therapy when the relationship is in crisis, but the crisis could have been avoided if they would have looked for help a lot sooner,” Serrano said. “Therapy prepares you to deal with such crises, as it builds the foundation to communicate when relevant is sues occur.” In addition to hearing from exper t s, here are sugges tions shared by married couples acros s Alachua Count y.

“I have been ma rried for 16 yea rs. My husba nd a nd I have su r vived being broke college kids, losing ou r pa rent s, buying houses, being diagnosed wit h a ra re disease, raising ou r now 5.5 -yea r- old

“If communication concerns are not addres sed it can of ten lead to divorce, even when both individuals love each other because resentment and pain build up.” When couples prac tice appropriate communication skills, they can addres s any thing and ever y thing, such as money-related problems, parenting and so on. According to Serrano, it all comes down to the fac t that the couple is not able to communicate a resolution. That said, cultivating s trong communication skills through therapy reinforces the succes s of a marriage.

“This will be our 19t h year of marriage in June. We communicate what we t hink, feel, need, prefer and mostly just encourage and suppor t whatever t he ot her wants to do… Healt hy boundaries, closeness and distance are all impor tant pieces of t he puzzle for it to last and go by quickly wit h fun and love as t he main veins t hat keep it all flowing toget her.” - Nicole Nicolaisen Stern

a nd more… It becomes most ly about commu nicat ion I t hink a nd listening to you r pa r t ner's needs a nd concerns a nd

“Be willing to laugh at yourself, speak out and be ready to listen. House responsibilities must be shared, regardless of gender roles. You must speak about finances and find a common ground where both are happy with the decisions.” - Denise Smallwood

knowing t hat no one is per fec t , so it is OK to admit you're wrong a nd ma ke necessa r y improvement s.” - Rae Ha ncock

APRIL 2022

The

Bittersweet

Reality of Aging Parents BY LYRIC LIGHTY

PHOTO BY GRACE ROMO

eulah and Vernon Locke were a hardworking couple. A devoted wife, Beulah spent her days sewing and working in a

school cafeteria, while her husband fought fires and restored antique cars. “She was the best teammate to Dad, and they worked side by side for years,” said Charma Kern, the couple’s daughter. Vernon suffered from prostate cancer for over 20 years. In his younger years, he was carefree, fun and bore a striking resemblance to Elvis or the Fonz, according to Kern. But as his hair whitened and his health began to deteriorate, he was no longer able to do many of the things he once loved like restore old cars and work outside in the yard. Beulah suffers from debilitating hearing loss, making it difficult to do simple tasks like take calls, schedule appointments and talk to doctors. She is otherwise healthy, Kern said. In 2016, the pair moved into a quaint, in-law suite attached to Kern’s Ocala home so she could take care of them in their old age. Although Kern was more than happy to care for her elderly

Her relationship with her mother introduced its own challenges. The two don’t have much in common and often struggle to communicate. Her mother also fears she is a burden on the family and does not like to accept help. But Kern cherishes her role as a caretaker, noting that her new place in her mother’s life has been a blessing for both of them. Another obstacle Kern has faced has been watching her parents succumb to their old age. Vernon’s health took a steep decline just a year after the move, compelling Kern to retire from her job as a church administrator and stay home with her father full-time. Although Kern was able to quit her job, many family caretakers in the United States do not have this luxury. According to the American Association of Retired Persons, as of 2020, about 48 million Americans are caregivers for someone over the age of 18. Nearly 19% of these individuals are unpaid, 24% are caring for more than one person and 61% of family caregivers are also working. In 2017, at the age of 80, Vernon lost his battle with

“I thought Mom would die soon after of a broken heart,” Kern said. “They were married for 64 years.” But at 86 years old, Beulah is alive and well, still living in the small apartment she once shared with her husband. Both Kern and her mother have overcome many great challenges that come with the passing of time. Also living in Kern’s home, her husband, daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren have helped them achieve this. Where the absence of a beloved husband and father left a haunting silence, Kern’s family and friends have brought a noisy companionship. While this has been the case for one family, the 48 million caregivers in the United States are each having their own unique experiences, based on the individual needs of those under their care. Chris Bullock, owner of Hopewell In-Home Senior Care in Gainesville, said it is important to understand those needs and be qualified to meet them. It is critical to know how to properly use equipment like blood pressure cuffs, wheelchairs and other devices, he said.

“Someone who hasn’t been provided that training– They could potentially make mistakes like not locking the brakes properly on a wheelchair,” Bullock explained. However, each person has different needs and requires different levels of attention. Someone who is bleeding profusely or requires round-the-clock care from doctors or nurses for any reason needs to be in a facility with the resources to treat that patient, Bullock said. He also acknowledged that in-home care has its role, too. Some patients, like Kern’s mother, may not need such hands-on care and are more comfortable in their own homes for the time being. Kern said when her mother requires a level of care she cannot provide, she will hire a professional, in-home caregiver using Beulah’s long-term care insurance policy. While this journey has not been easy for Kern and her family, caring for her parents in their old age has been a rewarding experience worth every sacrifice. The children that are growing up in her household have brought comfort and joy to her mother when she has needed it most.

cancer in his daughter’s home.

parents, this major change came with a plethora of new responsibilities.

APRIL 2022

Cinderella died, only leaving a pair of keys behind.

GAINESVILLE DRIFT

Those keys now dangle from the 2018 K ia Rio hatchback ’s mirror, Prince Charming. Cinderella, unlike Prince Charming, wore a bright pink wrap. Freihofer failed to under s tand why people cus tomized car s before. Af ter Cinderella, the car became something she had put $12,0 0 0 and many months into. “How you treat a car is how it ’s going to treat you back,” Freihofer said. “So, if you take care of it and do what you’re supposed to do, it ’s going to las t you this wonder ful long time.” Growing up, 21-year- old Greg Lynch witnes sed his s tepfather work on an old Pontiac. In 2022, Lynch races a 1984 white Chevrolet Monte Carlos at Gainesville Raceway. When he bought the car, he intended to cruise around town. His friends soon encouraged him to race it ins tead. Inside, the car holds a turbo — a modif ication that increases the car’s per formance.

BY D IANE HERNAN DE Z PHOTO BY JORGE OROZCO

Cinderella’s tale didn’t end with wedding bells dinging and a chorus singing. It ac tually ended with a disorienting “bam,” a f lipped Prius and a week of tear s. Weekly car shows, cruising fun and a Facebook group with over 1, 50 0 member s, Gainesville Car Friends, showcase the impor tance of car s to a ver y niche, yet large, communit y in Alachua Count y. To join, member s at tend shows and interac t on the social media page. At the event, conver sation and pulsing EDM music enliven the car fanatic s. The roaring engines ser ve as the cherr y on top. With no real boundaries or dues to be paid, this group cus tomizes, f ixes and expres ses themselves through their vehicles. Anyone can join. Member Grace Freihofer los t a par t of her self in 2021 when Cinderella, a 20 05 pink Hyundai Tuscan, crumpled up af ter slamming into a Prius. What exis ted as an ex tension of her per sonalit y was scrapped. The tear s on her bed witnes sed the pain.

Lynch owns another 1984 white Monte Carlos and three 1984 Ford F150 pickup trucks too.

When choosing his car s, Lynch picks older, vintage looks because it catches the eye. It also reminds him of movies he watched growing up. In 2017, Andrew Power s hurried to buy a 20 03 silver Toyota Camr y. He lowered the car, put in an audio sys tem and smiled when the bot tom scraped the f loor. When it died, Power s drove on I -75. The car’s engine fried af ter he f loored it. What sounded like a car before sounded like fork s in a blender, Power s said. He saw “metal salsa” inside. At the age of 2, Power s’ father A sh took him to work on an engine. Power s learned to place engine par t s in their correc t places and began to dismantle the pieces. In 2022, the 21-year- old continued the tradition. He worked at his dad’s car shop, and he’s spent $20,0 0 0 in 5 year s. In that period, he’s owned three dif ferent car s, all audio boos ted to show the world his love for Ariana Grande and Nir vana. “It ’s def initely something special for each per son,” Power s said. “It ’s their car… it ’s par t of them.”

APRIL 2022

MOVING ON STORY AND GR APHIC BY HAYLE Y VELTRI

When in a romantic relationship, you s tar t to become ver y comfor table sharing ever y detail with your par tner, being able to rely on them and talk to them ever y day. Once a breakup occur s, who can you share things with? Learning how to be independent and work on your self all while s till coping may not be an easy task.

K ira Pratico, Univer sit y of Florida graduate s tudent, jus t got out of an almos t three -year relationship. Pratico and her par tner s tar ted dating during her freshman year of college and his sophomore year. They went through ever y thing together including Greek-life func tions, late night s s tudying, doing long dis tance while Pratico s tudied abroad and her par tner graduating. They had a future planned together, only for it to suddenly come to an end. “The reason we broke up is that I s tar ted to lose touch of my per sonal emotions and feelings. I wasn’t unhappy, but I was too comfor table in my life for a 21-year- old at the time,” Pratico said. “I was going through the motions of my life without feeling the way I thought I should.” The transition from talking to her par tner ever y day to not at all was described as s trange by Pratico. No one is ever prepared for that transition and you don’t realize how much you communicate with someone until you don’t anymore, she said. In their relationship, her par tner would always reach out to her f ir s t, which is when she realized she is not the greates t communicator with her friends. This was due to her not contac ting them f ir s t or making an ef for t towards plans.

align right along with her decision to break up with her par tner. Therapy was a big s tep for Pratico with jus t being able to intentionally talk to someone about her thought s and what ’s going on in her head once a week. “O ther than therapy, I have spent a lot of time on my own s tepping back and as ses sing all of the relationships in my life and working to be more authentic and present in those,” she said. Pratico has always considered her self to be an independent per son, even while in the relationship. “I am ver y adamant about not compromising things that I want to do for myself jus t because I’m in a relationship,” Pratico said. This is why she spent f ive months in Spain away from her par tner before the breakup to pur sue her dreams of s tudying abroad. She said she owes this mindset to her parent s who have always modeled the idea that you need to hold onto your self as an individual when you enter any kind of relationship. During the pos t breakup, she said she has become more in tune with this idea. Pratico had no regret s or resentment toward her pas t relationship and her decision to be single and on her own. “I have learned that it ’s okay to be self ish at this point in my life,” she said.

“Being in a relationship is like being in a cons tant conver sation with someone in a way and then it s tops, and you have to adjus t and f igure out how to continue that conver sation with jus t your self,” she said.

Pratico is now 22 and want s to unforgivably be her self. The way she is doing this is by inves ting her time and energy into friendships that challenge her to be the bes t ver sion of her self. She discovered that she s till loves companionship and spending time with someone, but it doesn’t have to be with a signif icant other.

Therapy was the f ir s t s tep Pratico took to begin her journey of working on her self. She said going to therapy was an idea she has always wanted to pur sue, but the timing happened to

In the beginning of her pas t relationship with her par tner, she felt like she was always clear about her emotions, what she was thinking and her opinions.

Pratico describes her self as an opinionated per son, in doing so with expres sing her opinions and feelings she was able to have ver y meaningful and emotional discus sions in her relationship. These discus sions took some building to get to this point, but she said they were well wor th it. Moving for ward with future relationships, she want s to approach them in that same mindset. “ Vulnerabilit y and authenticit y are what lay the framework for a s trong relationship for me, so I want to carr y that onto future relationships,” Pratico said. Pratico believes she has grown in a lot of ways since the breakup. She learned that she doesn’t have to share ever y aspec t of her life with other people and that some moment s are healthy to hold bet ween jus t her self. “ When you’re in a relationship you are subconsciously making decisions with the other per son in mind and I can see that clearly now,” she said. “I have grown in my under s tanding that there is no per fec t timeline or deadline that exis t s in my life when it comes to being in a relationship.” Pratico believes in keeping an open mind and hear t to experiencing life in general, and then the right relationship will come naturally. No one has complete control over the timeline of one’s life, and sometimes it takes a wake -up call to realize this and that ever y thing doesn’t have to go according to a plan. When her relationship ended, she was happy, but didn’t feel completely her self. She doesn’t think all of these feeling s temmed from her relationship, so she thinks there’s s till a lot of work that needs to be done on her self to regain that sense she said. “I feel closer to myself now and really proud for having the per sonal awarenes s to know I needed to make a change and then making the decision that I did,” she said. “From that per spec tive, I gues s you could say I’m happier now.”

FROM A BREAKUP APRIL 2022

According to the Florida Depar tment of L aw Enforcement, Alachua Count y’s population in 2019 s tood at 269,043 with a total crime arres t of 8, 345 individuals. Because of these s tatis tic s, you can f ind plent y of helpful resources online and in per son, especially at UF. On campus, many s tudent s at tend night clas ses that can ex tend until as late as 10 p.m., leaving them a dark and eerie walk home. According to UF Transpor tation and Parking Ser vices, s tudent s have the option to take the Student Night time Auxiliar y Patrol (SNAP), which is a free, nightly, campus safet y transpor tation ser vice for s tudent s. This ser vice operates seven night s a week from 6:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. and can be acces sed through the free app called TapRide, available on both Apple and Android devices.

BY NADINE WIL SON PHOTOS BY HARRY RE AMY

STUDENT SafeTY At Night

While walking home from night clas ses on Univer sit y of Florida’s (UF ) campus, it is common you will f ind s tudent s carr ying some sor t of weapon for protec tion. This might be due to Alachua Count y’s increasing crime rate, as well as the frequent UF aler t s that s tudent s receive on their mobile devices. Get ting caught in the unfor tunate event of being at tacked, haras sed or raped can leave detrimental ef fec t s on ones’ mental health. How can one adapt af ter such a gruesome experience?

While s tudent s are carr ying weapons in case of potential at tacks, other s are dealing with individuals who s talk them for weeks at a time. 21-year- old Hannah Quesada is currently adapting to her recent s talking incident that took place at her old apar tment complex near her college campus. While arriving home one evening with her roommate, Quesada and her roommate discovered that t wo adult men were waiting out side of their front door af ter viewing their live Ring camera footage. Ins tead of entering the building, they s tayed in their vehicle with the door s locked and lis tened to the live recording. Af ter several minutes of watching the men wait in front of the door way, Quesada heard them discus sing their plan to wait until they arrive. Watching them exit the building, the men made their way through the complex’s parking lot and into their home, located jus t acros s the s treet. Ever since then, Quesada has witnes sed multiple occurrences of the t wo men walking nearby the complex and pacing the front door. Due to the paranoia that she experienced, she found her self carr ying pepper spray, a knife and a taser wherever she went, as well as lack of sleep. “It was probably one of the mos t intense experiences that I have faced in college so far,” said Quesada. “I am so thank ful to f inally be out of that environment because who knows what could have happened.”

Sergeant Chad Holway claims there are other numerous ways to seek help, including the Gator safe app, blue phones, the UF police depar tment ’s helpline and the UFPD’s email addres s that accept s repor t s by name or anonymously.

Af ter discus sing the situation with the complex, she was thank fully able to end her lease and move to a gated communit y where she has felt safer ever since. Unfor tunately, the trauma that she endured of feeling unsafe in her pas t home has resulted in a declined adaptation to the new one, along with paranoia of gaining a new s talker. According to Psychiatric Times, get ting at tacked, haras sed or s talked can leave an af teref fec t of anxiet y and helples snes s.

“If you are being at tacked and there is nothing you can do, scream for help,” said Holway. “ We encourage all of our s tudent s that if they see something, then say something.”

“Even at my new apar tment, I s till f ind it dif f icult to sleep and I refuse to go any where alone at night, but there are ways that I am adjus ting, and I think eventually I will be jus t f ine.”

Another popular resource that s tudent s have acces s to are UF’s discounted prices for late night Ly f t rides. According to UF’s Transpor tation and Parking Ser vices, the transpor tation app, Ly f t, of fer s current UF s tudent s discounted Ly f t rides bet ween the hour s of 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays. To get the discount, rides mus t begin and end within a cer tain ser vice area on campus, which can be located under UF Safe Rides by Ly f t on UF’s website.

When a frightening situation occur s where a s tranger makes someone feel unsafe, it is common to gain trus t is sues and lack of general comfor t. There are numerous methods to heal and adapt, but the main key is to allow your feelings to occur and proces s what happened. According to Psychiatric Times, these s teps include balancing your thought s, focusing on what you have control over, turning to other s for suppor t and moving from the feeling of fear to awarenes s. Once you consider these s teps and proces s the under s tanding that not ever y thing is dangerous, adaptation to your pas t will occur.

Regardles s of these helpful resources, s tudent s s till face the potential of being at tacked and lacking knowledge that could save their wellbeing. According to The Alligator, in Sep. 2021, a s tudent walking near an apar tment building close to campus was sexually at tacked, while another nearby was kidnapped jus t about three and a half hour s later. These event s occur ver y commonly and cause an af teref fec t on young individuals who are s till learning how to build themselves a future. Many resident s have also created their own techniques for when a situation like this occur s.

Despite Quesada’s dangerous experience, other s as well are facing physically harmful at tacks, leaving an even more ex tended period of adaption. But how does one adapt to being physically harmed? A major method is to realize that the realit y of traumatic s tres s does not happen overnight, and to seek profes sional help. At UF, there are multiple resources that provide counseling, psychology and psychiatric help for s tudent s who are enrolled within the college. This of fered help can speed up the adaptation proces s, as well as make the s tudent feel more comfor table within their college environment.

Mor yah Wells, an 18 -year- old UF s tudent, says that she always carries pepper spray while walking through campus. “If I am ever walking at night, especially if it ’s around UF, I always make sure I have my pepper spray before leaving the house,” said Wells. “Luckily, nothing has ever happened to me yet but if it does, I know that I will have protec tion.”

According to Sergeant Holway, the Univer sit y of Florida Police Depar tment (UFPD) works ver y closely with the Counseling and Wellnes s Center as well as UF’s U Mat ter We Care. “ We encourage you to use these free and conf idential resources to help you in any way that they can,” said Holway. The adjus tment to being at tacked, s talked or haras sed can be a dif f icult proces s, but with the help or resources, carr ying a weapon and traveling with a peer, one can overcome this bat tle.

APRIL 2022

people who created petitions for change to tr y and help this cause,” said Ainsley Whigham, UF s tudent. “My petition ended up get ting 22,655 signatures.” In Dec. 2021, a memorial ceremony was held for Maggie on Univer sit y Avenue where at tendees dres sed in green, Maggie’s favorite color, and

City Changes Following University Avenue Deaths

walked along the avenue holding candles. The ceremony also took place at both Tiger t Hall and Kappa Kappa Gamma, Maggie’s sororit y, where organizer s and friends gave speeches honoring Maggie. “I at tended the memorial ceremony that was hos ted by my sororit y, and during this ceremony “Ever y time I walk around campus, I make sure to s tay as safe as pos sible,” said Chandler. “There are always a ton of s tudent s cros sing Univer sit y, so I feel that the updated turning signal was neces sar y to helping s tudent s walk safely.” Along with these additions, s tudent s have found ways to help fur ther protec t the communit y through created organizations and Facebook groups. In Jan. 2021, the Gainesville Citizens for Ac tive Transpor tation (GCAT ) and the Gator s

BY NADINE WIL SON PHOTOS BY HARRY RE AMY

On Dec. 9 th, 2020, the cit y of Gainesville mourned the death of Maggie Pa x ton, an 18 -year- old Univer sit y of Florida s tudent killed in a hit-and-run at Wes t Univer sit y Avenue and Lemerand Drive. Jus t f ive weeks later, 19-year- old Sophia L amber t, also a UF s tudent, tragically pas sed af ter being s truck by a vehicle while s tanding at the inter sec tion of Nor thwes t 17th Street and the 170 0 block of Wes t Univer sit y Avenue. Following these deaths, the cit y and communit y of Gainesville have taken s teps to adjus t and make the cit y a safer place. According to the Florida Depar tment of Transpor tation (FDOT ), multiple adjus tment s have been made to Univer sit y Avenue following these deaths. To slow down traf f ic, the depar tment has adjus ted the signal timing bet ween Nor thwes t 15th Street and 22nd s treet, increasing the frequenc y within the time that driver s mus t s top. Along with this adjus tment, there have been added speed tables, raised cros swalks, signals and lighting upgrades to the light s on Univer sit y Avenue, including an updated turning signal

Agains t Student Pedes trian Deaths Facebook group joined together to create the “Not one More” plan. The group developed numerous solutions to make Univer sit y Avenue safer for s tudent pedes trians, including lowering the speed limit on the avenue,

her spoke nothing but amazing things about her,” said Whigham. In Jan. 2022, UF Hillel, the Jewish organization that Sophia L amber t was a member of, hos ted a “Do Good” brunch in honor of L amber t ’s pas sing. Around 40 0 s tudent s at tended the brunch, all coming together to remember and honor Sophia. While individuals continue to heal, UF of fer s multiple counseling resources for regis tered UF s tudent s including U Mat ter, We Care. This resource provides helpful coordination and suppor t for s tudent s in dis tres s while allowing s tudent s to reach out 7 days a week.

shif ting road owner ship and making Univer sit y Avenue a complete s treet, or a s treet that consider s pedes trians, driver s and biker s. Following this commencement, multiple adjus tment s have been made including the FDOT handing the responsibilit y of a s tretch of Wes t Univer sit y Avenue over to the cit y of Gainesville. This decision was made af ter a meeting with Gainesville cit y and council of f icials and the FDOT

which informs driver s on when to turn based on cros sing s tudent pedes trians.

representative in Feb. 2021.

18 -year- old UF s tudent, Savannah Chandler, feels that the upgraded turning signal has helped her feel

“I think that the precautions that have been set in

safe while cros sing Univer sit y Avenue.

ever yone close to her and anyone who ever met

place have done a really excellent job of protec ting other driver s as well as those on sidewalks, which makes me ver y happy because I was one of the t wo

APRIL 2022

@orangeandbluemag