We Inform. You Decide. www.alligator.org VOLUME 115 ISSUE 12 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida Is it enough? UF students ask for more mental health services CWC FUNDING CRITICISMS Escoto said program directors HAVE COMPOUNDED began researching virtual counsel- AS STUDENTS EXPRESS ing alternatives, setting up technol- DISSATISFACTION WITH THE ogy and training staff to jumpstart STATE OF THE PROGRAM their tele-mental health services as soon as UF moved online. The cen- By Jack Prator ter dipped into its savings to pay Alligator Staff Writer for these unforeseen expenses. He expects that remote CWC Editor’s note: This article services are not just a temporary contains a reference to suicidal solution to the challenges of the thoughts. Students were granted pandemic. anonymity for reasons including “We’re kind of surprised that it the sensitivity of the topic and actually works,” Escoto said. “It’s their ongoing interactions with been pretty effective in a lot of the CWC. spaces. And so, there is no reason for us to go back to fully providing “U Matter, We Care” is the slo- everything in person.” gan adopted by UF’s Counseling He said he expects to see a hy- & Wellness Center. It feels like an brid option developed, when it is empty gesture to some students safe to do so in light of the pan- who have sought out the center’s demic, with the hope it provides services. better flexibility for students. Students’ experiences vary, After being on the waitlist for with accounts of long wait times, two weeks, a 19-year-old UF astro- feelings of being brushed off by physics sophomore said she saw CWC counselors and a lack of a CWC counselor for four months transparency about UF’s available before the pandemic hit. It was resources. The CWC director said then that she said her counselor he feels confident in the center’s informed her that she couldn’t see ability to help students but cites its her anymore because campus was tight budget as an obstacle — one shutting down due to increasing that it is starting to overcome. COVID-19 cases. Despite a larger staff than previ- “I never heard from her again,” ous semesters, shorter wait times the student said. and an increase in state funding, She didn’t receive any follow- CWC appointment numbers have ups from the CWC about tele- plateaued after a previously steady health visits, which would begin increase since 2016. two and a half weeks after UF The center has conducted 8,891 moved online. Lauren Witte // Alligator Staff appointments through the week She visited the CWC during Jerome, 5, leans on the coin pusher at the Oaks Mall Carnival on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020. of Nov. 2 this semester. This is a Fall 2019. She said she had severe decrease of 1% from the same 10- depression and anxiety symptoms week mark in Fall 2019, CWC di- that kept her in bed some days. rector Ernesto Escoto said. One day, when she had enough This number of student clients energy, she said she met with a ‘Be bold’: UF student becomes fell from 5,800 students in the CWC counselor for a crisis walk- 2018-19 year to 5,395 in 2019-20, in, where students in need of im- youngest elected official in Florida a decrease of 7%. mediate support can speak with a The COVID-19 pandemic creat- counselor. NATE DOUGLAS WON 49% counter. The three didn’t talk but in- ange County’s Soil and Water Con- ed more obstacles for the center in “She basically told me ‘Your OF THE VOTE AFTER LEADING stead communicated through stares. servation District 1 supervisor-elect the Spring. The CWC closed after problems seem way too complex A CAMPAIGN FOCUSED He followed the invisible line from on Nov. 3, defeating two opponents their forlorn gazes to a stack of un- — both of whom are more than a classes went online in early March. for us to address here,’” the stu- ON SUSTAINABILITY AND Students said they either continued dent said. opened envelopes in front of them. decade his senior. Douglas won CLIMATE CHANGE The tower of paper grew every 49% of the vote after leading a cam- counseling virtually, were dropped She said she was given the local day, taunting the family of five sup- paign focused on sustainability and and national suicide hotline num- by their counselor or gave up on By Avery Lotz ported by the salaries of a teacher climate change. getting one. bers and sent on her way. Alligator Contributing Writer and a landscaper. The memories of He’s the youngest person in Or- The center trained employees She later discovered the In- the Great Recession still motivate ange County history to hold the po- in tele-mental health counseling, structor Notification process, Nate Douglas shuffled into his the now 19-year-old Douglas. They sition and the youngest elected of- which relies on connecting virtu- which informs professors about family’s kitchen one morning in even pushed him to run — and win ficial in Florida. Douglas will serve a ally with patients, and reopened in an emergency a student is dealing 2008 to greet his mother and father. — elected office. four-year-term as a nonpartisan su- a new online format in two and a with; medical withdrawal, which The then-8-year-old said he Douglas, an Orlando native and found them standing still at the UF economics junior, became Or- SEE PAGE 3 half weeks. SEE CWC, PAGE 6 NATE DOUGLAS, Navigating dating apps in the time of COVID-19 SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUTTrask for Heisman UF freshmen are figuring out how to safely meet friends and FOLLOW US ONLINE FOR UPDATES StoryGators description quarterback finishKyle Trask with iscomma, doing pg# his due potential partners through a screen— and a mask, pg. 2 diligence to bring the Heisman Trophy back to UF and become the fourth Florida quarterback with a bronze UF community comes together to support Honduras statue of himself in front of The Swamp, pg. 10 The Central American country was hit by Hurricane Eta last @FloridaAlligator @TheAlligator_ @TheAlligator @alligator_newspaper week. UF students fundraised to support those affected, pg. 4 2 ALLIGATOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 New Today’sto Gainesville, Weather UF freshmen seek VOLUME 115 ISSUE 12 ISSN 0889-2423 Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications Inc., of Gainesville, Florida love and friendship through dating apps NEWSROOM: 352-376-4458 • Fax: 352-376-4467 STUDENTS GO ON DATES AND MAKE Bumble saw a 70% increase in video calls during the Editor-In-Chief Kyle Wood, [email protected] week of May 1 compared to the week of March 13, when NEW CONNECTIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER April Rubin, [email protected] a U.S. state of emergency was called, a Bumble spokesper- Engagement Managing Editor DURING THE PANDEMIC son wrote in an email. The company believes the video Digital Managing Editor Rosmery Izaguirre, [email protected] call feature allows potential partners to spend time getting News Managing Editor Dana Cassidy, [email protected] to know each other through video “pre-dates.” By Alan Halaly Metro Editor Grethel Aguila, [email protected] Alligator Staff Writer They also released new virtual dating tools to help spark conversations between potential partners by al- University Editor Ariana Aspuru, [email protected] UF freshmen have found themselves craving intimacy lowing them to choose what type of dates they’re most Enterprise Editor Kaelyn Cassidy, [email protected] amid physical distancing requirements — but swiping comfortable with: virtual, socially distanced or socially dis- Sports Editor River Wells, [email protected] tanced with a mask, a Bumble spokesperson wrote. right on potential partners has taken on an entirely new Assistant Sports Editor Christian Ortega, [email protected] Nehemie Cyriaque, an 18-year-old UF environmental meaning in 2020. Online Sports Editor Payton Titus, [email protected] Medical professionals agree that online dating is a safe science freshman, agrees that face masks and social dis- alternative during the pandemic to meeting new people at tancing can be restrictive. While she doesn’t wear a mask El Caimán Editor Guamay Martell, [email protected] bars, restaurants and other gathering places. With chang- on every date, she makes sure to ask how her dates follow Editorial Board Zachariah Chou, Kyle Wood, April Rubin, ing COVID-19 guidelines, the number of smartphone dat- health guidelines before agreeing to meet up with them. Rosmery Izaguirre, Dana Cassidy Cyriaque said the pandemic has made potential part- ing app users in the U.S. will reach 26.6 million in 2020 Multimedia Editor Emily Felts, [email protected] — an 18.4% increase from last year. ners more accessible and responsive as students crave hu- Before going on a date, Lilly Swanson, an 18-year- man connection. the Avenue Editor Chloe Greenberg, [email protected] old UF anthropology freshman, said she tries to gauge She said she goes on dates with people who she may Digital Avenue Editor Valentina Botero, [email protected] whether a potential partner has been following COVID-19 not have been interested in otherwise because of how guidelines by bringing it up in initial conversation over hard it is to make meaningful connections during the pan- Opinions Editor Zachariah Chou, [email protected] text messages. demic. Copy Desk Chief Renee Hancock, [email protected] Once she deems they have been cautious, she prefers “I would straight up call it desperate, yeah,” she quipped.