5A - Identifying Local Opportunities

Opportunity #1:
UF Resident Assistant Charged with Battery Released as 'High-Achieving' Student Leader

• https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-resident-assistant-charged-with-battery-released-as-high-achieving/article_22218abc-d2bc-11e9-b6c8-576af09c51cc.html
•  A 'high-achieving' male student gets away with repeatedly bothering a female student, requesting sexual favors and following her to her dorm room, despite the many refusals he is getting from her. Because he is in an honor society, is teacher's assistant and claims to have "a lot of student work to do", Milaski's charges of battery and sexual assault were dropped.
• The problem in this story has to do with the lack of listening skills in some people as well as the problem we have in court today. The assault took place. The victim was affected. And the perpetrator was released and dropped of his charges all because of his status. This is not the way things should be handled in court, this just spirals and leads to even bigger problems. Would it be okay for a person of power and in high social and economic status to have committed assault and battery only because of the position he is in and the things he has previously accomplished? 
• I think the court system and the way things are decided in today's age (and for some time) is the problem. I think the system fails to recognize the real issues in these cases and overlook the victim's story because the perpetrator "has done so well" in his life prior to the incident. Anyone can be high-achieving and still have ill-intentions, and commit crimes. That is where our focus needs to be, not brushing off incidents like these and prevent change from happening.

Opportunity #2:

UF Student Reported She was Raped in Jennings Hall

• https://www.alligator.org/news/uf-student-reported-she-was-raped-in-jennings-hall-upd/article_03622c12-d41f-11e9-9b96-9fab926c54c5.html
• A female student reported she was raped in Jennings Hall and did not want to disclose any more information because the perpetrator was someone she was in a personal relationship with.
• I think the problem in this story has to do with lack of detailed reporting. The more information the UFPD has of the incident and of the perpetrator, the easier the process would be. Not knowing what happened in this incident, I do know a lot of cases like these usually happen among people who know each other and do habe relations with one another, but because of that, it is easy to not know how to handle the situation, the victim may be making excuses for the perpetrator because they knew each other well or may be afraid of what may come of it.
• The first problem lies within preventing these things from actually happening. The UFPD advises students to not walk alone at night or remain in lit and public places where others are around, but even then, this occurred in a dormitory, where supervision is not always in place and difficult to keep. The other problem is how the incident is handled.

Opportunity #3:

Students and Activists Make Posters Ahead of Blue Light Protest on Fraternity Row

• https://www.alligator.org/news/students-and-activists-make-posters-ahead-of-blue-light-protest/article_6c882e9c-d4e9-11e9-a8c9-83afa3c1f69c.html
• This protest is led due to the lack of blue light emergency lights on Fraternity Row. Students and activists make posters to use in a protest to move these blue lights to Fraternity Row.
• The problem seems to be the lack of blue emergency lights on Fraternity Row. These lights were created for emergency purposes and are scattered all around campus but seem to be missing here. The absence of these lights leave students that live or hang around fraternity row often, feel unsafe, especially considering the number of reported assaults on campus lately and the saddened culture of fraternities. Although I think blue lights are important in making us feel safe and like we can be helped in case of anything, I think the real problem lies with the actual incidents and the fact that we should be afraid and constantly on edge that something might happen to us, in the first place.
• Fraternity Row has the problem however, UF and the city have to deal with this problem.

Opportunity #4:

City Commission Repeals Plastic Ban, Raises GRU Rates

• https://www.alligator.org/news/city-commission-repeals-plastic-ban-raises-gru-rates/article_cbb76770-d5e3-11e9-9a5e-2fe54a48b3cd.html
• The city commission is overturning its efforts on banning Styrofoam and single use plastic bags while GRU bills go up. In this story, a woman explains how even having her AC off for a month, her GRU bill still reached $250 living in a studio apartment.
• The problem lies within the city commission and its efforts to repeal the plastic ban but also the insane GRU rates. 
• The residents of Gainesville are the ones who feel the burdens of this problem because GRU rates are so high, it becomes difficult to make ends meet to pay them.

Opportunity #5:

No More Mango: Trump Administration to Propose Ban on E-Cigarette Flavors

• https://www.alligator.org/news/no-more-mango-trump-administration-to-propose-ban-of-e/article_0a061ac4-d4dd-11e9-bcd5-87d4340fabf1.html
• Underage vaping is the reason for this ban. After a sixth person died in the U.S Wednesday from vaping, Trump proposes to ban popular vaping flavors like mango, strawberry and mint.
• The problem lies within the vaping community, which has lost six people to vape-related issues. Although there is controversy on whether this ban will be doing the people more harm than good. 
• The vapers have the problem. An employee of a Vape company stated that this ban would only drive the users to smoke cigarettes again which would be just as harmful.