April 3: A Newsletter From Vice President for Student Affairs D'Andra Mull

Dear Students and Families, 

Moving into April, I hope you have found your stride with online course work and are utilizing ways to effectively study in your new environments.

This week, state of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a “safer at home” executive order that addresses essential services and activities for the state of Florida, which went into effect today. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, UF has implemented a variety of measures to be responsive to the changing realities associated with the pandemic, and our community has already been operating in a manner consistent with this executive order as well as local county guidance since March 24.

As you travel to and from Gainesville to move out of the residence halls, please be safe and know our Housing staff are here to support you through the process and answer any questions. 

Lastly at the beginning of the week, UF President Kent Fuchs shared a message to the UF community regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and his priorities for UF right now. If you have not already, I encourage you to watch it.

Also, I invite you to view important updates listed below.

Please know that Student Affairs staff and the Gator community are thinking of you and here to support you where you are. If you need anything, please contact us at umatter@ufl.edu.

Be safe, and as always, Go Gators!

Dr. D’Andra Mull
Vice President for Student Affairs

UPDATES:

Hitchcock Field & Fork Pantry
The campus food pantry is still open but changing the way we serve students to promote safety and social distancing. Students can now place an order online to specify what items you will need for any given week. You will then specify the day and time of pick-up from the Pantry. If ordering online isn’t your style, students can stop by the pantry during hours of operation to pick up a pre-made bag. Each bag contains similar items and an array of items for a balanced diet. For more information, please visit the Pantry website.

Take the Census

Although many facets of life continue to be impacted by COVID-19, the 2020 Census has begun. The University of Florida wants to ensure all UF students are counted, and asks that you go online now to https://2020census.gov/ to complete a Census form. 

In most cases, UF students should be counted at their school residence, not at their parents’ or family’s address, even if they temporarily are elsewhere due to the COVID-19 pandemic.​ 

• UF students who live off-campus in Gainesville/Alachua County for more than six months out of the year should fill out the Census with their Gainesville/Alachua County address.
• UF students who live on-campus in residence halls should fill out the Census with their campus address.
• UF students who are living at their parents’ or families’ home while attending UF should be counted at their parents’ or families’ home address.
• International students living in Florida and attending UF should be counted at the on- or off-campus residence where they live and sleep most of the time.​

Completing the short Census questionnaire is easier than ever at https://2020census.gov/. Take a moment—less than 10 minutes!—to be counted, and help bring important federal resources to the UF community over the next decade. 

For more information on the US Census at UF, visit the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

Protecting against “Zoom Bombing”

Keeping UF Zoom class sessions, student organization meetings and other virtual events private and secure is a top priority. There are settings in Zoom you can enable to ensure that only attendees of your virtual sessions are authorized to do so. To prevent “Zoom Bombing” and uninvited guests from attending, UFIT has created a resource list for students.

Student Legal Services

Staffed by four experienced attorneys, Student Legal Services (SLS) provides a wide range of legal services to UF students and student organizations. Funded by Student Government, the staff are here to help you with lease reviews, property damage, and more.

Visit https://studentlegalservices.ufl.edu/ to connect with the team.

Virtual Student Union 

Keeping you connected to the Gator Student Experience is important. The Virtual Student Union was designed as a living website for students and will be updated on a regular basis.

This new digital hub is here to make life a bit easier by collecting all of your need-to-know resources, programs, services, and even student events in one place. 

In the midst of quarantine, you can engage with campus by:

• Participating in a virtual fitness classwith Recsports
• Attending the virtual wellness coaching programwith GatorWell
• Getting your resume edited virtually with the Career Connections Center
• Finding community through student organizations, leadership development and student events.