Identifying Local Opportunities (ENT3003 Assignment 5A)

1. More than 630,000 pounds of trash collected in Alachua County
• Keep Alachua County Beautiful (KACB), a local non-profit organization, showed the exact numbers of their cleanup efforts in the community from 2018-2019. The annual report detailed a staggering 630,809 pounds of litter and debris collected, with 431,551 pounds of that total amount being recycled. There were more than 5,500 volunteers involved this year, a 20% increase from the year prior.
• The problem presented in this story is the amount of trash there is to be collected, on Alachua County streets alone. Granted, it is stated that some of that debris came from Hurricane Irma, contributing to such a high number, however, that still doesn't take away from the fact that there is a problem with keeping the streets clean nonetheless.
• Seeing how the volunteers are acting as the problem-solvers in this situation, cleaning up the streets for community service hours and experience among other things, the people who have the problem is Alachua County as a whole. Everyone from the high ranking officials to the residents of the county must do better to keep their areas clean.
2. UF resident assistant charged with battery released as 'high-achieving' student leader
• On August 28th, current UF senior, Ian Milaski, was arrested and accused of trying to sexually harass and assault a female student. Only 9 days later, however, he was released on both battery and false imprisonment charges after a motion to reduce his original bond was granted. Ian will be required to wear an ankle monitor, and can only be in the county unless authorized for "necessary" UF events and court dates.
• The problem presented in this story is how Ian was released as being described as a "high-achieving student leader" by the judge based off of his status as a senior teaching assistant with over 200 community service hours, as well as being a member of 2 honors societies. Furthermore, unless he gets dismissed from all of his commitments at the university, other than his classes of course, he will surely still have ample opportunities to be on campus and maybe even bump into the victim.
• Most importantly, the victim has the problem of potentially running into Ian again because of his 'slap on the wrist' and so she wouldn't have peace of mind and will instead be paranoid and unable to focus on her studies and other important things in her life. Despite the release, Ian will also have a problem with how he will be perceived from now on, both personally and professionally. Lastly, other potential rape victims in general will have even more of a problem coming forward after seeing how the verdict played out in this case.
3. Former Gators football player Neiron Ball dies at 27
• After being being in a medically induced coma since last September by a brain aneurysm that paralyzed all four of his limbs, Neiron Ball has passed away earlier this week. Ball's complications with brain illness dates back to his time at UF. He had to have surgery and miss the entire football season in 2011 for arteriovenous malformation (AVM).
• Despite it being obvious that he died from a brain injury, the problem is that the doctors failed to recognize exactly what happened or even the cause of his injuries, forcing them to rule his cause of death as unclear.
• Neiron's family and friends now have the problem of losing a father/brother/teammate without really even being at peace and understanding the process of the injury. Also, other victims of brain injuries, and their families, still have a problem of seemingly not getting any closer to understanding their own injuries and finding the necessary remedies for them.
4. UF Preview prices broke state law. How are they fixing it?
• Preview is a mandatory orientation that UF requires its incoming freshman or transfer students to attend. Despite the state's statutes limiting public universities to not charge more than $35 for orientation fees, the University of Florida has reportedly charged more than that cap for the past decade. After UF opened an internal investigation to resolve this issue back in March, they included a new $35 option for the summer sessions. However, this cheaper option was apparently not brought to the attention to all of the incoming students, as they were unaware of a cheaper option. Additionally, those who did go through the site thoroughly and found the link to the cheaper option, clicked on it only for it to show them a 'Page Not Found' error.
• The problem is that UF has not been held accountable for overcharging their incoming students in orientation costs. They should be required to reimburse at least the orientation fees for every student they overcharged dating back to the last decade or so.
• This is a problem for the incoming students and their parents who have to pay more out of their pockets for an orientation fee that should only be $35. Those prices can add up very quickly when you add the lodging and travel fees, not to mention the same price for every family member that wants to attend and rightfully make sure their prospective student is in good hands. This may also be a problem for the university, as I'm sure lawsuits will surely be coming now that it has been made aware that there should have been a cap on those charges.
5. Blood left at a church crime scene led to arrest of Gainesville man months later, deputies say
• With drops of his blood being left on the scene, Kyle Blundell was arrested and charged for breaking into The Greater New Hope Baptist Church. The pastor's office door was damaged, along with a broken glass window and an interior door said to be "broken in half." Kyle has previous misdemeanor charges of larceny and damage to property.
• The problem is that it took months to arrest this man, since the burglary happened back in June. The fact that he was arrested in Gainesville means he wasn't on the run and therefore not pursued well enough. Having someone's blood, and them already being in the system, should have led to an arrest much sooner. Another problem that could have contributed to the arrest was the church failing to have cameras in or around the building.
• This is a problem for the residents first and foremost, as they witness the slow response time of the authorities even with personal evidence left on the scene. The problem also persists for the authorities as they realize they have to do better in their response times. Furthermore, both the suspect and the victim face problems in this situation, with Blundell facing felony charges and the church seemingly having to improve their security measures to prevent this from happening again.