VOLUME 106 ISSUE 145 WWW.ALLIGATOR.ORG TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012

Today

We Inform. You Decide.Not officially associated with the University of Florida Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

Darts and LaurelsThe Editorial Board takes a look back on the semester, pg 6. Students give harpsichord concert MondayRead the story online at alligator.org

Florida plays South Florida in a midweek

game tonight at 7 at McKethan

Stadium. See story, page 13.

74/51 Previewing the NFL Draft:Chris Rainey is likely to be the fi rst UF player selected, but overall, the Gators are not expected to be well represented, pg. 20.

FORECAST 2OPINIONS 6CLASSIFIEDS 9

CROSSWORD 11SPORTS 13

Brett Le Blanc / Alligator Staff

Karen Edmonds leads a pack of cyclists past the Fine Arts building Monday afternoon. The Florida Cycling club organized the 12-mile ride to honor Edmonds’ late brother, Michael Edmonds.

IN MEMORIAM

TYLER JETTAlligator Staff Writer

Turlington Plaza onto Stadium Road.A pack of cyclists funneled out on Mon-

day evening, and one of the smallest women in the group led the stream.

It was Karen Edmonds on her Trek 5200, the one her brother, Michael, found online back in 2007.

The bike, and the ride, was a link to the brother she lost. On April 16, Michael took his own life, falling from Ben Hill Griffi n Stadium.

“It was our thing together,” she said. “It’s hard because I know we’ll never get to ride together. I just wish I could ride with him again.”

He called her the day she got the bike — can you meet me in fi ve minutes? — and hag-gled with the seller until the price dropped to $900. I still can’t afford it, Karen said. For her, Michael paid.

“You’ll get me back later,” he said.East on Stadium Road, east through North-

west 13th Street. Onto Southwest Fourth Av-enue.

A state champion in the 3,200 meters at Clay High School, Karen was the family athlete. But six or seven years ago, when he wanted to lose weight, Michael asked for help. She introduced him to cycling, and he soon lost more than 100 pounds.

Michael and Karen biked together al-most up to the day he died. They planned to ride this Monday, when Karen had a day off from her bartending job at Miller’s Ale

House in Jacksonville.But their ride was called off.Michael’s death was the end of a three-

year struggle with bipolar disorder, a dis-ease that at times changed the kid who painted himself blue and ran shirtless down the sidelines at high school football games, the kid who took joy in buying his family extravagant gifts.

Like Gators’ national championship tick-ets for his dad. Or a bike for Karen.

Karen rode Monday despite the absence of her little brother. She rode for him. The Team Florida Cycling club organized a 12-mile ride to honor their fallen teammate, and more than 100 people participated.

Down Southwest Fourth Avenue, past Sixth Street, past Main Street, past the Hippodrome State Theater.

Karen visited Michael three weekends ago. After watching the Florida Relays track meet, they went to Boca Fiesta. He made her eat gator tail.

Michael grew up a Gators fan. In Green Cove Springs, his whole family rooted for Florida, all 40 cousins and aunts and grand-parents. After high school, he enrolled at Florida State College, where his mother said he kept a 4.0 GPA.

Last February, he called his dad. I got

Students bike to remember Michael Edmonds

Editor’s note: This story is the result of multiple interviews with sources in UF Student Government and Florida Blue Key, many of whom spoke to the Alligator on the condition of anonym-ity in order to preserve their positions in their respective organizations.

JOEY FLECHASAlligator Staff Writer

Aundre Price wanted to join the most prestigious student honor society at UF.

The African-American student has been involved since he arrived on campus in Fall 2009. He’s been a senator, a com-mittee chair and is now Student Senate

President.He is a UF Reitz Scholar and a rising

member of the Unite Party.Many Student Government offi cials

were surprised to fi nd that Aundre Price was not selected to join Florida Blue Key.

The prestigious leadership honorary comprised of UF students keeps limits on the number of students from minority stu-dent organizations and Greek organiza-tions that are allowed to join, an Alligator investigation has learned.

Many applicants who are members of the Black Student Union, the Asian Amer-ican Student Union and the Hispanic Student Association were not tapped, or selected, for membership in Blue Key dur-

Blue Key membership controlled by powerful few

SEE RIDE, PAGE 5

JULIA GLUMAlligator Writer

Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill Friday that would have allowed UF to self-insure all of its employees.

House Bill 5009 would have created Ga-torCare, a standardized health insurance plan for all benefi ts-eligible employees and their families, including those outside of Gainesville.

“We’re disappointed, because I think it might have been a benefi t to the faculty,” said Faculty Senate Chairman Scott Nygren.

The proposed plan would have improved workers’ health and been more cost-effective, according to a post by Paula Fussell, Human Resource Services vice president, on UF’s health care website.

In his veto letter, Scott said he was con-cerned the fi nancial impacts had not been

fully considered.“I commend the University of Florida for

seeking methods to be cost-effi cient,” Scott said. “However, I must balance the fi nancial interests of the university against the fi nancial interests of the other universities and state

agencies participating in the state employee health insurance program.”

Nygren said UF will continue to work toward implementing GatorCare in a limited way. Some 16,000 employees — in-cluding Gainesville and

Jacksonville Shands employees, graduate assistants and post-doctoral associates — are not affected by the veto.

“We’ll continue to argue for its implemen-tation in the future,” he said.

Contact Julia Glum at jglum@alligator.org

Gov. Scott vetoes self-insurance health plan for UF employees

SEE BLUE KEY, PAGE 4

Scott

“I just wish I could ride with him again.”

Karen EdmondsMichael’s sister