The Independent Florida Alligator is the daily student newspaper of the University of Florida. The Alligator is one of the largest student-run newspapers in the United States, with a circulation of 14,000 and readership of more than 21,000. It is an affiliate of UWIRE, which distributes and promotes its content to their network. The paper prints every Monday during the spring, summer, and fall semesters The Alligator has been financially and editorially independent from the university since 1973. The Alligator has been owned by non-profit, student-controlled 501(c)(3) Campus Communications Inc. since its independence. Students from UF and Santa Fe College, also located in the city of Gainesville, Florida, are allowed to work at the paper. Only college students are allowed to work in the editorial department or be advertising representatives or interns. The Alligator is distributed free on campus and around Gainesville and contains a mix of campus and local news coverage, as well as national and international stories from wire services. It also contains a sports and entertainment sections, the latter of which, known as "The Avenue". The Alligator prints on 11 x 14 inch paper, somewhat smaller than a tabloid size, closer in size to the compact format of The Times of London and the Chicago Sun-Times. History Early history The Alligator began as an independent student-run newspaper called The University News on October 19, 1906. The paper came together in time to report on the University of Florida's opening ceremony in its new permanent home in Gainesville. Much of the first issue was devoted to reprinting word-for-word the farewell speech given by then-Florida Governor Napoleon B. Broward. The Alligator remained independent until 1912, when it became part of the university and was renamed the Florida Alligator after the university's mascot, the Florida Gators. For the next six decades, the university's Office of Student Publications supervised the paper. The office was also responsible for the university's Seminole yearbook (later renamed The Tower), Florida Magazine, the Orange Peel humor magazine, and other recurring publications. Alligator staffers often worked on several of these at the same time. (None of the other publications still exist.) The Alligator also had a radio news show on campus station WRUF for many years. Until the 1950s, the university's student body selected the editor-in-chief in campus-wide elections, similar to student government. Candidates slated to political parties, published campaign ads, and debated each other not unlike