jacksonville


The show must go on: Ringling Bros. Circus protested in Jacksonville

By Sarah Williamson | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Photos by Sarah Williamson

Nearly 50 animal rights activists greeted circus goers this past weekend in protest of the Ringling Brothers arrival at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

Students, local activists and law professors lined the sidewalk silently, allowing their signs to gain people’s attention: photos of elephants locked in moving trailers, bulls being dragged and beaten by “bull hooks” and tigers behind bars.


Farm cultivates new life for disabled veterans

By Emily Hoover | ehoover@flagler.edu
Photos by Robert H. Heinrich

Down a long dirt road on the border of Duval and Clay counties, where the open air is clean and the sun just begins to peek through the clouds, is a farm that houses organic fruits, vegetables, livestock, honeybees and other commodities.

But for Adam Burke, founder of Veterans Farm, this farm is far from ordinary. The disabled combat veterans who work the farm during a six-month fellowship are more valuable than the goods they produce.

“I am very selective in [the veterans] I choose,” Burke, a U.S. Army veteran, said. “This is not about a paycheck. It’s about tranquility, peace in life, people who are looking for a change, to grow in their lives.”