Ashton Grosz

Magazine Feature Stories

At Ease

I’ve never known my grandfather to say he was sorry and I’ve never known him to feel sorry for himself. The first one might be a vice but more likely it’s the only way he knows how to be a man. The second one is nothing short of a miracle.

Sirens' Song

Behind a door labeled "not an exit" at the back of the theater, up five carpeted stairs and through a low-hanging doorframe, you’ll find the petite blond perched at the edge of a portal ready to take the trip.

Hot Shots in Leesburg

What I want to say is that I’m here because after years of exercising the First Amendment, moving on to the second seems practical. But I didn’t quite ask for this.

Resounding Resolve

Once a lawyer in South Africa, Jan van Rooyen crossed an ocean and found peace in an unusual past time.

Brew Culture

These aren’t your everyday addicts. Sure they enjoy their alcohol, but it’s not just the product that’s hooked them. It’s the process.

News Articles

At last, justice

Gainesville’s most infamous murderer was executed while I was the Alligator’s managing editor. This editorial ran the day he died.

Meth hazardous to all

A trend story focusing on the number of clandestine methamphetamine labs seized in Florida. News of Osceola County sheriffs hosting meth-awareness seminars for hotel staff members prompted questions about the cost of taxpayer-funded cleanup as well as health concerns connected to byproduct exposure.

Board quashes Plaza homeless sleepout

The Alligator metro editor sent me to cover this 7:30 a.m. city meeting and report back on what the board planned to do about a downtown parking garage. The topic was hardly a story, but during the meeting one board member procured an e-mail she had received from County Commissioner Rodney Long. Long was asking the board to support his planned homeless sleepover on the Downtown Plaza to increase awareness of poverty in Gainesville.
The board members found the planned event to be distasteful and passed a motion to disallow it. The whole process took about two minutes. I followed sources after the meeting adjourned and told my editor we could break a much bigger story. He agreed, and the story ran the next day.

Local charities suffering

A myriad of campus organizations hosted fund-raising drives to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, sending local charities into a rut as people diverted donations out of Florida.

Spud Spotting

A light news feature about a city-wide community service event to combat non-native plant invasion in Florida.

Burying Katrina's Hatchet

After hurricanes Katrina and Rita tore through the Southeastern US in 2005, one University of Florida professor was called out to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency identify dead bodies and scattered remains. When he returned, we spoke about the overwhelming difficulties of such a job.

Caver sheds light on a dark patch of ground

A short, 500-word profile about a humble caver most comfortable underground.

Butterfly business benefits all

Dr. Jaret Daniels, recently returned from Costa Rica, discusses the new Butterfly Rainforest exhibit at the McGuire Center and the little-known challenges of packaging pupae.

Piercing: A New Wave of Concern

A look at oral piercing from a dentist’s, a piercer’s and students’ points of view.
Published in Campus Talk, a gossip entertainment magazine targeting college students in Gainesville.

Feminists knit a stronger social fabric

A short news feature written for The Alligator in Gainesville, Fla. International Women’s Day coincided with the Feminist Knitting and Crocheting Circle’s weekly Tuesday meeting, providing a news hook to an otherwise ultra-soft story.