If you take a look at some of the University of South Florida’s class pages on Facebook, USF Problems on Twitter, and the local Yik Yak, it would seem that the issues that plague all other universities, cause an exceptional amount of voiced grievances from USF students. Some of which get surpassed daily as we slowly learn to turn off the notifications to those pages, or train our eye to only look for a bargain on a textbook we desperately need. But no matter how hard we try to shelter ourselves from these desperately long, ranting posts, the things we can’t stand about USF, in their most basic forms, are an unavoidable topic of conversation that students secretly love. Is it because we for some reason think no other university faces the same problems we do? Do our issues really set us apart from the rest? USF students may never know.
Freshman
They’re everywhere, but why do we make ours out to be the worst? Is it the obvious lanyard followed by the “I’m a freshman but I’m actually a (insert other year) credit wise"? Is it the hordes of them that walk around 42nd street on the weekends, making the junior in her sweatpants buying cheetos and a pint of ice cream at Bull Market question her Friday night outfit choices? Is it the long lines they create in the Marshall Center food court on the first week of classes? It may just be all of those things, but all we can do is remind ourselves that we were once them, just maybe not as awful. We should also remind ourselves that this year's incoming freshmen have the highest cumulative GPA of any class to enter USF. You go little Bulls!
Dining Halls
What can be said about the dining halls at USF that hasn’t already been said? First off, let us try to remember that they are serving hundreds of different options to thousands of different students every day. With that said Champ’s seems to be the safest bet if you actually want a meal, and a relatively fresh salad bar. Unfortunately, it is out of the way for anyone that lives on campus, unless you’re an athlete, and its hours aren’t as convenient as most students would like. Next you have JP Dining, convenient for anyone that literally lives right above it. You can always find something to eat and if for some reason something doesn’t peak your interest you can walk back upstairs and try again in a half an hour, kind of like your refrigerator at home. Students' real beef is with Fresh Food in the Argos Complex, or as it was known in my freshman hall #notsofreshfoods. Like any college student it has its good times and its bad, anytime you see a line out the door, you might as well just prepare for the worst. Lack of plates, glasses, flatware and most importantly food. Whether it isn’t prepared, looks questionable, or you really don’t want pizza for a fourth day in a row there are a lot of unsatisfied students wandering around hoping that maybe the salad bar doesn’t look like the bottom of the produce bins at Fletcher Walmart. Usually it does. On the upside, it forces students who normally would not cook to get pretty creative with the food provided. Not to mention the relationships you form waiting in lines, and trying to find a place to sit.
Parking and Transportation
It seems, especially of late, that the students of the University of South Florida have a bone to pick with Parking and Transportation Services; and quite frankly it’s justified. First off from the lack of parking spaces on campus, especially during peak hours to little to no security in parking areas, resulting in zero accountability for hit and runs, we pay a pretty steep price for something that is inevitably leading to practically stalking someone as they walk to their vehicle to get a spot. Then you have the BullRunner and all its routes to memorize. You've also got your people on bikes and longboards/skateboards, multiple times have I seen you fall and multiple times until the end of time it will make me laugh. Lastly, you have your pedestrians who’s only thought while crossing the street is “Please hit me, pay my tuition”. But at the end of the day, we all learn the tricks and we all make do.
USF Gold
When you can connect, it's a wonderful experience, optimal for binging on Netflix, ordering pizza, and maybe checking Canvas because you need that for work after all. But god forbid USF Gold goes out, you might as well be able to watch the tumbleweed roll across your computer screen. Then there are the days where you walk on campus, don’t notice that your phone hasn't been connected all day as you've been using every form of social media to distract you from the class you're paying hundreds of dollars for. Not so bad the first day, or maybe even the second time it happens, until you get the dreaded “You’ve used 90% of your data” text and curse USF Gold for not letting you automatically connect. Despite all the grumbling, I have to say as someone that comes from a place where every time the wind blows, the wifi goes out, I feel extremely spoiled when it comes to USF Gold.
USF Football
While we started of the season with a phenomenal win over FAMU (51-3), our student’s have a love-hate relationship with our own football team, even if you bleed green and gold. Every play is questionable in the student section, because we’re all football experts, unless it is successful. If it isn’t successful, the amount of ridicule that ripples through the crowd is almost enough to make the HOT band seem quiet. While we have amazing spirit squads and an always entertaining marching band, displeasure is something to be expected from fans when any team loses, but an almost empty student section at games might only be expected at USF games because if they aren’t going to win, or at least compete, students aren’t going to bother watching. Even though we lost, if the USF vs. FSU game was any indicator for what this season is going to be like USF students definitely have something to be excited about. We as a school should definitely have more hope for our athletics.
While the USF Tampa campus is plagued by many other “first world problems” like long lines at Starbucks, textbooks at the bookstore being too expensive, and a lack of squat racks at the gym we remain one of the top universities in Florida. Blazing a green and gold trail, we are recognized nationally for our research, academic value, awards and recognitions, and diversity. So like the proud Bulls I know we are, on October 2nd, no matter what the score, let's try and pack the student section at RayJay and keep it packed all the way through our amazing Alma Mater.
