Despite its reputation as a commuter school (a point relentlessly harped on by sports commentators during nationally televised USF football games), USF Tampa is a place where students from wildly diverse backgrounds learn and grow as an academic community. With a student population of more than 45,000, USF has the unique challenge of accommodating an enormous variety of students from across the nation and world, students of different ages and educational backgrounds, and students who currently live across most of Central and South Florida — while still cultivating a sense of school identity among students, some of whom may spend only hours a week on campus.
USF is working to overcome old stereotypes. Heightened admission standards mean it's no longer the local university for those who couldn't get into UF; the school is attempting to launch itself into the realm of Florida powerhouse universities both academically and athletically. It is one of the nation's top research universities, offers 89 undergraduate majors and more than 100 masters and doctoral programs, and has a football team ranked 21st in preseason polls.
Yes, it's a butt-ugly campus for the most part, its buildings designed in the tradition of 1960s-era Soviet bloc architecture. But students don't bitch too much about it. The Starbucks in the library seems the center of life here, and the football team has emerged as a national contender, finally giving the green and gold something to cheer about.
Top 10 Survival Tips
Read the paper. The USF Oracle was named the best daily student newspaper in the Southeast last year by the Society of Professional Journalists. usforacle.com.
Head to Lettuce Lake. For those who need motivation to get out of the house and exercise (or just to step away from the Xbox), look no further than Lettuce Lake. Activities include bike paths, jogging trails, a fitness course, playgrounds, a picnic area and fishing. Or check out Riverfront Park right next door: the USF-exclusive park features canoeing, kayaking and a disc golf course. Lettuce Lake: 6920 E. Fletcher Ave., 813-987-6204, hillsboroughcounty.org. Riverfront Park (kayak, canoe, ropes course, disc golf): 4202 E. Fowler Ave., 813-974-3177, http://usfweb2.usf.edu/camprec/Outdoor/canoeing.html.
Take a culture break. Along with the university's public art program, the USF Contemporary Art Museum and Graphicstudio form the Institute for Research in Art — an oasis of cutting-edge thinking in the visual arts where some of the most respected artists in the world come to play. Mash Up, opening next week at USF CAM, is a good example of the fun that goes on here: It's described as "a group show that traces the history of destruction as a creative force in visual art, and its resonance in the mass culture realm of popular music." Bring the noise! And speaking of fun, the USF campus is also home to a stellar Monday night jazz series and a strong theater and dance program, including the much-acclaimed resident dance company, Moving Current. USF CAM, 813 974-4133; Graphicstudio, 813 974-3503, graphicstudio.usf.edu/. Moving Current Dance Collective, movingcurrent.com. Monday Night Jazz, mondaynightjazz.arts.usf.edu.
Stop and smell the begonias. Home to more than 3,000 varieties of local and exotic flora, the USF Botanical Gardens are more than just a great place to picnic. The gardens host an array of events, including quilt shows, orchid auctions, plant festivals and bonsai workshops. 4202 E. Fowler Ave. NES107, 813-974-2329, cas.usf.edu/garden.
Go Bulls. With valid USF ID, each USF student automatically receives a complimentary game ticket to any sporting event.
Go bowling. The AMF University Bowl is not just another bowling alley—it's a bowling alley with great beer specials. Tuesdays and Thursdays are $5 pitcher nights, along with 25-cent popcorn and 25-cent bowling. If you bring your own non-slip shoes, this is the cheapest entertainment around. 13109 N. 56th St., 813-985-4468, amf.com/universitylanesfl/centerHomepage.htm.
Smoke a hookah. The best late-night hangout for the bar-weary, Aladdin's Hookah Café (2952 E. Bearss Ave., 813-971-2347, aladdinhookahcafe.com) serves up hookah with nearly 30 different flavors of tobacco — and their falafel, hummus and other Mediterranean delights make Aladdin's a staple. Best of all, they're open until 3 a.m. Other area hookah hangouts include, aptly enough, the cozy Hookah Hangout (5025 E. Fowler Ave., 813-988-4900, myspace.com/hookahhangout) and the Meridian Hookah Lounge (11401 N. 56th Street, Suite 20, 813-569-7701, meridianhookah.com), which has great atmosphere and charges just $10 per person for unlimited hookah all night long.
Have a beer, or 26. Beer is the elixir of life on any university campus, but for the true beer aficionado, Mr. Dunderbak's, which boasts "26 draft and cask beers and over 300 bottled micros and imports," is the destination of choice. 2222 University Square Mall #b, 813-977-4104, dunderbaks.com/.
Have a nice cuppa tea. A popular med student hangout, Kaleisia Tea Lounge offers a wide variety of tea flavors. Its devoted fans have made the Tea Lounge a perennial votegetter for Best-Kept Secret in CL's annual Best of the Bay Readers' Poll. 1441 E. Fletcher Ave., Suite #133, 813-977-8266, thetealounge.com.
Listen to Kalynn. Our USF-Tampa Campus Snap subject was full of good advice, so we couldn't stop with just one quote. So here are three final survival tips from this USF-Tampa insider: "One, don't plan on parking between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. It's not going to happen. Give yourself at least an extra 15-20 minutes to find a space and release your road rage before class begins. Two, there is typically free food, or coupons for free food, somewhere on campus. Take advantage of it! Three, USF has some major crosswalks. As a pedestrian, you may think you have the right of way. While this is true, car drivers tend not to care. Never assume cars will stop for you. Look both ways and proceed with caution."
This article appears in Aug 20-26, 2008.