It started with chanting through the halls, snowballed into a barricade of lounge furniture outside the resident assistant’s door and blew up when a sign stolen from the neighboring construction site became an accessory in the hall lounge.
“We try to be the floor that goes down in history,” said Tyler Drescher, an 18-year-old business freshman and Broward East 2 resident. “We did nothing that would hurt anyone, just fun and games.”
But now the party has a chaperone. After a series of shenanigans, surveillance cameras appeared on the second floor of Broward East hall less than four weeks after classes began this semester.
UF Housing spokeswoman Sharon Blansett declined to comment on the pranks. She said no group damages have been assessed to any Broward floor this Fall and did not comment if any other halls had security cameras.
Residents had been taking advantage of their newfound college freedom.
The “Eastside Boys,” as the 15 pranksters dubbed themselves, tore door tags and posters to shreds. The hall fire extinguisher became a toy. Stapled thongs and used condoms embellished hall bulletin boards.
“We all got to know each other really fast and became boys,” said Cory Hartstein, an 18-year-old political science freshman. ”It’s kind of dumb, but it’s funny.”
According to residents, their RA had enough.
During the second week of Fall 2013, a meeting was called with the residents of Broward East 2, their RA, a UF Housing staff member and two special guests: University Police officers.
UPD spokesman Maj. Brad Barber said no criminal incidents have been reported.
To dress for the occasion, residents conspired on a floor Facebook group page to turn the meeting into a black-tie affair. Before the meeting, 22 residents dressed up and posed for a picture outside of the dorm.
A week later, the cameras were installed, peering down at the entrances of the hallway.
Residents said no one has received disciplinary action, but some are required to write essays reflecting on their raucous behavior.
Marine science freshman Fabio Biondolillo, 18, had to write a two-page, single-space essay for borrowing a lounge couch for a day, a punishment he deemed too long and unfair.
Recently, Broward East 2 has mellowed out since fraternity recruitment began in September, and residents even befriended their RA. The majority of pranksters are pledges, even though the “Eastside Boys” toyed with the idea of forming their own fraternity.
Health science freshman JP Hutchison, 18, said the floor has yet to see the end of the hijinks. He plans on converting the hall into a slip-and-slide and a shuffleboard court.
“I see it as more bonding on the floor, and I think it brings us together and helps enhance our college experience,” he said. “Obviously we’re bummed, but we’re still gonna find ways to have a good time.”
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/22/2013 under the headline "Security cameras installed after residents prank Broward Hall"
Twenty-two Broward Hall residents pose for a photo prior to a scheduled meeting with two UPD officers and housing staff about a prank the group is suspected of pulling.
Security cameras are now installed in Broward Hall following the incident in question.
All residence halls will have air conditioning by summer 2015. Buckman and Thomas halls were the last holdouts, unlike Broward Hall.
