You’re exhausted. You haven’t showered in a few days because you haven’t left the library. Your diet for the past week has consisted solely of Starbucks paninis and Jimmy John’s sandwiches delivered to your workspace. You fear 90 percent of the liquid inside your body is now pure coffee, and you’ve seen several of your friends break down crying. That’s right — it’s exam season.
After your second all-nighter of the week, you emerge from Library West to find the sun has risen once again. Dazed and confused, you step out on the Plaza of the Americas to find the crisp grass could potentially serve as a suitable bed, at least for a few minutes anyway. The next thing you know, your phone alarm is blaring, alerting you it’s time to get up off your makeshift bed of grass and leaves and head to your next exam. You sluggishly walk to the big lecture hall where your test is being administered and make it there just in time as the proctors are handing out Scantrons.
After one agonizing hour of testing, you look back at your Scantron to review your answers to ensure you left no question unanswered. Much to your surprise, the bubbles you’ve filled in appear to spell something across the sheet. The darkened bubbles collectively spell out:
Darts & Laurels
We may be more than 1,000 miles away, but our hearts are with those affected by the recent terror attack in New York City this week. After a man drove a pickup truck down a populated bike path alongside the Hudson River in Manhattan, eight people lost their lives, and 11 were injured. It was named the deadliest terror attack in New York City since the Sept. 11 attacks. This horrific event reminded us of the evil that can exist in our world and effectively became our first dart of this week.
On another troubling note, three people were killed in Colorado on Thursday after a 47-year-old man opened fire in a local Walmart. Though the gunman, Scott Ostrem, was arrested, the heinous act remains both troubling and heartbreaking and provides us with another dart to tack onto this week.
Locally, we had a pretty good week. On Tuesday, UF Student Body President Smith Meyers announced Provost Joseph Glover secured permanent funding for eight new mental health counselors for UF’s Counseling & Wellness Center. After weeks of upset over the denied request for a student fee raise in order to secure the necessary funding, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Meyers said the students who spoke out at the Oct. 17 Student Senate meeting really helped move administration to get more permanent funding. We’d like to award those courageous students with our first laurel of the week.
UF students and Gators fans finally had their wishes answered this Sunday when, now previous, head Gators football Coach Jim McElwain was fired. For nearly three years, Gators fans have been less than impressed by McElwain’s performance as head coach. After three consecutive losses this season and grave upset from fans and the media alike, UF finally decided to pull the plug and fire him. McElwain led the Gators to 12 wins and 22 losses over the course of the two and a half seasons he held his position. We can only hope this laurel will lead us to a more successful football season next year.
