After a shortened spring semester, students at UF are missing many different things about their school.
Hannah Teerlink, a 19-year-old UF elementary education junior, misses the freedom she felt at UF. She also misses Bricks.
Shania Tarver, a 20-year-old UF psychology junior, is convinced Keene-Flint Hall is haunted and misses the feeling of never being alone in there.
Melissa Sacher, an 18-year-old UF animal sciences sophomore, misses the basement floor of Marston Science Library and all the memories she’s made down there studying. Amy Nicholas, a 19-year-old UF natural resource conservation and political science sophomore, misses the collaboration and ambiance of the third floor of Marston. The subtle noises made her more motivated, she said. Sue Khan, an 18-year-old UF statistics sophomore, misses trying not to breathe on the fifth floor of Marston in order to not make any noise.
She also misses power walking through Turlington Plaza to avoid people handing out flyers. Hiya Chowdury, a 22-year-old UF health education and behavior senior, takes a different approach, though, choosing to pretend to be having a conversation on the phone. She misses that too.
Gabriela Vukaj, a 21-year-old UF finance senior, misses seeing “drunk people dancing with the Krishna lunch people” in Midtown.
Brendan Wernisch, a 19-year-old UF chemical engineering sophomore, misses the people who pop wheelies on their bicycles around The Hub.
“I hope they’re doing well,” he said.
Neil Adake, an 18-year-old UF aerospace sophomore, misses the smell of Starbucks hitting him when he walks into Library West. Rachel Peterson, a 20-year-old UF advertising junior, misses her two favorite coffee shops, Opus and Pascal’s.
Gerald Loyola, a 21-year-old UF nutritional sciences senior, misses the “musty” smell of the RTS bus exhaust fumes.
Ryan Bergman, an 18-year-old UF marine sciences sophomore, misses eating Panda Express with his friends three times a week.
Daniel Nuñez, a 19-year-old UF acting sophomore, misses seeing the same girl playing with her dog next to Reid Hall when he went on runs early in the morning.
Zachary Kashman, a 19-year-old UF finance sophomore, misses not being able to hear the person he’s talking to on the phone while walking past the water treatment building by Union Road.
Holly Sutton, a 19-year-old UF theatre sophomore, misses walking past the pond between the Reitz Union and Marston. She said she would sometimes see an alligator in the water and feel like it was going to be a good day.
Alex Trauner, a 21-year-old UF animal sciences senior, misses watching the sunset from atop the Second Avenue apartment parking garage, while 19-year-old UF finance sophomore Alissa O’Rorke’s misses her favorite view of the sun when it’s dropping over University Auditorium.
TJ Comer, a 19-year-old UF wildlife ecology and conservation sophomore, misses the sound of doors opening and closing on his floor at Beaty Towers.
“They always slammed no matter how gentle you were,” he said. “We were all so close on our floor, that sound meant one of my new friends was ready to hang out, and lifelong memories would follow.”
UF President Kent Fuchs is still on campus, but he still misses many things about UF when it’s running normally.
He said he misses taking selfies with students and experiencing the energy of lunchtime at the Plaza of the Americas. He misses the sight of football players walking to and from practice and the sound of band members rehearsing. He misses being caught up in the mass of people in Turlington and the sight of ROTC members working out in front of Van Vleet Hall.
And Chris Ashworth, a 20-year-old UF finance junior, misses seeing skateboarders wipe out after hitting cracks in the pavement.
Contact Thomas Holton at tholton@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @thomas__holton.
Students who’ve left UF reflect on the little things that make their school what it is.
