When the Class of 2016 first stepped on campus 4 years ago, things were really different at UTSA. Now, four years later, it’s time to take a look at exactly how much.
1. Sombrilla Fountain
Way back when I was a mere freshman at UTSA in 2012, the idea of the fountain working in the Sombrilla was a joke. It just sat there like a big eyesore, and was a constant reminder of how lame UTSA was. Everyone kept suggesting ways to get it working again, but no one actually did anything about it until the next fall. Now, all today’s sophomore’s and freshmen know is the sound of the fountain running during a warm day in the Sombrilla.
2. Aquatics Center
I’m not sure when they really stopped lying to freshman during orientation by telling them the lazy river at the rec would be fixed “soon”, but it definitely wasn’t my orientation. One of the main selling points of UTSA at the time was that it was home to the largest lazy river on a college campus in America… (LOL). Any who, after years of telling students that the lazy river would be fixed, UTSA has decided to rip out the whole aquatics center, and add a running trail in its place.
3. Football & Tailgates
The Class of 2016 came in when UTSA was fresh of their inaugural season. Our games (especially the student organization section) were packed, our tailgates were crazy, our football team was amazing, and Larry Coker was a larger than life persona on campus. Hell, Sonic even had a bomb UTSA burger for everyone to scarf down after games. Everyone knew what he or she was doing on Saturdays that held home games. The schedule normally looked something like this: wake up at 4 am, finish a beer/mimosa before you get out of the shower, and rage all day until you pass out at half-time and have to be dragged onto the VIA bus. Nowadays, your chances of finding the student section that packed are just as scarce as our football team winning a game. I feel sorry for the newer students on campus who will never know the exhilaration of what it was like to sneak a whole bottle of champagne into the Alamodome because security was so lax, to witness a Kappa Sigma “Shakey Bangey” at a tailgate, or to know how amazing it feels to cheer on the Runners to victory with 35,000 people in the stands wearing their brightest orange and blues. Hopefully, we can get some of that back with Frank Wilson leading the charge.
4. Elevate
If you mention Elevate to any senior, they’re likely to get a wistful look in their eyes as they try to remember all the drunken times they had at this fine establishment. They didn’t card, the music was always good, and you could get $2 cranberry vodkas and starfckers that could make or ruin your whole night/life. Every Thursday night, you could find all of UTSA waiting in line to get into the best night of their lives, girls crammed into the bathroom complaining about the lack of toilet paper, and too may people driving home at the end of the night that definitely should not have. All of the things that made it so great are probably the largest reasons it got shut down, but Live and Lush will never compare to “getting elevated.”
5. JPL Food
This one is dedicated to all of those upper-classmen who didn’t have the luxury of Chick-Fil-A being open until 2 am on weeknights. All those nights high on caffeine/Adderall (if it was prescribed to you) pulling all-nighters in the JPL would have been so much easier with a late night snack! Don’t take it for granted under-classmen. Also, can we bring Taco Cabana back to campus?
6. Aspen
Oh, Aspen. Back in 2012/2013 Aspen was the place to be on any given Wasted Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Fkd Up Friday, or Shitty Saturday. The party options were limitless, and because of that you had to get there by 8 pm at night to secure a spot inside the complex. Otherwise, you had to park on the street and figure out a way to get past the police guarding the gate. The hassle was worth it though, because it was a guarantee that the cops wouldn’t show up until 2:30 am to shut down the party. During the summer, the pool was packed with people playing volleyball, laying out, and being hot messes. Then unfortunately a couple people had to go around stabbing each other at parties, and ruined it for everyone. How rude. No party in Tetro or pool day at the Luxx can even compare to Aspen in its heyday.
7. San Saba
I don’t care how many times some snot-nosed freshman corrects me, it’s not “Alavarez Hall” it’s “San Saba.” The place wasn’t even finished during my freshman year, and by my junior year, they had changed the name. Whatever. #LongLiveSanSaba
8. The Block
Before The Block, the only place to turn-up semi-legally near campus was Cantina. When it opened, The Block was full of college students chugging pints of beer, eating tacos or BBQ, and just hanging out or watching a game. Then, for whatever reason, the local residents of San Antonio decided it was a cool place to take their kids, basically ruining it for anyone under 23.
9. Acceptance Rates
When the Class of 2016 came in, the acceptance rate for UTSA was at 75%, and it was still without a doubt a “commuter school”. The Tier One campaign was brand new, so they really didn’t expect much from us academically coming in. Now, it’s 62%, and the kids who are coming in actually chose to come here, vs. being forced by their parents to save money, or because they wanted to CAP. When I graduate this spring, my degree will be worth so much more to employers than it was going to originally when I came in. So thanks to all the lower-classmen who raised the bar so the Class of 2016 didn’t have to.
10. AIS
It sucks to suck if you came in when they implemented this – especially when they make us take so many pointless classes anyways (drugs & society anybody?) Thankfully for me, this class wasn’t around when I was a freshman.
11. Cantina
Cantina used to stand where Prado now is and was the original UTSA college bar. They had terrible service and hardly any drink specials, but its proximity to campus made it the ideal place to go after you “turned 21”. The bouncers would let you in with a fake and the slip of a $20 bill. When they tore down Cantina to build what was supposed to be an awesome apartment complex, all of UTSA’s hearts broke a bit. It’s now reopened with the same name and different owners on Babcock, but nothing will ever compare to the original.
12. Sigma Phi Epsilon
If she doesn’t know Sig Ep was a UTSA fraternity, she’s too young for you.
13. Texas State
Nothing’s changed. I just wanted to point out they still suck.
One thing will never change: Now and forever, we are Roadrunners!