image taken from: the Tampa Bay Times
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Here at the University of Tampa outsiders know us for several things: the beautiful location, the historical landmarks, the hard-working students and the well-educated professors. Aside from these, we are known for the following that only our students are aware of, but all of us know they are completely true. They are what honestly make us love UT, even though we usually hate to admit it!
1. Tony has tried to set you up on a date in the omelet line.
Tony, the overly friendly omelet maker in the cafeteria can change your day from average to over the top within seconds because he is by far the most loving and joyful worker here at UT. Aside from cooking omelets, Tony runs his own match making business, leaving everyone either feeling humiliated, embarrassed or happy because Tony helped them finally talk to a girl. Talk about great multi-tasking! He gets to know not only what type of omelets students like, but also their type of guy/girl. Don’t have a date for this weekend? You know to hit up the omelet line and Tony will be sure to fix you up with the man of your dreams.
2. You skip class when it is raining outside.
Most students attending school where it is sunny and 80 degrees every day would skip class to go to the beach. Not at this school. If it is raining outside classes will be half full, filled only with the most dedicated students who aren’t afraid to get soaked. Some people may suggest buying rain boots and making the truck over to class. They clearly aren’t remembering that we only wear shorts here in Florida, and shorts with rain boots are not a good look for anyone!
3. The only time all year that you are awake before 8 am on a Saturday is on Gasparilla.
Have you ever seen anyone awake early on a Saturday morning? Yeah, me neither. However, Gasparilla is the one major exception to this rule because students take it more seriously than their midterms. Gasparilla is no joke here in the city of Tampa! If you aren’t waking up before 8 am to get your day of fun started than you are doing something seriously wrong. This day is looked forward to more than Christmas for most of us, so waking up at 6:30 am to start the day is never an issue! For UT kids, our first words once the 6:30 alarm goes off are “Let the drinking begin!”
4. Your self-esteem disappears immediately as you walk through the student-parking garage.
It’s no secret here that our school is filled with people who have ridiculous amounts of money that they don’t know what to spend it on. What is the result of this? Their parents buy them cars that cost more than attending UT for all 4 years (and we all know that’s a lot). Walking down the aisles of the parking garage gets sad for those who don’t have their daddys buying them whatever they want. Range Rovers, BMW’s, Mercedes and much more fill the rows in the parking garages, leaving the rest of us middle-class students feeling out of place. Can we get a ride?
5. You make unnecessary trips to the mailroom to see the South African hunk working behind the counter.
Girls, we all know you do it. And you all know exactly who I’m talking about. The dark haired, South African beauty behind the mailroom desk will forever be our most prized eye candy. We always think of excuses to see him: whether it is pretending you need help opening your mailbox, or sending out daily letters to your grandmother, us girls will continue to find a way to make sure he knows we exist. Hey hunk, is it working?
6. A long boarder almost runs you over on a daily basis.
Even though our campus is about a 7-minute walk from one side to the other, people think it is appropriate to ride their long boards from place to place, no matter what’s in their way. Yes, they think they look cool but in reality, we all get annoyed with them. Maybe if they would stop running us over, trying to look like a bad a** with their ray bans on, balancing their books in one hand while they plow down unsuspecting freshmen, we wouldn’t be so distraught.
7. You know which day bars have cheap drinks better than what day your math exam is on.
Tick Tock Tuesday, open bar on Thursdays, happy hour at MacDintions, yes you all know exactly what I am referring to. After being at UT for only a couple of weeks, the bar schedule is automatically programed into your brain. What time is your math test on Thursday? No idea….but open bar at Retreat starts 10pm sharp!
8. All your friends from home say how they can’t wait to come down to Florida and visit you, but they never show up.
Of course everyone wants to be in Florida for a nice getaway weekend. Why wouldn’t they? Once your friends from home find out you are going to college in a tropical area their first words are “oh man, I can’t wait to come visit you down in Tampa, it will be such a crazy time.” Yeah, we’ve all heard that one before. Yet they never show up because “it’s too expensive” or “they’re too busy.” What is the solution to this annoyance they cause us? Send them pictures of how much of an awesome time we are having and let them sit in a pool of jealousy, as we lay by the pool..in December. Sorry not sorry!
9. A lacrosse player has tried to hit on you in the past two weeks.
It’s no surprise: girls like athletes. With all of the good looking, muscular, tan jocks at this school, it is hard for us to keep our eyes off of them. The lacrosse team takes this to their full advantage, making sure they get to know the entire female population on a more than personal level. It seems as though most of them major in hitting on girls and minor in making sure they don’t find out about each other. But, we can’t help but love them anyways. Number one rule of Lacrosse players: you can look, but do not touch. Because you don’t know how many have touched before you. Ew.
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