Every year is a little different than the ones before it. Sometimes things change, sometimes things stay the same.
This past year, many things changed, but many things stayed the same.
A chapel has sprung up where a parking lot used to be. We used to pray for an empty spot on the same grounds where many will pray for forgiveness for their sins.
Tuition rose, which is a yearly constant.
Tampa-area housing prices plummeted, but on-campus housing managed to get more expensive.
Students came and students went, some on their own terms, some in handcuffs. Some claimed they were framed; others didn’t put up a fight.
Tragedy has a horrible way of repeating itself, and slightly more than a year after Nick Kopplin passed away after a motorcycle crash on I-275, Will King lost his life a block south of campus.
A couple of students were hit by cars on Kennedy Boulevard, but luckily they both survived.
In general, the last academic year has been certifiably crazy. Andrew Learned stepped into the Student Government presidency amid a cloud of controversy and a gamut of promises.
He was the most energetic and aggressive SG president in recent memory, regardless of what you think of his actual accomplishments. It’s the right mentality for the position, at the least.
The library still closes at midnight on weekdays and is still underutilized in general.
UT was put in the national spotlight a number of times, with the ‘Today’ show broadcasting from campus, ESPN taping the’ College Football Showcase in Pepin Stadium and airing it before and during the draft, and more.
Books are still too expensive, and no one seems to be doing anything about it.
The Super Bowl rocked the town and gave students a great prelude to Gasparilla.
New elections have taken place, and new leaders will take their seats at the head of student government.
Next year will be just as similar and even more different.
The Minaret could give you dozens of things you should do in the upcoming year, but one simple piece of wisdom should guide you through the rest of your life:
Stop, and think. Before you do anything, stop and think it through. Think if that’s what you really want to say or do. Think about the consequences.
If everyone in the world would have better foresight and would worry about the outcomes of their actions, everything would go a lot smoother.
Just take a second. No one is in as much of a hurry as you think. Take a play off. Everything is going to be OK.