By Ariana Fromm
TAMPA, Fla. — The Fall 2024 semester at The University of Tampa was one of the most hectic semesters in recent memory. Hurricane Helene hit Tampa exactly a month into the semester, causing an evacuation for all students who lived on campus. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton hit, causing another evacuation. These hurricanes made this semester feel the opposite of normal, but for two freshmen living in Morsani Hall, it was still a memorable start to their college experience.
Living in Morsani Hall has been pretty good this semester. There was no damage to it after both hurricanes, so there were no problems coming back to it. However, no matter the weather circumstances, Morsani still felt like a regular college dorm and the freedoms that come with living on campus.
Kahlan Campbell, a freshman living in Morsani Hall, said that she loves living on campus because of the freedom that comes with it.
Campbell said that there is an ease of living on campus because everything is so close to where you live.
“On days where I only have like one class, like, literally, on Wednesday, I woke up and I went to my one class at 10 a.m., and then I came home, and I took a six-hour nap,” she said.
Campbell said that another good thing about living on campus was being close to the food options. Since she lives in Morsani Hall, there are multiple food options to choose from. When the hurricane came and the food options were closed, it was a bit hard to find where to eat on campus.
“I literally just have to go downstairs. I don’t really like the dining hall in Vaughn [Center], so typically I just get food from downstairs,” Campbell said. “But it was kind of frustrating. Post hurricanes whenever we came back, just like we ate so much ramen for weeks, it was so bad.”
Making connections can also be hard to do as an incoming freshman. A plus about living on campus is that UTampa allows matching with other students who have similar interests. Rhylan Skaggs, a freshman living in Morsani Hall, said that she was already friends with one of her roommates from high school but became close to her other roommate, who was randomly matched.
“Well, my roommate, I actually knew her prior to college. We graduated high school together, so we’re tight, but our two other roommates — our suitemates — were random. Love Nicole,” Skaggs said.
One of the good things about living on campus is being able to walk around and see everything going on around UTampa.
“There’s always stuff going on, and sometimes it’ll be a complete surprise. Like there was something in Vaughn courtyard the other day,” Skaggs said. “Didn’t know about it. I went, it was cool like little pop-ups. It’s really cute.”
Even though there were some problems this year, there have been some good moments with the resident assistant (RA) and their residents.
An RA from Morsani Hall said how much she’s enjoyed this semester with her residents.
“This year, the community is very lively, friendly, and social. Everyone gets along well and freely knocks on doors,” the RA said.
One of the most rewarding things she has experienced this semester was being able to see how her residents have grown.
“The most rewarding [thing] is the relationship created with residents as well as watching them grow and accomplish their goals,” she said.
Despite the difficulties this semester had, such as hurricane evacuations and limited food options, many students found positivity in freedom and community through living off campus. As the fall semester is ending, students are looking forward to seeing what next semester will bring.
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Photo courtesy of Wikimedia.