University of Tampa’s Plant Hall building, taken in 2016. Photo courtesy of Tsya 42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The University of Tampa’s campus has changed a lot since 2016. Yet, student experiences remain largely the same — focused around housing, dining, and attending campus events with friends.
–
By Marissa Johnson
TAMPA, Fla. — Since 2016, the University of Tampa has undergone numerous changes to its campus, student population, and even its official, shorthand nickname. But students from previous decades still remember what campus was like before the demolition of the Rescom dormitory, or before smoking was officially banned on campus.
Dr. Madhura Nadarajah, assistant teaching professor of English and writing at UTampa, talked about her experience at UTampa before her graduation in 2017.
“I attended for four years. I started in 2013, and I graduated in 2017, so all four years of my undergrad,” Dr. Nadarajah explained. She attended to “get [a] degree in English [with a] minor in writing,” and “really loved it.” She explained that “when [she] was looking at schools, there was something about the university, about the location, that really drew [her] in.”
Sophie Thomas, a senior environmental studies major, explained that she was drawn to UTampa after an initial visit. “I really loved the school,” she said.
Like many other UTampa students, Dr. Nadarajah and Thomas both came from Northeastern states. Both also spent time living on campus.
“I lived all four years on campus,” Dr. Nadarajah explained. From Vaughn, to Brevard, to Jenkins, to Urso, she said that while she did have trouble getting housing in the specific building she wanted, she was always able to get a spot somewhere in the dorms.
She commented that she believes “the new building will help” students who are struggling to get housing on campus now.
The university recently announced its plans to construct a new residence hall, with 833 available spaces for first and second-year students.
Nadarajah said the growth the university is experiencing is a good sign that the university is “doing well,” and that “lots of students want to come here.”
Thomas had a different experience with housing. “My first full year I lived in Austin, and my second full year I lived in Jenkins,” she explained. But after her first two years, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stay.
“Based on what I knew about the housing system,” she said, “I wasn’t confident I’d get housing.” At the same time, she also felt like she “wanted to get more comfortable with adult living,” so she signed up for the housing waitlist and began looking into apartments, eventually making the switch to off-campus housing.
Of the available dining options, Thomas’s favorite place to eat on campus is “definitely Fresh Creations. I still get it sometimes when I’m on campus,” she said. Thomas feels that the updated dining options on campus are “better” and “fresher.”
Nadarajah said her favorite was “the Vaughn Dining Center” because “it felt very comfortable.” She explained, “I went there sometimes just to do homework while I was eating, and then if I needed coffee, I would just keep getting coffee. Other places you would go, eat, and be done.” She described it as a good option whether “you’re eating with other people, or just by yourself.” Her other favorite was the ICB Starbucks, as she “would spend a lot of time there studying” with her friends.
Nadarajah said that she really enjoyed getting to attend “Party in the Park” during her time at UTampa. “We had Big Sean and Mike Posner when I was a student,” she explained. “I had never really gone to concerts before, so it was a cool way to go to a free concert as a student.”
She also really enjoyed attending Spring Happening at the Falk Theater, where her friends gave dance recitals.
Thomas said that she most enjoyed attending events that her friends have participated in, like watching interpretive dances at the Falk Theater’s “Spring Happening” — the same event Dr. Nadarajah remembers enjoying back in 2016 — or attending the intramural soccer games hosted on campus.
The biggest change that Dr. Nadarajah has “seen, in a really wonderful way, is the brand new education buildings.” Stepping back on campus after eight years, she was “really blown away by how much they had improved,” and how much the university had prioritized infrastructure.
She said it was wonderful to see “how much the university has put back into the university.”
Thomas said she hopes to see the school continue to expand their academic catalog and listen to student requests for changes.
“They’re making a lot of plans to keep expanding and keep growing, but I think they know there has to be more space for student housing, and hopefully parking,” Thomas joked.
Dr. Nadarajah agreed, saying she felt the biggest change in campus life for students in 2016 and students now is the availability of housing. Moving forward, she said it would be nice to see students able to easily receive on-campus “housing all four years.”
But even with the stress of college life, “there’s something still so special about being at UTampa,” Dr. Nadarajah said.