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Thursday, March 28, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

UF gives hungry students options

Today, UF has a wide variety of dining options. But a little more than a century ago, students only had one place where they could fill their empty stomachs.

“You were here to go to school, and you did not come for the food,” said UF historian Carl Van Ness.

The original campus cafeteria — or “mess hall” — was in Thomas Hall in 1906. The food was cheap, and the variety was limited to keep costs down, Van Ness said.

“I assume there were a lot of meat and potatoes,” he said, adding student complaints were frequent. “I’m sure it was not the best food in the world.”

The dining facility moved in 1912 to the University Commons Building. With many students training for the Armed Forces, administrators ran UF like a military institution, Van Ness said.

At 6 a.m., “Reveille” played.

The breakfast line began at 6:15, and those not in by 6:30 didn’t get breakfast.

Van Ness said some students would try to undermine the system, cooking in their own rooms on contraband hot plates.

“There was the occasional small fire that almost took down a dormitory or something like that,” he said.

Eventually, one such fire burned down multiple buildings in the Johnson Hall complex in what became known as the Johnson Hall Fire of 1987.

Paper Celotex tiles caught on fire, Van Ness said, taking down the dining facility and burning the surrounding buildings of the Johnson Hall complex.

“When the fire hit that, it was all over,” he said.

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The commons building was also the first place to serve alcohol on campus. Students 21 and older can still purchase alcohol on campus at Orange & Brew.

“It’s convenient sometimes if you just want to relax and have a beer with your meal,” said Alex Guthrie, a 22-year old UF computer science senior.

The university added a lunch convenience counter in the old student union in the 1930s. Now Dauer Hall, it provided a prequel to shops of today like the P.O.D. Market.

The quality and variety of food has come a long way because of technological advancements and franchising to chain restaurants and companies like Aramark, Van Ness said.

Now, he said, students have it better than ever.

“It’s much better today, in terms of health but also diversity,” he said. “I mean, you have unlimited options today.”

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