Do you remember just a couple of months or years ago when you were preparing for this new, magical period of your wonderful life?
Don't you remember your starry-eyed eagerness and anxiousness to make friends with the brightest young minds in Florida?
Remember how excited you were for the opportunity to learn more than you've ever learned and to develop into the beautiful soul that was going to change the world?
And all of that was going to happen at UF.
Sure, there were some negatives muddled in the wealth of praise, but at least in my mind, UF was a place of intelligence, potential and fun. It was the best place in the world.
Fast forward two years later, and I'm not sure how accurate those perceptions were.
Indeed, it is great to be a Florida Gator, but I've been disillusioned with some things that are hard to put in words.
Perhaps my disillusionment can be demonstrated by a conversation I recently overheard: two bros, both wearing tank tops, giddy with enthusiasm, mutually announcing, "Hell yeah, bro! We made it on the Top 10 Douchiest Colleges!"
When I heard this I laughed, facepalmed and cried.
I was moved to a sob when I went home and checked the list. According to it, UF's claim to fame is "a journalism school that's not awful."
I know what you're thinking: I'm an idiot for taking that list seriously. Well, of course, I don't take that list seriously; I don't take it for anything. After all, it's GQ.
But, as much as it pains me to say it, there is...there is some truth in their characterization of UF. Some of the world does view UF as a (derogatory term) party school. When administrators put more effort into sports than academics, these perceptions of our school become a reality.
There is no escaping the fact: UF has an image problem.
Amid budget cuts, UF will struggle to maintain its academic prowess. During this past year, we fell six spots in the U.S. News & World Report national rankings. We claim that UF is a "Public Ivy," but I'm starting to think our academic arrogance might not have much merit.
But keep your spirits up! Forget U.S. News; who needs ‘em? We at least made the top ten on a couple of other worthy lists. Aside from the aforementioned GQ list, we also made the prestigious 2011 Princeton Review's top party schools list. Oh, and we also made Playboy's list.
Being known for alcoholism, redneckery and tailgating should not be a source of pride.
Being known as a party school might be a source of pride to someone in high school. But, hey, what's the difference between high school and UF? (Thank you, I'll be here all night.)
Look, I love UF. I've learned a lot here from wise instructors, and I've met many of those bright young minds that I was told about.
But I've also found the amusing yet dejecting caricatures of our school too real for comfort.
Perhaps if the university focused more effort on academics than on catering to drunken alumni at football games, our university could take a step forward in the academic world.
UF is so close to distinguishing itself among the best national public universities. We have a choice: better our image and ourselves and flourish academically or fall into the gloomy obscurity of state school days.
Abdul Zalikha is a microbiology junior at UF. His column appears on Thursdays.
