Oct. 4, third year student Justin Dourado and his friends walked to the Emerson Alumni Hall at 10:30 p.m., sat at the front of the door with a six person camp tent, and waited until they could receive their “Beat T-shirts” at 10 a.m. the following day. As the night transitioned to morning, the sidewalk along the Emerson Alumni building was filled with tents, mattresses, and students determined to get their well deserved, 100 percent cotton T-shirt for the upcoming football game. Rather than waiting a whole night, some students simply arrive an hour before the distribution. They would say that students are simply insane to trade a good night sleep to just wait in line with strangers. However, the plus 1,800 people standing, sitting, and sleeping along the building of Gale Lemerand Drive beg to differ.
As the sun started to rise, the line of students wrapped around the Alumni building were woken up by the stench and bustle of the neighborhood dumpster trucks. Despite the uncomfortable conditions, year after year students continuously sign up to be members of the Alumni Association. Prior to the beginning of the school year, students join UF’s Alumni Association for the inexpensive yearly price of $20. With this membership, students are entitled to privileges on campus, discounts, and five game t-shirts. However there is always a catch. Every Friday before the Saturday home football game, the Alumni Association opens their doors at 10 a.m. to hand out a limited amount of 1,800 T-shirts. But there are more than 1,800 members. There are approximately 12,000. Chris Burg, third year advertisement student and Alumni Association Vice President of the Cicerones stated in defense, “We don’t just pick an arbitrary number of shirts to hand out. There are only 9,000 for the whole year. But it’s also based on how much money we receive from sponsors and how much we can afford.”
Considering that most students live on a college budget, paying $20 for five shirts is not something to walk away from. So there are two options. One, you can sleep in, get your seven to eight hours of sleep, and beg mercifully to a friend who is already waiting in line to get your shirt. Or you can buy a cheap tent from Wal-Mart, wake up at four in the morning, and make yourself at home on the sidewalk of the alumni building. “It’s more of a get together thing, where we all have fun and enjoy hanging out,” said Dourado who last year, slept outside the building with his friends for every shirt. “The t-shirt’s an excuse, it’s more of a tradition.”
Whether it’s worth the wait is debatable. But then again this is college. College is about making lasting memories and waiting for a “Beat T-shirt” is not only a UF tradition, but it is part of the college experience.
