My name is Tj Villamil and I’ll be serving as your Student Body president for the 2012-13 academic year. Not only will you have one of the best collegiate experiences in the nation, but the people you will meet here at UF will be your friends for life.
After two years of growing pains, repairs and accommodations, the local restaurant The Jones Eastside is expanding with a new downtown location.
When you first get to UF, that stretch of bars and restaurants across from the stadium, on a little lane called University Avenue, seem to glisten. That strip, in all its glory, beckons you from your dorm late at night after your parents move you in, when you’re finally free of curfews.
The Reitz Union offers leisure courses, or informal classes taken for fun, year-round. The classes meet periodically at the Reitz Union or at other locations in Gainesville, making them popular for students, faculty members and locals alike. People enroll each semester by the hundreds.
It’s 6 p.m. You just woke up from a nap in your dorm room, and your stomach is screaming in hunger. The last thing you want to do is put an Easy Mac bowl in the common area’s sketchy microwave. It’s the first week of your freshman year, so you don’t know anything beyond the bounds of University Avenue or 13th Street.
Coffee shops come in many forms — chain shops in strip malls, meet-ups for students to discuss literature and play board games or drive-thrus for convenience on the way to work.
Southwest Recreation Center is a lot farther from your dorm than it looks on the map. That’s when buses come in handy.
Students interested in working on campus can find job openings on the university’s website, https://jobs.ufl.edu/, as well as listings on the Reitz Union’s website, www.union.ufl.edu/jobs, and UF’s Office of Human Resource Services’ website, www.hr.ufl.edu.
On Aug. 30, UF’s own Orange and Brew will open its doors (for free) to showcase some of Gainesville’s very own local musicians.
There are a ton of bike stores around here. These establishments will help with all fixes: if your lock gets rained on and rusts shut, if you get in an accident (knock on wood), if you need to buy a tube replacement, etc.
Ted Kubisek stood in front of the fan to combat the heat during the shop’s last week of being open for business. He spoke to customers and employees in a way that shows he’s known them for years.
When UF students pack the libraries, stress levels spike and coffee replaces beer as the drink of choice, exam week has arrived.
Before you decide you want to be a student leader, or before you decide that you want nothing to do with Student Government, hear the facts.
What began as a passion for Native American customs expanded into a boutique in 2008. Now the expansion continues in order to serve the community.
A cornerstone of the area is the Hippodrome State Theatre, which is entering its 40th season. The Hipp, as locals know it, is housed in an old federal building with Corinthian columns at 25 SE Second Place.
Student organizations like the UF Falling Gators Skydiving Club are a great way to make friends and break the monotony of the academic week.
In between all of the true learning you will be doing for the next four years — like how to properly perform a keg stand and handle the subsequent hangover — remember, this is college and you do have to take classes.
I remember freshman move-in day. After the sweaty process of transporting boxes of stuff through Florida rain and humidity, I was excited to make my new space into my new home. I had the bedspread, the desk lamp and storage bins, all from department stores.
You’re finally in college. No one is nagging you about a project being due. No one is making sure you’re paying attention in class. And no one is telling you when to be home at night.
To avoid ballooning four sizes by the time you go home for Winter Break, try these tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle as a new student.
Solutions by The State News
