The Crow's Nest

Commuter school, commuter campus.

The phrases are uttered in disdain. Criticisms leveled at universities that do not have “history.” The University of South Florida System is talked about in this language; especially by those who attend our “elder” siblings of UF, FSU and FAMU.

I am sorry, but if having “history” means attending a university where a state’s governor stood in “the schoolhouse door” (University of Alabama) in response to desegregation, or violence over the same issue (University of Mississippi). I want to have no part of that “history.” Besides if you are in Gainesville, you can only go to the Salty Dog Saloon so many times before the place loses its appeal.

Even if racial relations were never as peachy as USF Administration likes to makes them out to be during those critical years of the 1960s and ’70s; I take comfort in the fact that pictures of the Bayboro Campus are not featured in the History Channel’s (or anyone else’s) commentary on the Civil Rights era.

Using USFSP as an example, what is wrong with being a “commuter school?” Though I am in the minority of those who attend this campus due to the fact that I live in RHO, I am able to recognize the vast benefits and opportunities that accompany going to such a school.

Let us examine the resources available to us “commuter students” in Pinellas County, alone:

• There is the oft revered and doted on “600 Block” on Central Avenue where one can find a number of various thrift shops (excuse me, I meant “vintage boutiques”) that offer a more homey feel and charm than your typical run-of-the-mill thrift shop.

• The Pier and its superb view of downtown and the bay is just a short walk away.

• Central Avenue on First Friday, enough said.

• How many schools have an independent, virtually on-campus bar like The Tavern?

• How many schools in this grand country can say that they have an on campus beach at low tide, an airport (and bar), and a Coast Guard station within a three minute walk?

• Tropicana Field is a free seven-minute trolley ride away.

• A wide variety of museums and world class beaches are a short walk or drive away.

• I might also suggest a moonless, romantic night at Pass-A-Grille, where one can actually see stars over the Gulf of Mexico.

And as for what lies just beyond a bridge? The absolute best freshly squeezed orange juice in the great state of Florida, and therefore Earth, is a short drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at The Citrus Place in Terra Ceria.  There’s also the downtown Tampa library, Ybor City, the Yuengling brewery and Skipper’s Smokehouse on the other side of the Howard Frankland.

Don’t be bummed that the Special Collections Library at the University of Georgia is larger than Davis and Bayboro Halls combined. Just pour yourself a glass of orange juice and plant your lawn chair on the campus beach and work on your tan.