{"id":148757,"date":"2026-02-09T12:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T12:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/148757\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T12:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T12:03:07","slug":"usf-students-should-spend-more-time-exploring-tampa-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/148757\/","title":{"rendered":"USF students should spend more time exploring Tampa Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/a>USF\u2019s \u201ccommuter school\u201d label is actually a strength. ORACLE PHOTO \/ KEATON DUKE<\/p>\n

Students everywhere talk about the \u201ccollege experience,\u201d often characterized by a college town where the local community is an integral part of campus life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

USF is often thought to be lacking this aspect of the college experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only 19.53% of USF undergraduates live in college-owned, operated, or affiliated housing according to USF\u2019s common data set for 2024-2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This leads us to wonder where the other 80% of students on our campus commute from and what their local communities offer them.<\/p>\n

The USF Tampa campus is about a 20-minute drive from downtown. This leads some people to believe that USF lacks opportunities for students to participate in off-campus activities.<\/p>\n

But USF students are not lacking a college town. They are embedded in the broader Tampa Bay region, with opportunities to contribute to and be impacted by it.<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: Commuting to USF can be lonely, but it has its upsides<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a commuter student from Palm Harbor, I found a perfect example of the potential of the connection between Tampa Bay and the USF campus.<\/p>\n

I learned early in college that each person needs art to create and to consume.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For this reason, I began sharing my poetry at open mic nights all across Tampa Bay \u2014 in Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Lutz, downtown Tampa and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The First Amendment Forum<\/a> at USF typically hosts weekly discussion meetings to promote free speech and civil discourse.<\/p>\n

As president of the student organization, I decided to host a special \u201chot take open mic\u201d night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the \u201chot take open mic\u201d night, I invited creatives from each open mic I had been to across Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

The creatives came to USF and shared music, poetry, comedy and hot takes alongside students.<\/p>\n

During these visits, I found that many USF students realized Tampa has much more to offer than they expected. It offers spaces to contribute, places to explore and areas to volunteer.<\/p>\n

As I watched creative USF students interact with creatives from around Tampa Bay, I realized that being a university in a major metropolitan area gives us something just as valuable as the typical \u201ccollege experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

It gives USF students access to diverse people, places and opportunities to learn and to contribute.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With a short drive to downtown Tampa, students can find a multitude of events and opportunities \u2014 including places to dance, read, garden, run, pray and build community.<\/p>\n

Since that open mic night, I began seeing more USF students at creative events in Tampa Bay, such as writers\u2019 workshops and poetry readings.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also seen a greater willingness from USF creatives to venture a bit off campus.<\/p>\n

There has also been more excitement towards the fact that, although we may not have a college town, we have the vibrant and diverse Tampa Bay area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: OPINION: USF shows that college is what you make of it<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another overlooked benefit of USF\u2019s proximity to a major metropolitan area is the opportunity to interact with and learn from people of every generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whereas most college towns keep young people around only other young people, Tampa is intergenerational \u2014 with 19.4% of the population under 18 and 13.7% aged 65 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As a young person, you have so much grace in the eyes of the people around you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

People who are older than you can be mentors who shape your perspective and change your life. People who are younger than you can be mentees whose lives you change.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cultural diversity also characterizes Tampa Bay, as regional data show<\/a> that about 26.2% of residents are Hispanic or Latino.<\/p>\n

Students will find that a relatively short drive off campus can integrate them into a variety of cultures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just this semester, my USF friends and I have been to Greek, Syrian, Jamaican and Cuban cultural festivals and events in the Tampa Bay area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These events gave me a better understanding of how to connect with people different from me. I also learned that there are incredible foods, dances and traditions that I had yet to explore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These cultural events offer stories and lessons for every USF student.<\/p>\n

Related: USF\u2019s Fletcher District approved in Board of Governors meeting<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the next few years, the Fletcher District is set to be built \u2014 a development consisting of academic, housing and retail spaces that will replace USF\u2019s former golf course.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first phase of this project is projected to be completed by July 2028.<\/p>\n

The Fletcher District will give USF a stronger college-town feel that so many students crave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, even as the campus evolves, we shouldn\u2019t ignore the unique benefits our university already enjoys as part of Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Being a predominantly commuter school near such a major city is not a drawback. It is an opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We should take advantage of this and start exploring Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"USF\u2019s \u201ccommuter school\u201d label is actually a strength. ORACLE PHOTO \/ KEATON DUKE Students everywhere talk about the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-148757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}