Another student\u00a0brought up\u00a0a concern\u00a0regarding\u00a0the\u00a0integrity\u00a0of multicultural student organizations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething\u2026 I think a lot of us have been concerned about, is the integrity of multicultural orgs on campus. There have been a lot of changes to how we\u00a0operate\u00a0recently,\u201d English senior Julia Birdsall and secretary of PRIDE Alliance said. \u201cThe words that we use in our marketing, the way that our windows in the OMA (Office of Multicultural Affairs) office have been fogged over, the way that we can use that space.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Diaz led his response saying that the windows of the OMA office were fogged over at the request of students.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Birdsall, students requested curtains to open and close at will.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Diaz also said that faculty have had to adjust to the restrictions enforced by SB 266\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re trying to operate within the context of restrictions imposed that all public institutions are wrestling with,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both Smith and Diaz referenced a list of words that multicultural organizations on campus were\u00a0reportedly told\u00a0not to use in their marketing last year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The list originated from a report by the Committee of Science and Transportation led by Sen. Ted Cruz conducted into National Science Foundation (NSF). The report\u00a0looked into\u00a0NSF-funded research proposals and the common keywords\u00a0deemed\u00a0\u201cwoke.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This list included words like marginalized, women, LGBTQ+, ethnicity and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 That certainly had an effect\u00a0\u2014\u00a0no question about\u00a0it \u2014\u00a0on federal research. But that should not filter down at all to student organizations,\u201d Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to Birdsall, the list was \u201cexplicitly enforced\u201d onto multicultural organizations last year, though organizations\u00a0are no longer required to\u00a0adhere to the list.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main concern is just ensuring that students feel safe and protected on campus,\u201d Birdsall said. \u201cBecause while a lot of these things you say were put in place to help us and protect us and uplift us, it feels like we\u2019re being pushed out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dining\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students posed several questions\u00a0pertaining to\u00a0dining, such as extending the dining hall\u2019s hours, fixing the menu signs to accurately display\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0being served and providing services for those with food sensitivities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Garcia, the campus culinary director, said that extended dining hall hours would depend on how many students would\u00a0actually be\u00a0coming in during the extended\u00a0time period.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for the menu displays, Garcia said that when\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0an influx of students and a popular dish\u00a0goes\u00a0quickly, it can take time to change the menu, so it may not accurately depict\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0being served.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try and replace it as soon as we\u00a0can and\u00a0are working diligently every day to make sure we have enough food to accommodate everyone here and try to please everyone with dietary restrictions,\u201d Garcia said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added that for those with allergies,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0best to eat at the allergen station, which is the safest of them, or to talk to the chef. Garcia also shared that students can always reach out to the dietician on staff with concerns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Facilities & Housing Costs\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harris, the assistant director of housing responded to inquiries about campus changes, saying that issues were addressed\u00a0based\u00a0on level of importance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shared that his department, along with facilities, has plans to upgrade the courtyard in the back of RHO, as well as more internal upgrades. No set date was given for these changes, but Harris shared that they plan to start in the summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The facilities\u2019\u00a0director of operations\u00a0answered questions about maintenance requests saying that they depend on urgency.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emergencies are usually resolved with the first hour.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the weekend or after hours, housing has an on-call service that takes about an hour to address the situation or circumstance. Standard work orders can take between\u00a015 and\u00a030 days\u00a0to resolve.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students also\u00a0brought up\u00a0the issue of increasing housing costs. One student even shared that they can no longer live on campus because of the price tag attached.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harris responded to this concern by saying that these increases are not decided by him or his team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would never change rates it if was up to us, but as everyone understands, there\u2019s inflation, costs of living change, costs of utilities change,\u201d Harris said. \u201cSo,\u00a0for us, we\u2019re looking at those incremental increases to ensure that we can not only support you but support the infrastructure of the buildings and the campus.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added that these changes are rolled out slowly, over the course of several years, as to lessen the severity of the impact as much as possible.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inter-campus transportation\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inter-campus transportation has been a consistent request for St. Petersburg students for many\u00a0years.\u00a0\u00a0Students who want to take classes on different campuses but may not have access to reliable transportation hope that it could be something the university could provide.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Drews, the campus\u00a0Lieutenant\u00a0Governor, responded to inquiries about the issue by sharing that student government has sent out surveys over the past several years to gauge the need for inter-campus transportation, but they found the cost\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0outweigh the demand.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that for the long-term implementation of buses from campus to campus compared to the utilization day-to-day that students would actually say they want or need that transportation is too low,\u201d Drews said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
They added that while this is true, they have seen progress in getting students to big events in Tampa by bus, such as the homecoming game. Drews also mentioned that the cost of inter-campus transportation would come out of students\u2019 pockets through tuition and fees.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Accessibility\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One student voiced a concern about accessibility on campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I do have to say on a systematic level, an institutional level, the way that USF has failed to acknowledge\u00a0and also\u00a0to address inaccessibility here is really disheartening as a student,\u201d Marketing senior Tyvell Dorvil said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorvil uses a wheelchair and has experienced challenges since he transferred here in 2024.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He notes that of USF St. Petersburg\u2019s three residence halls Pelican Apartments is the only residential building with first floor housing, and that he constantly raises concerns about appliances being too high or washing and drying machines being too close together, which have not been met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u00a0I\u2019m not even coming to you as a student, but I\u2019m also coming to you as a\u00a0future [alumnus]\u00a0and as a human being to see how these things are going to be addressed,\u201d Dorvil said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In response Harris\u00a0stated\u00a0that the university has been working with its laundry contractor to address Dorvil\u2019s concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0why the dialogue that you opened is so important, right? This is a building\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0been open since 2006, and\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0the first individual that has said, hey, I would like to see this look different,\u201d Harris said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
287g update\u00a0<\/p>\n
USF officially announced their intention to sign the 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year. The partnership \u2014 which delegates tasks typically reserved for ICE to local law enforcement.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In response to a student\u2019s question\u00a0regarding\u00a0the agreement, Hendry said UPD has\u00a0not\u00a0intention of carrying out immigration enforcement duties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, in terms of student safety, we\u2019ve had no compromise with student safety as a result of that, for the mere fact that there has been no action on that topic,\u201d Hendry said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What students thought\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie Durant, a first-year sustainability studies and political science double major, said that she attended the event out of concerns about the censorship in courses and the diversity representation on campus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked the panel about political science professors feeling the weight of their words being restricted beyond the normal in fear of what, I assume, is backlash from\u00a0possibly the\u00a0administration and at worst, our current government, and sociology classes disappearing,\u201d Durant said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smith said he found the idea of professors \u201cpicking and choosing\u201d their words in the classroom troubling.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know about courses not being offered in the past. There could be\u00a0a number of\u00a0reasons for that, Smith said. \u201cI\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0been in the classroom in more than three years. But I do think that politics, in any class, you never want to get into this situation of trying to figure out what does the professor\u00a0want, or what does the professor think.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0the least important thing happening in the classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She thought that the panel\u2019s responses were a little surprising, but also\u00a0exactly what\u00a0she was expecting to hear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith questions surrounding that flags they always kind of dance around it or fell back on how they are \u201cagainst policy\u201d,\u00a0although my peers and I feel that the specific policy\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0referring to is a bit of a gray area,\u201d Durant said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Durant also said she went to be an advocate for those who\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0or\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0go to the event. Other issues she wished were covered more thoroughly were\u00a0in regard to\u00a0dining as someone with severe food allergies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe menu being wrong is not only a hazard for me, but also for other people with more uncommon allergies,\u201d Durant said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Victoria Phan, a fourth-year biological health sciences major, said she attended the town hall to see how the faculty and staff would address concerns and questions from students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince it\u2019s my last year on campus, I\u2019ve some to learn that actively participating in community engagement activities such as this one allows there to be open discourse on how to problem solve current issues,\u201d Phan said. \u201cOr at least make it aware to high professionals in our university that these issues exist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phan continued by saying that the topics that resonated with her included the ones surrounding diversity and expression on campus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She believes that the professional staff are here to serve the students, whether it be with academics, well-being, or safety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving this time and space to hold them accountable for their actions, or in this sense, the lack thereof,\u00a0hones in\u00a0on how students\u2019 voices matter,\u201d Phan said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She added that the panel\u2019s responses reframed the questions asked rather than directly answering them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis protects them from being pinned down to that binary \u2018yes\/no\u2019 answer,\u201d Phan said. \u201cThey\u00a0also did their best to deescalate the issue by using examples to clarify but also redirect the students\u2019 attention away from the issue.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Other issues Phan wished were discussed during the event include the expansion of certain majors that host classes primarily on the Tampa campus, as well as recycling, especially within the residence halls.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Written by: Julia Ferrara<\/a> on April 13, 2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Students,\u00a0government\u00a0members\u00a0and university faculty were asked questions on a myriad of topics, such as maintenance requests and the identity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230106,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-230105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230105","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=230105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}