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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 14:22:26 GMT
Living in a university town in the southeastern United States can have its advantages and disadvantages. The university definitely affects the ebb and flow of city life. This Saturday is summer graduation and, since classes don't begin until August 25, there will be at least a few days of quiet with less traffic and fewer bike riders in the university part of town. Restaurants will be easier to get into and the whole area around the University of Florida campus will become much more accessible. August in the city can be very hot and quite dead as locals use this period to go to one of the nearby Atlantic Coast beaches as a last vacation before the public schools start on August 18. I came to this town from west central Florida as a college freshman in 1970. In driving just two hours north from Tampa I saw a whole different change in terrain, from flat, sandy coastlands to rolling hills, a lush tree canopy and crystal clear, spring-fed rivers and streams. Though I've lived other places in the south and west for brief periods of time due to work, this town has consistently been my home as an adult. Though some things have changed here in terms of buildings surrounding the college campus, I can still drive past the dorm I lived freshman year, the house and apartments I lived in before graduating, and the family home next to the campus where three of my four children were raised. Because college football also drives much of what happens in this town, and football season will be starting soon, the end of August is essentially the beginning of our year, rather than January 1st. I thought it might be interesting to feature some of the highlights and lowlights of what it's like to live here. It's my plan to add little bits and pieces to this thread over the next few months. We will see how that goes...
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 14:54:01 GMT
A few University of Florida facts: Founded in 1853 Became the University of Florida in 1905 Total Number of Students 49,785 Undergraduate Students 32,008 Graduate/Professional Students 16,272 Minority Enrollment (African American, Hispanic American, Asian American and Native American) 14,677 International Students 6,000 Ratio of Men to Women 46/54 Undergrad Degree Programs - Majors More than 100 Graduate Degree Programs More than 200 Student Organizations More than 900 Number of Varsity Sports Teams 21 (9 men/ 12 women) Number of Consecutive Years Ranked Among Nation's 10 Best Athletic Programswww.admissions.ufl.edu/ufprofile.htmlCollege mascot: "Gators" School colors: orange and blue
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 15:42:16 GMT
A few more UF facts: UF is consistently ranked among the (USA) nation’s top universities: No. 14 in U.S. News & World Report “Top Public Universities” (August 2013); No. 3 in Kiplinger’s “Best Values in Public Colleges” (2013); No. 3 in the Fiske Guide to Colleges list of Best Buys Among Publics (2014); No. 15 on the Forbes list of best public universities (2013); and No. 1 on Washington Monthly magazine’s list of national universities that offer the best bang for the buck (2013.)
UF has more than 4,000 faculty members with distinguished records in teaching, research and service, including 34 Eminent Scholar chairs and 42 faculty elections to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, or the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Awards include a Fields Medal, two Pulitzer Prizes, NASA’s top award for research, and Smithsonian Institution’s conservation award. Students
More than 96 percent of incoming freshmen score above the national average on standardized exams. Students admitted for the fall 2014 freshman class had an average 4.4 GPA (out of a regular 4.0, and a weighted 5.0). www.ufl.edu/about-uf/facts-and-rankings/So, overall, the combined faculty and student groups are a pretty intelligent lot, though with some you have to wonder. With that many bright faculty members and students in the community there is also a trickle down effect seen in the local public and private schools. High school students in our area tend to score higher on standardized examinations and are overall better students than those from many other parts of the state.
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Post by mossie on Aug 7, 2014 16:21:32 GMT
Quite a place. I had no idea, in fact had never heard of Gainesville before. Will be interested to see more.
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 16:42:46 GMT
Quite a place. I had no idea, in fact had never heard of Gainesville before. Will be interested to see more. Have you ever heard of Gatorade?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 16:54:29 GMT
When my parents lived in Florida, we never went to Gainesville, but we brushed pretty close to it a number of times. I think I went on a few forays with them along US41 looking for rabbit farms to stock the larder.
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 17:05:32 GMT
Too bad. There are lots of animals raised organically around the area and it's easy to find good prices on rabbit, chicken, beef, goat, and other meats.
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 18:47:32 GMT
Gainesville has many services and shops that draw people from surrounding communities to the area. One of the major resources is the University of Florida Medical School and Health Science Center, commonly known as "Shands." ufhealth.org Patients travel from all over North Florida and beyond for care, including those who are critically ill and seeking the latest in medical research. When my sister was ill in 1973/74, my parents brought her to Gainesville several times so experts in their field could prescribe a course of treatment that might cure her illness. Gainesville has a very strong and active artistic community, and several live theaters ranging from community groups to major productions at the Center for Performing Arts and the Hippodrome State Theatre. Several notable musicians and actors have come from this town including Tom Petty and members of the Phoenix clan. We've had some rough times as a university community. Issues surrounding the war in Vietnam were heatedly debated here and a protest became a terrifying experience when I was an undergraduate in 1972: www.afn.org/~iguana/archives/2002_05/20020509.htmlAnd we had an even more horrific period when I was in graduate school in 1990. A serial killer, Danny Rolling, systematically murdered five college students, and was found to have been camping in the woods not far from my home. During that time many students stayed home from classes, while helicopters using searchlight, and police with dogs combed over the area desperately trying to find the killer before he acted again. I continued to ride my bike to and from class at night, but still wondered if that was very smart. www.history.com/this-day-in-history/murdered-students-are-discovered-at-the-university-of-florida
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 19:32:10 GMT
I had forgotten until just now that so many students were terrified during the time of the killings that they unenrolled from classes and went home (the semester had just started). We have a retaining wall on SW 34th street that students use to write all kinds of graffiti, from "Happy Birthday" wishes, to things like, "I love Danny." Twenty-four years ago, after the murders, a memorial to the slain students was painted on the wall and it is still maintained today. Later, there were also five palm trees planted in the median strip across from the memorial. For the most part, students continue to paint their sloppy slogans on either side of the memorial, and from time to time it is repainted in tribute. I will try to get some pictures, but here's a link to a photo in the local newspaper: www.gainesville.com/article/20100821/NEWS/100829920
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Post by mossie on Aug 7, 2014 19:35:34 GMT
It would appear that you lived in a violent and rebellious place, I hope it is more peaceful now.
Never heard of Gatorade, could certainly have done with it when I was in Egypt.
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Post by htmb on Aug 7, 2014 19:43:53 GMT
A couple of horrible times in the history of our community to be sure. For the most part this is a good, solid town like scores of others. I have never mentioned either incident on AnyPort that I can recall, so wanted to get the terrifying stuff out of the way before going on to the rest. Unfortunately, these things are a part of life, and they leave lasting memories.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 21:36:59 GMT
Don't forget that absolutely everywhere has had tragedies. Just imagine if I felt a need to mention every massacre, murder or atrocity that has occurred in Paris over the years, even though it is an extremely peaceful city these days.
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Post by htmb on Aug 8, 2014 15:32:22 GMT
Here are the palm trees planted in memory of the five students. While directly across the street is the memorial wall which, as you can see, needs a little touching up.
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Post by htmb on Aug 8, 2014 15:47:59 GMT
When you see a few photos from the rest of the 34th Street wall you'll understand why I've never chosen any for the street art thread. This one is not so bad......yet. But these lovely bits of college-level expression didn't start out so great in the first place and then were quickly tagged over. The city very thoughtfully provides garbage cans for used bottles of spray paint and trash.
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Post by htmb on Aug 8, 2014 16:23:45 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 17:20:19 GMT
It looks like UF needs a "street art" department to raise the quality.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 11:55:45 GMT
I've never been to Gainesville but have skirted it on driving trips to the East Coast. The only thing I know about it is that it's a huge college football town. Folks who have relocated here from Gainesville still proudly display their "Gator" flags and banners during the season. It's nice to learn more about it.
Thanks.
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Post by htmb on Aug 9, 2014 16:03:50 GMT
True. Florida Gator fans rank up there with the most colorful and vociferous of the lot. This is a big college football town, and on any given Saturday, from the end of August until the end of November, we are deluged with huge numbers of orange and blue clothed fans, here to cheer on their team. Traffic will be unbearable, hotel rooms unavailable, and waits for a seat in a restaurant will most certainly take forever.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 9, 2014 16:14:12 GMT
The Gators are definitely popular everywhere in Florida being the university football team representing the state. Every Walmart has a huge section devoted to the apparel.
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Post by htmb on Aug 9, 2014 16:37:17 GMT
Don't tell that to anyone at the university to the west of us. You would be very unpopular.
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 11:47:29 GMT
It looks like UF needs a "street art" department to raise the quality. Funny thing about this city and county. In an effort to eradicate ugly billboards and signs, officials adopted a strictly controlled law many years ago. Driving around our town, or on the interstate highway bisecting our county, you will not see large advertising billboards, unlike in many other Florida communities. This really does make for a much more pleasant and uncluttered view. Unfortunately, this also means unauthorized street art is not allowed within a certain distance from the roadway. An exception has been made for the 34th Street wall, but several years ago art in at least two different places was removed because it violated the sign ordinance. In one case, a young friend of mine had painted a beautiful scene depicting frolicking dolphins on an otherwise ugly wooden fence where a street ended on a main crossroad. Even though the fence was on private property, the art was on the road right-of-way side and in violation of the ordinance. There have been some other interesting wall art pieces in the past, but those are now gone, due to redevelopment in the areas. Unfortunately, we do have active, mostly small time, gang members who enjoy tagging their way around town, but I consider their scribbles defacement of property and see no redeeming qualities.
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 14:38:23 GMT
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 15:48:02 GMT
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 16:07:32 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 16:33:49 GMT
Is there any chance that that is real grass?
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Post by mich64 on Aug 10, 2014 16:36:08 GMT
I am enjoying learning about your home in Gainesville htmb! Very sad to read about the disturbing things that have happened there, but like you stated we could all add disturbing things that have happened in the past in our communities. These events should not define a community but be included in the history of it like yours has done with the memorials to the students so they are not forgotten. You live in a beautiful community with lovely vegetation and architecture. Why do some of the seats in the stadium have cushions while others do not? Your football stadiums are like our hockey arenas, people use them to run stairs or walk laps around the ice surface. Our hockey season starts soon! We are season ticket holders and will get to see a few exhibition games before we depart for our holiday but will miss the opening game of the season.
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 16:55:35 GMT
Is there any chance that that is real grass? Absolutely!!! From wiki: The playing surface of Florida Field has also changed over the years. It was natural grass until 1971, when Astroturf was installed and nicknamed "Doug's Rug" for then-coach Doug Dickey.[19] The original artificial surface was replaced with an updated version in 1980,[20] and it remained until 1990, when newly hired coach Steve Spurrier insisted that it be removed and replaced with natural grass to help prevent player injury.[5] In June 2012, the playing surface was completely torn out down to the substrate to improve drainage and install a Bermuda grass hybrid developed with assistance from the University of Florida's agronomy department to better resist drought, disease, and damage.[21]en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hill_Griffin_StadiumYou haven't lived until you've had old AstroTurf, torn out of the stadium, to cover the concrete floors of your outside laundry room. Mich, you're very observant. In many areas of the stadium the seats are backless bleachers. Ticket holders who wish to add backs can pay to have them attached to their seats for the season. It's nice to have a back to lean against, but often bothersome for those on the row behind since it then limits their legroom.
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Post by mich64 on Aug 10, 2014 17:09:21 GMT
Because our arenas host so many events permanent padded seats for ticket holders would not work for us. But many people bring there own with them each game. It would be beneficial if we were able to just leave your padded seat in place and not have to bring it with you each game. Sometimes I just take off my coat and sit on that if I have worn a warm sweater.
I understand the practicality of AstroTurf and we have a few fields here with it, without we would have very few athletic events due to our climate. I also understand the dangers of it for the athletes.
Do many people have their laundry rooms outside there? I have noticed this on real estate / home improvement programs and wondered if this is a desirable thing or not?
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 17:45:27 GMT
My laundry room, in my original home, was added on as an afterthought, I am sure. It was out in an area of the garage which was on a concrete slab. That house was built in 1951, so possibly another reason it was in the garage was to isolate the "help." For a long time I did my laundry out there. Hot as a devil in the summer and often really cold in the winter. We later closed in the space and added on an addition to the house, finally giving me an indoor space to do laundry. At the time, I had a ton, but taught my children to do their own and completely turned the job over to each of them when they turned age eleven.
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Post by htmb on Aug 10, 2014 17:46:16 GMT
And, of course, here there are gators everywhere. Across the street from the football stadium there are more sports facilities, including the O'Connell Center, named after the president of the university during my undergraduate years. It houses a huge basketball stadium, Olympic swimming and diving center, and practice areas for gymnastics and basketball. The center, which used to have an inflated Teflon fabric roof, will soon be undergoing another major renovation. Next to the O'Connell Center is the swim and dive center's outdoor pool where many Olympic athletes have trained. Not seen are the tennis courts, track, and baseball field, and across campus one can find softball fields, lacrosse......you get the idea. The University of Florida is not only a highly ranked academic institution, it's also an athletic institution, attracting student athletes from all over the country, as well as those from abroad. I've seen a lot of changes in this part of the campus over the years since I first came to Gainesville, and have worn off a lot of shoe tread walking these sidewalks. To the north of the stadium is the neighborhood when I hid out during the worst of the student/police clash in 1972. Since I lived on the south side of town at the time, but was stuck on the north, and on my bicycle no less, this is where I headed. It was still close enough to hear the noises and feel the faint effects of tear gas, while helicopters swept the neighborhoods through the nights with their high beam lights. As it turns out, one of my history professors was the main catalyst in calming the storm, as was another professor who later became a long-time acquaintance. They were both idealized by students for years afterwards for their bravery and clear thinking. A few blocks to the north of the campus is the elementary school attended by three of my children long ago. It's perched right in the middle of the neighborhood so most of the children can walk to school. Unfortunately, we lived too far away, so mine did not. The school opened in 1939, and was built in the more traditional, single building model. Due to its proximity to the university campus, the school parent-teacher support association is able to raise funds for extra supplies by charging to park cars on the school grounds during football season. A real bonus to the school. A few blocks to the north is the original city high school, Gainesville High. This, it's third location, opened in the 1950's and you can see how the architecture changed from a single building to a series of open corridors connecting several different buildings. This is one of the three large high schools in town and, though their colors are not orange and blue, you can probably figure them out. Their mascot is the "Hurricane," oddly enough. In front of the high school is a memorial plaque for a former student......one of the student murder victims. All across the university stadium area and the public schools I visited there was a pervasive smell. I finally recognized it as fresh paint. Of course, while it's now semester break on the University of Florida campus, the local public schools are preparing to open for the new school year. Teachers will report tomorrow to begin getting their classrooms ready. Administrators, many of whom have been working throughout the summer, will be ready to put new plans into place, and the schools will open for students, ready or not, a week later.
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