My Bug List

      A few times a week when we are walking around and completing our daily routines, we experience something that is annoying large or small. With so much commotion of a college student, we are too focused to stop and think, “why hasn’t anyone done anything about that?” or maybe even, “how could I do something about that?” These are the things I have gathered walking from the last few days.

1. Letting your tooth brush sits in your bathroom it collects fecal matter which you then must insert into your mouth to brush your teeth.

Why: Everyone finds it easy to just leave their toothbrush in the bathroom where they brush their teeth instead carrying it back and forth from your bedroom. This extra trip results in people just leaving their tooth brush on the sink next to the toilet.

2. At the University of Florida, many students ride scooters and motorcycles. Some scooter drivers are much more unsafe because they are unaware of the laws of the road and terrible drivers because they had no form of training.

Why: The difference between motorcycles and scooters is that although you need a drivers license for both vehicles, motorcycles require a special license you receive from taking a course. During that course they teach you how to ride and the rules if the road when it comes to two wheeled vehicles.

      3. I dislike that there is nowhere to charge your phone or computer. This is pertaining to actual charging stations, not outlets.

Why: This problem exists because it would financially be draining to put in place numerous stations for charging (each one featuring a different cable), it would be easy to have your phone stolen if left charging anywhere, and because it would clutter meal halls and libraries.

4. At the University of Florida, I am bugged when I see 500 dollar scooters carelessly scrapping against a 4,500 dollar 2018 sport motorcycle. Multiple scoots are jammed together and scooter students will move scooters and slide them into spaced they can barely fit.

Why: The first reason this occurs is due to the fact that UF has failed to take into consideration parking when construction the campus. The second reason is that because scooters are so cheap and require no certification to own/operate, some students view them as oversized toys. Motorcycles are similar to cars in the idea that when parking your car at the grocery store you cannot just scrape against someone car too fit into a parking spot and then casually walk away. You would have to fill out a police report or exchange insurance information with the persons car you damaged.

5. I wish there was a easy and super cool way to get across campus in a matter of not time, eliminating the need for buses, scooters, bicycles, skateboard, and cars.

Why: There is not one because it would be insanely expensive, require lots of space, construction on campus would cause major delays, and UF would loose money selling decals to its students.

6. I am bugged when I see that there is nowhere for students to possibly leave a motorcycle helmet at on campus which creates a clutter and a urge for people to not wear helmets.

Why: There are no lockers on campus for students to deposit belongings maybe due to space, lack of finances, and or student miss use.

7. I am bugged when I see people at the gym texting or surfing the Internet for five minutes on their phones while others are sitting there waiting to use the bench, rack, or weights.

Why: This happens because people are untrained and inexperienced in working out. Some do not use machines correcting resulting risking their health and the health of others.  Experienced exercise individuals take into consideration someone is always waiting and that although you must take breaks for in between sets you can’t sit forever. This would improve if people had to take a welcome to UF fitness course that was only 20 minutes before using the gym for the rest of their college career.

8. It bugs me when I see others or myself almost get ran over by a cyclist in the Turlington court yard or Plaza of the Americas.

Why: This exist because of lack of signs and more because lack of officers in campus. If there were as many people patrolling campus looking for theft, litter, individuals breaking rules, or potential threats as there are giving out citations for barely being outside of a line, this would be less of an issue.

9. It bugs me that FSU football game tickets are free for students but cost 160 dollars for UF students, given the fact that we are number one in the state for academics. 

Why: I am not sure the current financial situation of the school, but it may be possible that it is another way to get money out of students. Maybe the funds go into a program or the stadium but they definitely are reducing the price of the five dollar hot dogs sold in the concession stands at football games.

10. I am bugged by the fact that the speed limit is 20 miles per hour throughout the entire campus.

Why: Some parts of campus are heavily flooded with student traffic but other parts that are generally open should be increased to 30 miles per hour, the speed limit found in most neighborhoods.

11. I am bugged by UF selling blue parking decals for general parking when almost all places around campus are for orange, red, or reserved for certain numbers. Why would you charge Freshmen over one hundred dollars when they are unknowing to the fact that they cannot park their car anywhere but a few places.

Why: UF is raising revenue by charging this amount and students who have never taken a class on campus because they are fresh out of high school pay it, even though there is very little reward from it.

12. It bugs me that I there are people being assaulted and robbed around campus a couple times a month.

Why: (Obviously things happen outside of our control, not blaming the victim) People may feel that because Gainesville, surrounding UF, is a “college town” where they may feel that they are safer but given the notifications received once a week that someone has been assaulted or robbed, that may not be the case. More emergency blue poles that call the nearest guard would help and a free class to help someone resist being abducted would be awesome. 

13. I am bugged that I have to wait 2.5 hours for first come first serve walk-ins at the business school.

Why: I have to wait because there is no form of notification system alerting you that there are only a few people in front of you. An app or website would allow me to get my place in line and then freely go on about my day until I receive notification.

14. I am bugged when I am away from my apartment/dorm and I have no way of checking on it or my vehicle when I am out of town or in class.

Why: This problem exists because people break into homes when no one is there and if you don’t have a friend or neighbor who periodically visits throughout the week, your home is more risk when it is left inactive. Security systems do not come with dorms and most apartment for each unit.

15. I am bugged that on campus there are vending machines that have water higher priced than sodas, causing thirsty people to make the unhealthier choice.

Why: You find ways of cutting cost and distributing to more people, resulting in each unit costing lower. It could also be that the school contact could only allow for a certain kind of water that is more expensive to be sold, such as Disani versus filling the machines with water from Walmart that is much cheaper.

16. I am bugged there is not an AED on each floor of each building, which is handy because someone could be revived who is going into cardiac arrest.

Why: AEDs are very expensive, and I assume most people are not randomly beginning to die out of nowhere. As a life guard for two years I have yet to witness someone go into cardiac arrest, but preparation is important for life saving situations. 

17. The University of Florida Dining hall has very poor-quality food. For one of the top pubic university in the country there is very poor and non-diverse food options offered.

Why: Expensive food takes longer to prepare and more people to do so. There are at least over 10,000 students on campus at one time. It would be much easier to pour egg yolk out of a bag then to crack 4 eggs and whisk them around without getting any shells into the mix.     

18. I am in a business fraternity and I dislike ironing dress shirts because its time consuming and there are usually wrinkles.

Why: There are multiple folds, a collar, buttons going down the center, and buttons on the sleeves. This provides barriers to ironing and the extra length of the shirt contains more material to iron.

19. I am bugged when my alarm clock is not loud enough which can make me late.

Why: I believe this happens because I sleep to deep and it requires more than just random tones that are just audible. It would be awesome to have the TV turn on or to have the bed vibrate.

20. It bugs me that I forget to turn my phone on vibrate for important activities like public speaking or exams.

Why: I am so nervous and focused on the test that I can’t even think about anything else. I wish my google calendar would turn my phone on vibrate when it sees that I have entered an event labeled “accounting exam.”

My biggest challenges were defining things that could actually be changed. Although UF is the best school ever and I am proud gator, I was bugged by numerous things I saw as I went to campus everyday. One thing that I learned in economics is that there are limited resources and capital, so some of the problems that bothered me would take a massive amount of financial ability and a group people enthusiastic enough to complete a three year project. Moving passed the large bugs found in Gainesville or those that would have to be corrected by the government, I found it difficult to find things to criticize. At least once a day you have a moment where you think to yourself, “How annoying?” or “Why the heck does that happen?” but it is difficult to notice them until you actually are looking for it. The final challenge was explaining why things exist. I had to critically think about the culture around us and why other people would support or allow things that I considered bugs. We all have different views so my reason for why something bugs me is another person’s reason for loving something.