By: Ryan Thompson, Features Editor
Maybe you walk around campus with a forward-facing head and determination in your gait, disregarding any and all Canada goose excrement that may moisten your travels. Or maybe you’re a wanderer, who looks around campus when conversing and owns a slight disregard for the immediate. The Spinnaker compiled a few observations around campus that you may or may not have already discovered, in hopes that you can turn to a buddy or classmate and ask, “Have you ever noticed?”
The Boathouse Shake and Fries:
Have you ever noticed that the two large structures inside of the Boathouse are intended to look like a milkshake and fries? David Crabtree, the director of the Student Union, said planners unofficially dubbed the sculpture on the brick wall The French Fries during an early planning meeting. He said the want for a performance area without a stage and a way to break up the brick abyss led to the sculpture.
As for the Milkshake Cup, it got its moniker during that same meeting. Designers from Rink Design made it look like a cup, when the drink station could’ve looked like any regular wet bar or a box-type structure. Crabtree said the cup was originally expected to go through the second floor and show in the first-floor food court. That way, a single visual element would have tied the two floors together. But costs eventually rendered the idea impermissible.
He said the design team always referred to Student Union West as “food and fun.”
The Healing Statue:
Of course you’ve noticed the sculpture of a mother and child in front of the UNF Brooks College of Health, but have you ever noticed people sitting in it? A gap in the statue leaves way for two people, or one person stretched out, to intrude on the mother and child’s intimate moment.
The Covered, Second-Floor Walkway:
Exposure to the elements draws many students to UNF, but have you ever noticed that you don’t always have to submit to nature when it’s slamming down on you? The university has left us to soak in downpours during walks from Lots 14 and 18, but once you’re by the Arena, you won’t need to suffer any longer. You can walk from the Arena all the way to Building 14D without sustaining a hit from a single raindrop.
If campus traffic extends to walking on campus for you, then you’ll want to take the totally-avoidant-of-nature second-floor walkway, which hosts spots of aged, dried gum instead of goose gifts. You can also stay dry by walking from the Honors Hall to the Library, but there is a chance for definite drenching should you come from the walkway. If you need to get to the education building or the Fine Arts Center, you’re on your own.
Campus Oopses:
Lower your eye:
UNF students do two things: Walk swiftly by Sbarro’s to avoid succumbing to an even-more-pizza-filled diet or walk swiftly into Sbarro’s because its been too long since they’ve ingested dough and garlic. But if you stop outside to read the sign, you may notice that it reads, “the italian Eatery.” Now, it may just be a personal need to obsess over words, but that “i” in “italian,” which should be capitalized, is lowercase. Not a travesty, of course, but worth the one and a half chuckles that come from its first sighting.
Noel, new l:
If you sit close to the sign on the brick wall outside of Starbucks closest to that stairway that doesn’t actually lead to the Library’s interior, you’ll see one of the letters looks a bit brighter than the others. It’s also unaligned with the ‘T’ in the line above it. Again, this one’s not too detrimental, but it leads to a somewhat amusing, and then eventually frustrating, game of Guess What’s Wrong With That Sign.
Color-confused s’s:
Long lines during the food court’s busy hours lead to the type of boredom that has you staring at various signs. Those who look at Salsarita’s sign closely will notice that the second ‘s’ in “salsa” and the after-the-apostrophe ‘s’ in “rita’s” sit on the opposite color than they should. The correct logo features the first five characters with red shadows and the last six characters with lime green shadows. Since this colorful oops doesn’t offend anyone, it receives an “Oh, look at that” upon pointing it out.
The Spinnaker wants to see what you’ve noticed around campus. Send an email to [email protected] or a tweet to @unfspinnaker with your own observations. If enough responses flow in, you may see your own discoveries in a future issue of the Spinnaker.
Email Ryan at [email protected].
