If you’ve been at UNF this week, you may have noticed that the campus is reminiscent of a ghost town – as if Thanos gave it a little snap. There are still people here and there, but it’s nothing close to the rush from previous semesters.

Incoming freshmen who are living on campus may not get the full first-year college experience, which is kind of saddening. Making new friends will be a lot harder with everyone staying six feet apart and not speaking loud enough through their masks – if making friends wasn’t hard enough already (not to mention, maybe never getting to meet Howard).

But maybe there are some ways to have fun in your down time, while still respecting UNF policies and procedures:

UNF Golf Complex: One of UNF’s hidden gems,  the 38-acre UNF golf Complex, has a practice facility that is great for golfers of all levels. The practice course has four holes and comes with “lighted chipping and putting greens, lighted driving range with grass tee and automatic Power Tee mats.” The Golf Complex is available for students, faculty and staff, and for the general public as well.

Picnic: The Mayo Clinic suggests that having a picnic is a low-risk social activity to do. Pack up some of your favorite foods from your favorite places, then find a nice place in the shade to enjoy your tasty treats with some friends. You get extra brownie points if you social distance.

UNF Trails: Surrounding UNF are miles of nature trails that students use to run, walk, or just get a break from school. The trails offer a close up insight to the natural beauty of our campus, as UNF is built near the Sawmill Slough Preserve. The trails are deep and are all connected, so be sure to keep track of your whereabouts and to bring a flashlight if you visit there later in the day.

Skribbl.io: This online game is similar to charades, but with drawing. You and your friends will take turns drawing, while the others guess what it is. The first to guess gets the most points. At the end, the person with the most points wins. In order to play with friends, you create a private room, and invite them with the link.

Video Games: Whether you have a Playstation, X-Box, Nintendo, or PC, there are many video games to play to suck up your free time. Many video games have multiplayer and allow you to play and talk with others – all from the safety of your own room.

Favorite Movie Swap: Place the names of you and your friends’ favorite movies in a hat, grab one, watch the movie, then try and guess who’s favorite movie it is. You can add prizes to make the game more competitive.

Learn a new card game: Most of us have played “I Declare War,” or “Slap Jack,” but playing the same games can get dull. There are tons of card games out there to learn how to play with friends and YouTube is filled with tutorials. You can also play online. Along the way, you can even venture into learning magic tricks. If you want to be extra careful, wear gloves while you’re playing.

Fishing: You’ve probably seen people fishing in the lakes here on campus. You can cast your rod in Candycane Lake or other nearby lakes. Rules: no live bait, catch and release only, don’t feed the alligators, and pick up your trash. For more information, see a previous Spinnaker article, here, about fishing on campus.

Spinnaker asked students on Instagram what they like to do safely on campus and they replied with activities, such as “Dungeons and Dragons (D&D),” “studying together virtually,” and “doing nothing.”

You can stay up to date on events on campus by checking the UNF master calendar.

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