THE ORACLE
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F S O U T H F L O R I DA
Ambition over tradition scrapped as a university belief
By Jesse Stokes E D I T O R
I N
C H I E F
In an era of change for USF — with a new system president, consolidation and the completion of the downtown medical school all expected within the next couple of years — it can be easy for those in the community and those interested in becoming future Bulls to lose sight of what USF stands for. That is why Joe Hice, the university’s chief marketing officer, and the rest of the marketing and communications team set a list of core beliefs for the university. One of the original beliefs, ambition over tradition, sparked Along with the new academic logo came a new set of core university beliefs. One of them, however, controversy, primarily among sparked disapproval from a number of USF alumni, who felt their contributions were not appreciated. alumni. As a result of the SPECIAL TO THE ORACLE/UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING outpouring of disapproval from alumni, Hice decided to remove “We heard from a number of we were trying to say about the ambition and our look to the the controversial belief outright. alumni, who understand what University of South Florida’s future, but enough of them felt
like that tended to downplay the contributions they made,” Hice said. The belief could be seen in a number of marketing materials, including a billboard in downtown Tampa and on signage in the Tampa International Airport. Hice said that such advertisements have already been changed and that the belief will be completely removed by the end of the semester. Hice also said that the idea of USF being an ambitious university with an eye to the future will remain, but that the wording, which many alumni feel puts their contributions on the backburner, is what is being removed. “The belief itself is not going to go away, just the way that we describe it,” Hice said. He added that he thinks the
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International students question tobacco-free policy following email reminder
By Leda Alvim S T A F F
W R I T E R
USF has been a tobacco-free campus for nearly three years. However, some students feel the policy is not enforced and has not made a real change. An email was sent out by the Office of International Services on Nov. 13 as a reminder reinforcing the policy to all international students. The Oracle contacted Marcia Taylor, director of International Services, for comment via email
but did not receive a response by the time of publication. “USF is a smoke-free, tobaccofree, and vapor-free campus,” Taylor wrote in the email. “Students who are caught in violation (of) the policy can be referred to Student Rights & Responsibilities and could face punishment.” The policy, also known as the Limited Tobacco Use Policy, prohibits the use of tobacco and related products on all property owned, leased or operated by USF.
Overseen by the Office of Student Affairs and Student Success, the tobacco policy is peerenforced. Meaning, students can report violators through the online reporting tool or by contacting the Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities. Adam Freeman, a university spokesperson, said the idea behind being a tobacco-free campus is to promote overall personal health and wellness. “The success of the tobacco-
free policy is dependent upon the involvement and cooperation of the entire USF community,” Freeman said. “It’s everyone’s responsibility to educate others about the policy and to help with the enforcement.” Juanita Morales, a freshman majoring in global business, is an international student from Colombia. She said the policy needs to be better enforced, specifically in the old smoking areas, including outside of the library. “There are signs about USF
being a smoke-free campus, however, right next to the library, there are people smoking at the same spot every day,” Morales said. “The policy is definitely necessary because non-smokers like me would like to walk to class without having to cover our mouth when walking past the library to avoid secondhand smoke.” According to an Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights analysis, among 4,700 colleges and
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