Shoulder to shoulder, the incoming Class of 2030 stormed campus late night Aug. 21, ready for a full night of sweating, singing and swaying along to SLE’s hottest tunes. The University Center (UC) pulsed with the energy of USF’s largest incoming class. As these new students settle into life at USF, Student Leadership and Engagement (SLE) hosts an annual first-year exclusive event, UC Takeover, supported by chartered student organizations hosting activities and playing a mix of pop tunes on each floor.
The UC was packed because this year’s freshman class had a 25.9% increase in enrollment from last year’s, a startling 1,953 freshman now roaming campus. This is 286 more students than the class of 2028. “I have not seen this many people fired up to be here,” said Bob Just, program director of the Change the World From Here Institute.
On the first floor the energy was high, as attendees checked in near the undercaf where ASUSF College Players painted faces. “Anything can be painted as long as it’s easy,” said second-year education major Sabryna Boshek. Close by, the Change the World From Here Institute informed students on how to get involved with organizations while SLE hosted Bingo.
Students walked around with cat makeup as well as simple glitter and flowers around their eyes and temples. Chloe Phillips, GO Team leader, said, “I can tell everyone is having a good time.”
The Foghorn had the privilege of being sat on the third floor, where games including We’re Not Really Strangers, Connect Four and giant Jenga were held — all while relentlessly asking the new class if they wanted to become contributing writers.
The third floor smelled of fresh popcorn, popped by USFTV, as groups of friends waited in line for one of the most popular activities, the photobooth. Students crowded in the back of the room set against a golden sequin background with a table of props ranging from striped fedoras to laughing emoji signs.
Students walked around the event with $8.50 Bon Appétit churro ice cream cups, which consisted of vanilla ice cream, topped with churro sticks and whipped cream, chocolate chips, caramel and cherries. While attendees claimed to enjoy it, some lamented the price point. “It’s pretty good,” said Mark Ethan Ramos, a first-year politics student, while first-year psychology student Lee Green said simply, “It’s ice cream…”
Through the stairs clogged up with students, on the fourth floor, a free beige San Francisco T-shirt could be redeemed by first-years after collecting four stamps at different activity booths. Nearby conference rooms were filled with students making friendship bracelets with ASUSF Senate and bedazzling with the Culturally-Focused Clubs Council (CFCC). Just outside, students could be heard singing along to “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars. ASUSF President Mar Ruiz described the feeling of sitting inside the conference room as “giving ‘fishbowl,’ like Darla in ‘Finding Nemo’ tapping on the glass,” as the karaoke got louder. “It’s youthful outside,” Ruiz said.
Students gathered at the ASUSF Voices Karaoke section, singing and dancing together. The room was hot, with students packed in, standing shoulder to shoulder. Sanai Hawkins, a third-year business analytics and finance major, said, “We have a lot more students. I think they made the experience a lot better by showing up and participating in the different things that they had.” GO Team leader Hawkins continued, “It was fun to be able to enjoy it and, like, watch the students have fun.”
