Dear Students,
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I want to take this opportunity to show you all some love and celebrate your strength.
Navigating how to learn, socialize and stay well through a pandemic has been no easy task and is an on-going process. You all have continually impressed me with your creativity and resiliency. You have leveraged your own agency to uphold healthy behaviors and promote the safety of our entire community. Thank you!
A new CDC study tracking mask wearing at universities found that 98% of those observed at UF were wearing masks and 95% wore them correctly, with UF leading the way in indoor mask compliance among six universities in the study.
As we soon cross the one-year mark of dealing with COVID-19, please know your actions of wearing a mask and practicing physical distancing show incredible concern and care for others. Although we still have some students frequenting indoor bars and engaging in other risky behaviors, we thank you for enabling UF to be a leader in following national guidelines.
Your continued efforts to keep others safe do not go unnoticed, and your dedication is one of the reasons we can hold more in-person, physical distanced events and opportunities. Please keep it up!
This is also a good week to share love for our community and local businesses. To help highlight Gainesville, the department of Off Campus Life wants to know your favorite things. From restaurants and local shops to parks and campus treasures, I encourage you to share a picture of your favorites, tag @ufoffcampuslife and use the #ilovegnv hashtag. I will be looking out for your local hotspot recommendations, and you could win an ‘I LOVE GNV’ t-shirt!
Finally, UF Giving Day is next week, and it is the perfect opportunity to give love to the programs that matter to you. Giving Day is about rallying together to show our support for each other and enhancing the opportunities for future Gators. The smallest action can have a big impact!
Across campus on Thursday, Feb. 18, there will be several in-person, physically distanced events to celebrate Giving Day and our pride for the Gator Nation. If you are in Gainesville, I encourage you to stop by one of these events for fun, photos, giveaways and more. Our team will be at the Plaza of the Americas between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; the Reitz Union between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; the Institutes Courtyard between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; and Southwest Recreation Center between 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Get ready to show others some love and stand up and holler!
Be safe and be well, Gators.
Dr. D’Andra Mull
Vice President for Student Affairs
Quick Links
https://policy.ufl.edu/policy/masking-and-physical-distancing/
https://ufhealth.org/news/2021/university-florida-top-among-six-university-campuses-indoor-mask-use-cdc-study-finds
https://givingday.ufl.edu/