University of Tampa, USF students head back to class Monday

TAMPA, Fla. — Tens of thousands of college students are back in the Tampa Bay area and headed back to class on Monday.

University of South Florida

The University of South Florida has more than 50,000 students returning on Monday at its campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee.

Roughly 7,500 students are living on USF’s campuses for the fall semester, and the 48 residence halls across the three campuses are at full capacity.

In order to make move in a smooth process, more than 650 student volunteers signed up to help their peers.

University of Tampa

Roughly 12,000 graduate and undergraduate students will return to classes at the University of Tampa on Monday. Of that group, about 5,000 students are living on campus this semester.

The university says it prioritizes first-year students for on-campus housing. Once the 12 residence halls reach capacity, students are placed through the campus-housing program at the nearby Barrymore Hotel.

Sophomore Alexa Voller commended the university for how safe and organized the move-in process felt.

“I think they did a really good job of moving in people and making sure all the traffic is controlled and everything,” she said. “Check in too… it’s very secure in there.”

Students are hoping for a less-eventful semester than last fall, when the back-to-back hurricanes pushed students off campus for weeks. The university sits in FEMA evacuation zones A and B.

Tampa Police also sent a strong message to returning students over the weekend: Underaged drinking won’t be tolerated at Tampa’s bars.

Officers arrested 19 people during a Fake ID/Underage Drinking operation at a number of bars in SoHo and Ybor.

“To our college age residents, facing felony charges for possessing a fake ID is a steep price to pay for that hard seltzer. Make the smart choice. Learn from them, don’t be like them,” a Tampa Police spokesperson posted to social media.

St. Leo University

At St. Leo University, about 3,000 students returned to class in-person on Monday. Roughly 850 of those students are new to the university.

The school has about 67% of it undergraduate students living on campus, and thousands more through its online program.

Students at Florida State Univeristy also begin classes Monday. Florida Southern in Lakeland starts classes Tuesday. Eckerd College doesn’t resume classes until Labor Day.