Best of Florida Schools 2002

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Best Mortal Chess Game
At the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, a once quiet patio morphed into the battlegrounds of a human chess game. The opponents—Student Government versus volunteers from the student body—rode stick horses into battle on the giant red and black construction paper chessboard. Queens, bishops, knights, rooks, and pawns stood ready for combat. Two kings controlled their loyal subjects’ every move. Each player held a brown paper bag, oblivious of what kind of weapon was inside. Once the king commanded an attack, players pulled weapons out of their bags and used them in mini fight-to-the-death skits. Menacing weapons included plastic swords, bubble guns, and a Tweety Bird gun. The audience of about 150 students booed if they deemed the fight unsatisfactory, and occasionally the attacker was voted off the game.

Contact Joel Nemes at (800) 275-7603 ext. 599.

Best Toilet Paper
There’s the kind with the pretty designs on each piece, the kind that’s extra soft, and there is even some that has cushioned ripples quilted in it for added comfort. However, the Toilet Paper at Rollins College is different than anything you’ve ever seen—thanks to Student Government Association two years ago, it’s a clever idea for a campus newsletter.

Filled with campus and community events and advertising for local businesses, the weekly newsletter is hung inside bathroom stalls around campus. However, with a name like this, you know they had to throw a little extra into the pot. Therefore, there are also some baffling questions, factoids, and other little nuggets of information in each issue. And for those of you with laptops, you no longer have to go on campus to use the stalls. SGA President Stewart Parker says there is also an online version, 2-ply. An e-mail version of the more pliable Toilet Paper, it has all of the same information but includes the added comfort of your own stall. So have a seat, do your business, and read your Toilet Paper. RG

Contact Parker at sparker@rollins.edu.

Best Residence Life
It's a wonderful (res) life at the University of Florida. The Inter-Residence Hall Association at UF has a slogan—"Student Voice In Residence Halls." Is this an advocacy group that helps students with problems and issues? Well, yes, but it's much, much more.

IRHA helps students navigate the challenges of campus living. New residents receive "Welcome Back" packs with keychains, pencils, cups and notepads. The association also provides a packet containing a phone list of important campus numbers and a list of the acronyms used on campus to help new students get the information they need.

The 7,000 students currently living on campus at UF attend Residence Hall Week, a nine-day event open to all students, featuring nine programs such as IRHAPALOOZA, Mardi Gras, a talent night, movies on the lawn, and sports competitions. "At IRHAPALOOZA this time, we had six bands, and it was huge," says Nicole Taub, president of IRHA. "It takes 40 directors to put the whole week together." The week culminates with Tie and Tails, a semi-formal casino nightclub extravaganza, the proceeds of which go to benefit IRHA's philanthropic endeavor, the American Cancer Society.

The IRHA will also be hosting this year's regional residence hall conference, attended by about 1,000 participants from all over the Southeast. SRR

Contact Taub at nicolet@ufl.edu.

Best Show-Off Day
Any day classes are cancelled is excellent, right? At St. Leo University, classes are cancelled for Academic Excellence Day, but almost everybody comes to school, either as a participant or an observer. Faculty members identify students whose work merits display, and the exhibition runs in sessions throughout the day. Vice President for Academic Affairs Douglas Astolfi defines the day as "a day of celebration for every honors student who has an honors project, for every major who has a project worth talking about, for every student engaged as research, for every student who has written a play or short story, for any student who has painted or photographed something that merits being seen."

Last year, 53 presentations displayed the best St. Leo's students have to offer in four separate sessions. "We've gotten universal acclaim from everyone, students, visitors, and faculty alike, for the pleasant surprise at the range and quality of the projects being done," says Dr. John Wosniak, dean of arts and sciences. SRR

Contact Wosniak at john.wosniak@saintleo.edu.

Best Fundraiser
Some men will use any excuse to go fishing, but how about, "Honey, I gotta go fish to raise money for the Marine Science program at the University of Tampa?"  The Tampa Tarpon Tournament raised nearly $30,000 for the program, and even at $200 a head for an entrance fee, that's a lot of anglers.

The tournament, which has been around since before World War II, took over a decade off and is enjoying a renewal since it changed over from weighing the tarpon on the dock to catch-and-release. It seems only fitting that the event, which raised money for UT's growing marine science program, showed off Tampa Bay and encouraged fishing in an ecologically sound manner. Biology students from the marine science program acted as monitors onboard the tournament's boats to observe the catch and release.

So were the fish biting? "Well, there were some other tournaments taking place in the area, so we didn't bring in that many," says Grant Donaldson, director of public affairs. Prizes were awarded in the most fish, hard luck, women, and junior categories. Several of the larger prizes went in silent auction at the end of the day, so even non-fishing folk could go home winners. SRR

 Contact Donaldson at gdonaldson@ut.edu.

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