In 2016, USF was found to have the lowest rate of defaulted loans among universities and colleges in Tampa Bay, according to a study from the financial products comparison company LendEDU. Defaulting on student loans occurs when alumni violate the agreed upon repayment plan. For most federal student loans, this […]

The Tampa Electric Company (TECO) is set to begin production on two solar energy projects that are expected to finish sometime next year. Hillsborough County is taking an important step toward diversifying their sources of energy production, bringing us ever closer to environmental sustainability. Hillsborough County should continue this kind […]

Florida lawmakers looking to improve student test scores should consider child poverty one of their top priorities. Looking at 2018-19 school grades from the Florida Department of Education, elementary schools with the largest share of low-income students — students on free or reduced school lunch — had the lowest passing […]

On CNN Tuesday night, 12 of the 19 democratic presidential candidates convened in Westerville, Ohio for their fourth presidential debate and, among many other things, discussed the pertinent issue of health care. What became very clear, and has been a constant theme in these debates, is that the all-encompassing “Medicare […]

Homelessness is a serious problem for the neighborhoods around USF. By the most recent point-in-time (PIT) count from the Tampa Hillsborough Homelessness Initiative (THHI), the zip code 33612 — which covers the University Mall to Busch Gardens — has the largest number of homeless people sleeping on the streets out […]

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but you’ve all heard how important recycling is and how severe our climate issues are right now.  But, the steps taken are not enough.  Every year, over 360 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide and almost 14 million tons of […]

The Supreme Court will be deciding in the coming months whether or not the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law prohibiting employment discrimination based on sex, also protects Americans on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The decision will determine whether millions of lesbian, gay, transgender and […]

On Oct. 11, Student Government (SG) discussed a tentative but thoughtful plan to consolidate the three student governments across the Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee campuses. Largely a draft and still subject to change, the plan offers an elegant strategy for merging the activities of the executive, legislative and judicial […]

Florida has seen considerable economic growth over the past few years, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the wealth isn’t being shared equally. According to a 2018 report by the Economic Policy Institute, Florida has one of the highest rates of income inequality in the country, second only to […]

On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) proposed raising the starting pay for teachers in Florida nearly $10,000 in his proposed 2020 budget. The proposal would bring the base salary for incoming teachers from $37,636 to $47,500, which would affect over 100,000 Floridian teachers. If this proposal is enacted, it would […]