Personal Experience
A few weeks during the fall semester, I woke up late in the morning on a Saturday after a long school week. The only thing on my mind as I dressed myself was breakfast before I went out to Fowler Fields for a refreshing game of tackle football. After putting on some play clothes, I walked from my dorm room to Argos food court. Fully replenished thanks to a whole meal, I went to the fields to find two separate groups of people on the lot. One was USF marching band and the other was a group playing flag football.
Wild and excited to play some football, I asked the group of flag football players if I could join them. One of the players answered me, saying, “No we’ve got enough players right now. If you would’ve come around 10 we could have used you.”
I told them thanks anyway and jogged onto the sidewalks for a light run. And jog I did for a good 10 minutes. On my way back toward the field I noticed a crowd of the same flag football players gathered around an injured player. I began watching more closely and noticed that the injury was quite serious.
Time passed and it appeared that they were waiting for help to arrive. I was an outside spectator as I stretched and watched from a distance near the sidewalk. A siren rung out soon. The ambulance truck rode from the road and onto the field where the group was standing around the injured player.
The paramedics routinely gave the player lying on the ground a check up and put him into the back of the van. Then on the ambulance truck he went, and, one by one, the football players left. And after witnessing the scene before me unfold, I couldn’t help but think of the lack of safety and availability on campus during weekends.
Safety Problem
Almost, it seems as if the only people left on campus Saturdays and Sundays are the students. No policemen. No staff. No ambulance, no firefighters. On the weekends, students play sports often right on campus, so the lack of supervision is definitely a concern right off the bat. Playing football or any other sport is always dangerous no matter how serious the players are. Therefore, as long as there continues to be a lack of supervision, police patrol, paramedic presence and staff, then all students participating in athletics at the University of South Florida campus will be playing at their own risk.
Whether you are a student or not, playing sports on campus will be at your own discretion and so it is important for you to choose wisely or better yet go out with a group of friends so injury can be reduced.
SOLUTIONS:
1. USF Shut the fields down
Shutting down all fields and sports courts on weekends for students would be harsh. While this would definitely decrease if not eliminate the potential injury from student play on campus, it is unreasonable. If not given the resources needed to exercise properly on weekends, this will just raise outrage and likely cause for students to act out in reckless physical activity.
2. Promote students to be careful and practice safety
A collective effort can take place that requires for a body of people (students, staff or residents) to help spread word and demonstrate safety on campus. Bulletins can be be used and speeches can be made about the problem of the lack of supervision and safety on campus
3. Provide USF Campus helpers & ambulance
This reason seems to be the most apparent solution to improving safety of campus players on weekends for the immediate short term as well as long term. Hiring trained assistants just for supervising and looking over the fields on campus will certainly prevent a lot of accidents.