Torture.

This is the word often said when asked about the traffic on University. Every day ODA students go through the lovely experience of sitting in place for twenty minutes a mile from campus. They also struggle with the grueling experience of getting on and off the highway twice a day, and often ask themselves, was UTC really worth it?

Snowbirds, a natural enemy of Floridians, have been notorious for causing traffic jams in Sarasota, but upon arrival of the new mall, conditions within a four mile radius of ODA have gotten substantially worse.

“It’s really, really bad on University, around rush hour it is just a joke. The lights are timed wrong and the traffic is crazy- I just really can’t stand it”, says junior Cooper Newlin.

When Sophomore, Kolbie Ward was asked to describe his daily journey of exiting the highway, he said “I am really just super annoyed.”

Students are now forced to pretty much wake up at the crack of dawn to get to school in time, and have to realistically wait until sundown to make it back on the highway.  As sit in their cars, stomachs grumbling ,they get a lovely view of the mall that has caused this increasingly dreadful wait for at least 40 minutes every day.

If you are one of the lucky ones that lives in Lakewood Ranch and are immune to the majority of traffic each morning, the most difficult decision becomes whether your daily trip to Starbucks is really a necessity. These students face the fear of a blocked up road, and a late slip from the office with your name on it.

Sophomore Hailey Schlotthauer, a resident of The Concessions states that, “I live at the end of university and all the traffic causes a lot of psycho moms who are rushing to get their kids to school to put the rest of us on the road in danger.”

Whether you’re a fan of the mall, and are willing to sacrifice your time, and patience for shopping close by, it is safe to say that the traffic that goes along with it is not appreciated by any ODA students.