Looking with Concern at Swelling UF Student Presence in Gainesville

I live in far northern Gainesville, and my workplace is on the far southern side.  I drive there usually on W 34th or 43rd Streets, but occasionally I'll stop by the Dunkin' Donuts store nearby my home and continue along W 13th Street (US 441)...which runs by the University of Florida main campus...to work.  During the past few months the traffic going this way has been relatively light, but as I approached the University a couple of days ago I realized that the students are coming back in droves...just as they are at colleges across the country.  I've been watching the news of late and listening to sports talk radio as well.  Here are some of the things I've taken from them:

--Many students are careful about masks and distancing but there are also many who completely disregard the coronavirus pandemic and its risks, not only to themselves but to those they come in contact with once infected...I'm hearing report after report of off-campus parties that are causing outbreaks among the student population.  Some colleges are either delaying their classes or deciding to hold the entire semester online.  At UF here in Gainesville it's going to be interesting as many are coming up from COVID hotspot South Florida...in-person classes are set to begin on August 31...

--The University of North Carolina is one of the institutions cancelling in-person classes and going back to an online format, yet they are still going to field a football team this season.  Other schools, though, are still planning to go ahead with regular classes but have cancelled their fall sports...doesn't seem to be a coherent policy here: some colleges even plan to allow thousands of live spectators at their home football games.  The Gators are still plowing full steam ahead with football...seems to me the athletes are probably better off in a more controlled environment playing the sport than they would be mixing more with the general student population.  But it all sounds like a big mess to me...

--I'm suspecting that Alachua County where I live will begin to see an upsurge in the COVID-19 infection rate as the University of Florida campus swells with its students...after all, they won't be functioning within any kind of bubble there: a coronavirus outbreak there means an outbreak for the community at large...

Although I have rarely visited the University of Florida campus during the years after I studied there and graduated, the fact that this damnable disease has forced it off-limits for me has caused me to reflect on how I, in the future after it has been contained, can use this nearby and valuable learning resource.  For one, I'd like to be able to use their library system and investigate how I could check out books from it.  As a UF alumnus I haven't really taken advantage of my status...joining their alumni group may be a good idea as well.  In the meantime I'm looking with some concern at the swelling Gainesville population this month with students flooding back in...some from COVID hotspot areas...and possible future repercussions for my community in light of other college towns' experiences...