Kaelyn Benoit & Kara Simard
The Southern Editor & Staff Writer
The Student Government Association of Florida Southern College has reintroduced its Mocs Nightlife initiative, providing opportunities both on campus and off campus for students. The project returns after a launch and rapid decline at the end of the spring semester.
The introduction of this program was designed to take place the last month of the spring semester, but had to be shut down prematurely due to an unexpectedly high volume of usage, according to an email sent to all FSC students by former SGA President Zion Virgil.
“This decision was not made lightly, but it is necessary to ensure we can responsibly manage and improve the program moving forward,” Virgil wrote.
Now, nearly a month into the new academic year, Virgil’s successor has reinstated the program. Lexi Lapore-Paternostro, FSC’s 99th SGA president, sent an announcement to the student body in early September.
“The goal of these programs is to conveniently transport students back to campus housing from a variety of downtown Lakeland or North/South Lakeland locations … these new initiatives will make nightlife more accessible and more affordable to Mocs,” Lapore-Paternostro wrote in the email.
Lapore-Paternostro also spoke to her own motivations for prioritizing the reintroduction of the program.
“I wanted to create a comfortable, convenient way for students to spend time on campus, off campus, during the later hours. That way, they didn’t feel like the school wasn’t caring for them outside of academics or extracurriculars,” Lapore-Paternostro said.
This revival of the Mocs Nightlife initiative will create noticeable changes to campus life, especially involving transportation services such as The Squeeze. A city-funded public transit system, The Squeeze’s seven-passenger golf carts make several stops in the downtown Lakeland area and are open to anyone who wants a ride.
The Mocs Nightlife initiative has added several stops to The Squeeze’s route on FSC campus and at college-owned off-campus residences, making the service more accessible than ever for students. Students can count on The Squeeze Thursdays within a six-mile radius of campus from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays at Citrus Connection stops from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Fridays and Saturdays within a six-mile radius of campus from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. The carts also make rounds on Saturday mornings for the downtown farmers market.
For distances further than six miles, SGA has also brought back the Uber voucher for students, this time with new guidelines to ensure the program’s continuation. The voucher discounts rides by 50% up to $20 and works during limited late-night hours.
“Please note that this initiative is only available as budget/funds allow, during the hours listed above, for rides back to campus, and only for FSC students,” Lapore-Paternostro wrote in the email.
While the stated parameters are important, Lapore-Paternostro encouraged students to use these resources as much as possible.
“It only works if you take advantage of it. Definitely use The Squeeze, use your Uber vouchers… student government has put in time to this initiative for students by students, so we want to ensure that students see the efforts come to fruition,” Lapore-Paternostro said.
