History of the UF Division of Student Affairs

19 W W II The surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, occurred December 7, 1941, and led to the U.S. entering WWII. Many UF students immediately volunteered for military duty and did not return to UF to take final exams. Due to the circumstances, they were given credit for the work that they had completed. During WWII (1941 – 1945), student enrollment dwindled at UF from nearly 3,300 students in 1940 to a low of 588 enrolled students in 1943 (UF Institutional Research Historical Enrollment). At this time, many of the all-male student body were at war or in the military. According to former Director of Off Campus Housing Carl Opp in a guest column in the Independent Florida Alligator from the mid-1970s, during WWII nearly all sections of the Murphree Area residence halls were occupied by military detachments. U F leased one house and six fraternities to accommodate “civilian” students. At one time, up to 1,000 students lived in these off campus accommodations and were transported by bus back and forth to campus. WWII ended in 1945. Following WWII, UF experienced rapid enrollment growth caused by the influx of WWII veterans returning to campus on the Servicemen’s June 1930 procession of graduates Photo Credit: UF Archives Digital Collection I ntr od uction

History of the UF Division of Student Affairs | Page 19