March 4, 2009

Gators one step closer to building mortuary at The Swamp

As we blogged a couple of years ago, it's a loosely held "secret" that the Florida Gators allow alumni to spread ashes at the Swamp.

Up until this point, UF has had no official policy regarding the quite common occurance; however, the Gators are asking the Florida Legislature's permission to construct a columbarium at The Swamp.

To build a columbarium the university would have to be licensed as a cemetery. But the state's oldest and largest university wouldn't qualify because new Florida cemeteries must have a minimum of 30 acres. That's more than 20 times the size of the field of "The Swamp," the university's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and the university can't set aside that kind of space.

Lawmakers are advancing bills in the Florida House and Senate that would allow any of Florida's eleven state universities to build a columbarium - a building similar to a mausoleum with markers for ashes.

"Gator born and Gator bred, and when I die, I'll be Gator dead spread!"

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Gators one step closer to building mortuary at The Swamp
As we blogged a couple of years ago, it's a loosely held "secret" that the Florida Gators allow alumni to spread ashes at the Swamp. Up until this point, UF has had no official policy regarding the quite common occurance; however, the Gators are asking the Florida Legislature's permission to construct a columbarium at The Swamp.
To build a columbarium the university would have to be licensed as a cemetery. But the state's oldest and largest university wouldn't qualify because new Florida cemeteries must have a minimum of 30 acres. That's more than 20 times the size of the field of "The Swamp," the university's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and the university can't set aside that kind of space.
Lawmakers are advancing bills in the Florida House and Senate that would allow any of Florida's eleven state universities to build a columbarium - a building similar to a mausoleum with markers for ashes. "Gator born and Gator bred, and when I die, I'll be Gator dead spread!"