Freshman couple Bob Donahugh and Olivia Thompson, or “Bolivia” as they wish to be known caused a stir this morning with their Valentine’s Day stroll. These high-school sweethearts from Tampa decided to celebrate their fifth anniversary in a relaxed and cost effective manner by ambling slowly through busy campus sidewalks without ever releasing their joined hands.
Behind them, a growing horde of single students amassed as they attempted to get to their Thursday morning classes. The life-sized teddy bear Olivia cradled in one arm prevented passing on one side, while some students braved Bob’s thorny bouquet of long-stem roses and oncoming traffic to get around the pair on the other side.
“Love must be blind,” said one passerby. “Because no one could be this inconsiderate.”
One unknown student managed to squeeze between their tightly interlocked fingers while yelling, “I have an exam in my 8:30!” according to numerous eyewitnesses who referred to the unidentified male as a hero.
The couple’s love proved too strong to be moved even as a biker raced down the sidewalk towards them. Staring into each others’ eyes while blasting a love ballad playlist through a shared pair of AirPods prevented the pair from recognizing the danger or hearing the various parties shouting at them to move. The biker swerved off the sidewalk and into the road, but sustained no major injuries.
At 8:54am, UFPD received an anonymous tip concerning a pedestrian traffic obstruction along Newell Drive and sent an officer to investigate. According to the official police report, the couple cooperated with law enforcement and allowed the (now late) students to pass them. They also asked the officer to take a photo of their matching outfits so they could upload it to the joint Instagram account dedicated to “Bolivia” (the relationship, not the country). .
“It’s crazy that so many people skipped class just to watch us hold hands, but I guess that’s just the power of love,” said Bob and Olivia in perfect unison before they continued, “Awe, we’re starting and finishing each others’ sentences!”
