COMMENTARY By Caitlin Evanson
IV Leader Staff, Oct. 16, 2008
Driving has become a way of life for most teenagers and college students.
Having a car is almost as important as having a phone nowadays. And with so many college students driving far distances to get to class, some going everyday, carpooling is becoming more and more popular.
Gas prices have been increasing and decreasing on a regular basis in these past few months.
With it being so pricey, it has been getting much more expensive to drive distances, which is causing great impact on college students.
When gas gets pricey, how easy is it to afford to get to school on a regular basis?
Some students have to drive even further for night classes. The classes range anywhere from Ottawa Township High School and to Streator Township High School.
IVCC is a commuter college with students arriving to class everyday from places as close as La Salle-Peru to towns as far away as Princeton. With that being said, many college students are being held back from school financially. So, carpooling seems like the only reasonable solution to this ongoing struggle.
When asked the question of why she does or does not carpool to school, Krysta Coyle, a sophomore here at IVCC, simply said, Its easier to just drive myself to school because I have a very complicated schedule and sometimes I have to work afterwards. So driving by myself just makes things a little less complicated.
Work schedules, class schedules and maybe even the concept of how long it takes people to get ready in the mornings plays a huge role in why or why not people carpool to and from school everyday.
Sam Gregory, a freshman at IVCC, confirmed I carpool to save on gas. My friends and I take turns on who drives so we all save on money but someone is still always paying. It helps a lot.
Carpooling also makes the few parking lots IVCC has a little less cramped.
With the gravel parking lot being fixed, more and more cars are parking in the other parking lots offered to students. This means more and more cars being jammed into a smaller area.
Not many people enjoy walking miles to school, but with carpooling, things could go a lot more smoothly.