The college commuter Experience

by Aranza Garduno-Santana

Every commuter student has their own unique experience, as well as obstacles they must overcome to step onto the grounds of CSUN. For many Matadors at California State University, Northridge, arriving at campus is a remarkable daily achievement.

CSUN is known as a commuter school, with students traveling an average distance of 7.63 miles, according to a 2019 report from CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability. The same report also stated that most students at the university commute to campus four times a week, with half of them commuting via automobile. 

Commuting poses some challenges for CSUN students, such as having to plan their days ahead, missing out on campus events and arriving at campus early to assure they get to class on time. 

Andrea Cardenas, a senior majoring in political science and minoring in marketing, takes hour-long drives from Compton to CSUN twice a week. She feels that commuter students do not have the same privileges as residential students.

“They [residential students] can just walk to club meetings and things like that, whereas if you're a commuter, you have to schedule a little bit better and you have to really prioritize your time,” Cardenas said.

 Abigail Garcia, a senior majoring in public health, drives an hour and fifteen minutes from Downtown Los Angeles to get to CSUN twice a week. Echoing Cardenas, Garcia too feels that commuter students have a different college experience than residential students.

 “I think a big difference is just having to wake up earlier to plan things and also ensuring the time that you make overall from the morning to the end. I feel like it makes a big impact as well as in terms of, even considering packing lunch or if I'm going to get food out.” Garcia said. 

 One obstacle CSUN commuters face are parking permits which have increased over the last school year. These permits now cost $497.61 for a full year and $248.81 for a single semester, according to the CSUN Parking and Transportation Services department. In addition to the increased prices of daily passes, such as $6.05 for a 2-hour daily pass, $8.25 for a 4-hour daily pass, and $10.45 for an all-day pass.

 For Garcia, paying a parking pass was out of the question. 

“My parking situation is parking in the street because parking expenses were just out of my pocket,” Garcia said. “It was just a lot of money. And parking in the street was more adaptable for me.”

 Helen Porfirio, a junior majoring in marketing, commutes two hours via shuttle twice a week from Southern Los Angeles. Due to her method of transportation and schedule, she missed out on internship events held at CSUN.

“If I miss the bus, I have to take an Uber to take me to the train. Sometimes I hate the feeling of waking up in the morning like, ‘Oh, yeah, I need to do it again,” Porfirio said. “It’s really exhausting to get ready sometimes.”

Commuter depression is also common among the commuter community, according to a campus correspondent at Her Campus. Feelings of isolation and loneliness run high for commuters feeling disconnected from their campus, making friendships and connections difficult to build.

“I definitely feel like an outcast because I'm like, ‘Wow, I'm the only one that commutes and parks in the street,’” Garcia said.

From leaving early in the morning to get to an afternoon class, the risk of class canceling during the trip, or coming home from a long day of traveling and having to clock into your part-time job, a handful of commuters would often describe the commuter experience as draining.

“I think mentally, commuting has made a big impact because you're taking this hour and a half drive for either one class or just for two classes,” Garcia said. “Sometimes my professors will cancel class, let's say 30 or 45 minutes before [class] and by that time, I'm already in the CSUN area. I think that's a big impact economically and mentally.” 

The impact of commuting goes beyond mental strain, as Cardenas has noted that she has developed back problems from sitting down for too long due to years of commuting to campus.

Currently, basic tuition costs a full-time student roughly over $5,000 for a full academic year, with rooms and boarding coming out to about $30,000. But the expense of commuting can also be costly. 

Prices for common goods have gone up recently as well, with the average price for a gallon of gas currently being $4.99 in the state of California, as stated in AAA Gas Prices.

Fortunately for Matador commuters, CSUN Associated Students Ticket Office offers plenty of transportation information and services to help them with their journey to campus. A program that many commuter students without a car use is the “Metro U-Pass” program, which costs $95 every semester for students to use various modes of transportation that Metro provides.

Not to mention, the free shuttle between the CSUN Campus and the Northridge Metrolink Station. Where students are able to then take a bus to CSUN’s transit station. Where three bus lines serve the transit from four different directions of the school. 

CSUN University Student Union also has their own transportation program, where students with financial difficulties are able to apply and be receive parking permits every semester.

For more information about CSUN’s transportation information and services, visit https://w2.csun.edu/as/departments/ticket-office/transportation