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Commuting has Pros...and Cons
by Steve Sheafffer
Art by Steve Sheafffer
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It is Monday. Class is at 8 A.M. Yawning deeply, Mark Guthrie stumbles towards the shower and runs the water over his half-asleep eyes. He wishes he didn't have to wake up so early to get to Mars Hill on time, but he knows he will be wide awake when he arrives in class.
He picks up whatever is clean off of the floor and throws it on. He hit "snooze" a couple of extra times this morning and needs to make tracks up the road. He quickly gets into his truck and turns the key. The truck rumbles and shakes to life, but as Guthrie tries to put it in reverse, nothing happens. He puts it in first gear. Nothing happens. The truck just sits there, idling away, defiant in its intention to not take Guthrie to class.
Guthrie, a graduate of Mars Hill College as of last spring, found himself in this situation when he was a commuting student. Commuting can have many advantages, but there are pitfalls to worry about when you are not close to campus.
"Your car is the most important thing to you," said Guthrie. " I remember when my clutch went out and I had to find people's cars to take to school. I missed maybe three days of class and parts of other days because I had to return people's wheels to them."
College for many people is their first time living on their own. Almost everyone starts out in a dorm, and some live their entire college careers there. Others go on to enjoy the freedoms and luxuries associated with living off-campus.
Mars Hill and Madison County are beautiful places to live, but those who want more entertainment than Mars Hill has to offer go to Asheville. Others go to Asheville because they must work, and Madison County lacks jobs.
Of course one question might be, "but what about the commute to school? I don't want to drive to Mars Hill everyday."
Guthrie had to decide between the convenience of living closer to campus and the work available in Asheville. He had jobs in Asheville and enjoyed being around people. He had many friends in Asheville and wanted to be closer to the city.
"I had worked all summer in Asheville. I had my own place and all these new friends. I didn't want to have to pack up everything and find a place in Mars Hill," he said.
Guthrie began his senior year driving to and from Asheville everyday. He would get into his old, gray 1986 Nissan pick-up and make the 25-minute commute to school.
"I didn't mind it one bit. I could be alone with my thoughts for a little while before class, and I even got pretty good at studying while I was driving."
At night he could go do whatever he wanted without having to worry about driving back to a dorm to go to bed.
He did not have to leave 30 minutes before work, like some students who hold down jobs in Asheville. "The commute in the early morning was the worst," Guthrie said, "but after you get into the rhythm of morning traffic, it seems to go by more quickly."
D.J. Erwin, a Mars Hill College senior, has the substantial commute to school scheduled into his everyday life as well. When he was accepted to Mars Hill as a transfer student, he was already living in Asheville. "I was not going to give up the space and freedom of my apartment to live in a tiny dorm room," he said.
Erwin has had his fair share of troubles in commuting, ranging from flat tires to traffic on U.S. Highway 19/23. "The gas money is outrageous," he said. "I spend between twenty and thirty dollars a week on gas."
Erwin also commented on the cops patrolling all the time on 19/23. "Every day when you are trying to get to school, the state troopers are out in full force to ensure that you are late."
Even though he often finds that something interferes with his daily routine, Erwin said he would not trade his situation at all.
"It takes time to drive everyday, but in the end it is very worth it."
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