It’s Saturday morning, and I couldn’t be happier that the weekend is finally here. I would love to go visit my friend who lives off campus for maybe a movie day, catch up on how our weeks went, laugh a little about our awkward college experiences, but wait. I don’t have a car and neither does she. What a bummer.
Obviously, we could just call each other maybe even Skype, but the Auburn Creed mentions human touch as well.
The Creed says, “I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.” In this case, human touch is being in the physical presence of my friend, so if you and I are both reading that last part right, I’m sure we all want and crave happiness. Seeing my friend in person would make me happy if I could get to her place on a weekend.
Living on or off campus without a private means of transportation is manageable during the weekday, but when it comes to the weekend, students without private transportation are essentially stuck.
According to the Tiger Transit website, the transits run from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, then the night transit takes over from 6:15-10 p.m.
There is a security shuttle that runs from 6 p.m.-7 a.m. seven days per week, but only on campus.
When it comes to transportation, Auburn is generous in ensuring students have a way to get where they need to be going during the weekdays. On-campus students can easily get from point A to point B within the campus during late hours of the night.
What about the weekends for students who would like to utilize campus resources, such as the Ralph Brown Draughon Library, or those who have majors that require them to be on campus after school hours to work on their projects?
The addition of a transit that runs during the weekends would not only be a beneficial addition for students who don’t have cars, but also an attractive feature for future students who come from different countries or out of state and are worried about how they could get by over the weekends.
Perhaps a student only has friends who live off campus and they don’t have cars. They would be stuck on campus, possibly bored to tears, because they cannot visit their friends.
Students may have friends who have cars, but they may not have the same schedule. Also, constantly asking for rides can make students feel needy.
It may be impossible to have as many transits running during the week for the weekend transit, so if a survey can be sent to students to find out which locations are considered the most desirable to have a transit to over the weekend, then the transport system would be taking a step in the right direction.
A weekend transit system might as well just save us all the awkward car rides with people you barely know, who may not have the same music taste as you.
Tracy Awino is a campus reporter for The Plainsman. She can be reached at campus@theplainsman.com.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
