Throughout senior creative writing and communication studies double major Kari Lien’s experience of applying for jobs and internships, they often had to make the tough decision to not apply for positions because they are unable to find a convenient mode of transportation. 

Without a car, it is much harder to get around Orange County and the greater Southern California area than Chapman students who have cars. Lien has a license, but because of financial constraints, they are unable to afford a car at the moment.

“It really disappointed me when I saw all internships that are based in (Los Angeles) are fully in-person now,” Lien told The Panther. “Those internships are mostly unpaid, and my college years are the only time I can afford working an unpaid internship for experience, but because I can’t do those internships, I feel as if I’m not granted access to the full realms of my learning opportunities before I have to enter the workforce.” 

Lien is one of many Chapman students who do not drive their own cars during the academic year. In Orange, not having a car creates a variety of challenges for students in addition to not being able to easily commute to jobs or internships in the region like Lien. 

Even getting to class can be a challenge for some students without a personal vehicle who are not near the campus.

Junior television writing and production major Amelia Bordner, who currently lives off-campus in a townhouse almost two miles from campus, usually bikes there. The trip takes approximately 25 minutes from her house, which can be especially difficult on days when her classes start at 8:30 a.m.

“I've been 10 minutes late to some classes because I’m running late, and it takes me a little while to bike, park my bike and lock it up,” Bordner told The Panther.

There are a variety of reasons that Chapman students are without cars, including economic reasons, living far from home, not having a driver’s license and not feeling a desire to drive. Senior screenwriting major Charlotte Loesch does not have the option to bring a car to school from her hometown of Washington, D.C. on the opposite side of the country. In addition, Loesch hasn’t driven often since getting her license in high school.

Loesch spoke to The Panther about one of the most difficult aspects about not having a car — grocery shopping.

“If I want to go grocery shopping, I can’t carry all my groceries with me on foot or on a bike,” Loesch said. “So I'm kind of tied to whenever my friends are going grocery shopping or when my roommates are going grocery shopping, so I never (go) by myself. I always tag along with people.”

Being without a car at Chapman generally limits students in how they get around Orange and surrounding areas. Lien’s hometown of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay Area has better public transportation and is more pedestrian-friendly than the city of Orange and Orange County.

“(Not having a car) really limits opportunities,” Lien said. “Orange isn’t really a walkable city. Southern California itself isn’t really walkable. My hometown is very much accessible by public transportation. It’s a norm, and it works pretty well there, so coming here was a stark difference. I could take the bus to work so easily.”

One way that Bordner believes Chapman could better help students without cars is by improving the university’s Safe Ride service, which provides rides to students. Bordner wants the university to expand the range in which drivers can take students.

“(Safe Ride) doesn’t really go that far,” Bordner said. “It doesn’t go to my house, so I’ve had to Uber because Safe Ride told me, ‘Sorry. You’re out of bounds.’ I feel like that’s the main thing that (Chapman) can work on so people who don’t have a car actually have a safe way of getting back if someone can’t give them a ride.”

Despite the challenges of being a student without a car at Chapman, Loesch has made sure it doesn’t inhibit her ability to have an enjoyable college experience.

“I definitely have felt a little bit left out by not having a car, but overall, it hasn’t impacted my college experience in that monumental of a way,” Loesch said. “You make things work, and once you figure out a system that works for you, it’s pretty manageable. But it’s definitely not convenient to not have a car.”