Commuter students talk about life behind the wheel

Commuter students share their unique sets of challenges, from dealing with nine to five traffic to maintaining social connections. SAM ANDRUS, Staff Photographer.

With the red ticker placed directly over the ‘E’ of her gas tank, freshman business administration major Ellie Donovan knew there wasn’t much time left. With her foot hovering over the gas, pushing only when needed, she could feel her heartbeat pick up. The air conditioning on full blast couldn’t keep her cool and the upbeat tunes of Taylor Swift couldn’t suppress her panic of running out of gas. 

“I got to the gas station shaking, hoping I'd make it there, and when I did, I realized I’d forgotten my wallet,” Donovan said. “Thank God they took Apple Pay inside. It was stressful for a second thinking, ‘Am I really going to be stranded here?’”

Sitting in rush hour traffic that Wednesday afternoon, Donovan’s worst nightmare was soon brought to reality, being a commuter student from Long Beach. She and fellow commuters around Chapman must keep a sharp eye on their gas tank at all times along with traffic, meals, battery life and the existential dread of balancing two lives. 

Donovan’s day-to-day routine starts by waking up at 7 a.m. — two hours early for her 40-minute commute.

“I do have to wake up fairly early; my first class is at nine, but I’m stuck waking up at seven every day just to be on the road by eight,” Donovan said. “(Commuting requires) so much planning ahead. I start at nine and finish at four, so I hit the rush hour traffic both ways. I just try to remind myself that at least I’m going south every morning and not north to Los Angeles.”

Senior communication studies major Axel Stone, who lives in Beverly Hills, faces a commute anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours — one way. Stone told The Panther missing the social aspect of college is a “50-50 type of situation.” 

“One half of it is that I’m still commuting, making that trek and investing myself in that way so I am getting that college experience,” Stone said. “But that other half is when that class is over, I have to rush out to beat traffic and might miss evening get-togethers with clubs and social members. I usually make up for that on weekends and do something social.”

Stone made it a point to find like-minded individuals who share common interests outside of academics and spends his free time around Orange with Chapman Auto Club, where members meet in parking lots, go on drives and plan fundraising events. Donovan echoed Stone’s testament, claiming she feels as if she’s living two lives as a commuter student.

“I still feel like my social aspect is still more Long Beach based,” Donovan said. “A lot of my friends stayed home and we all still do our normal hanging out. I have friends here, it’s just hard to hang out with them as much. It takes more planning and spontaneous things are more home-based.”

Commuters may face up to 19 lost hours a year sitting in peak Southern California traffic, according to the 2020 Global Traffic Scorecard.

For May-Lynn Le in particular, the combination of a half-hour commute from Irvine and driving fatigue means having to weigh all options every time she’s invited somewhere. 

“I definitely have to think twice when someone says there will be a club meeting, because I don’t want to drive home at 10 p.m.,” said Le, a junior screenwriting and film production double major. “It’s something I’m still getting used to, but I miss out on a lot of the stuff on weekends, since I don’t want to drive to campus yet again. There’s a lot of things you have to weigh; it’s not always a ‘Yes, I can go,’ it’s usually a ‘Let me think about it.’”

Stone, a Southern California native, said he’s noticed the region’s drivers are often chaotic and reckless no matter the level of traffic.

“Driving etiquette is non-existent in Southern California,” Stone said. “People in old cars are going fifty miles in the far left lane of the freeway. I’m always ready for something to pop off in front of me, someone to break check me, (someone to) cut me off or (for me to) get a flat tire.”

However, despite all the negative connotations that come with commuting, the plus side of familiarity at home cannot be understated. For Le, the biggest benefits of commuting are being home and being able to see her mother, who cooks her favorite dish bún bò huế.

“My mom always cooks Vietnamese food, and it’s a big comfort factor,” Le said. “There’s been so many times where I come home from a super long day from school and my mom has cooked one of my favorite soup dishes. I eat it before going to bed and it rounds out my day. It’s my wind down.”

Although Donovan must deal with pushback from her sister, who wanted her to go to Berkeley so she could take over her room, she’s relieved to not undergo feelings of homesickness. 

“It’s convenient to have my normal washer and dryer where I don’t have to rush to get it out immediately,” Donovan said. “My mom still makes dinners most nights. I still have all of my stuff, and I didn’t have to eliminate or compromise anything.”

Stone said that commuter students must place an intense emphasis on conforming schedules that both fill necessary requirements and are time-efficient to maximize the time they’re on campus. For Donovan, this came through in the form of four back-to-back classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, so she only has to trek to campus three days a week.

“I spent weeks planning out my schedule with 12 classes in my shopping cart at one point,” Donovan said. “I had my ideal schedule, my backup schedule and backups for my backups.”

While commuter students may not have fellow Chapman students to befriend next door at their disposal, Le emphasized the effort commuters put in to make connections will greatly shape their college experience for the better. 

“Joining stuff like DKA (Delta Kappa Alpha) fraternity, I found my community out there,” Le said. “They’re very understanding and want me to text them when I get home. They want me safe, and it’s adorable. It’s all about putting yourself out there and finding where you belong.”