Opinion | The thing I hate about Orange

Zach Davis
Opinions Editor
@zachmdavis

I don’t think a single person at Chapman believes that Orange is the best place on Earth. No one is under the impression that this city is without flaws. But I personally do believe Orange has a lot of positive qualities: the Orange Plaza – better known as the circle – the beaches, the weather and the proximity to Disneyland. But there’s one thing I hate about Orange that hasn’t changed since I got here: getting around.

Going from point A to point B. Parking. Anything that includes movement throughout the city of Orange is an absolute pain and I’m tired of it.

This may seem like a lame opinion – I struggled to even write this piece – but it’s something I feel passionately about. I hate driving in Orange. I hate walking in Orange. I hate getting around in Orange.

Hear me out. I know there are tons of options available for students. But these options aren’t easy. If you don’t have a car, you’re left with the following alternatives: walk, bike or hail an Uber. And those options aren’t necessarily feasible.

I’m lucky enough to have brought my car here from Utah. I can say with complete certainty that I use it every single day – whether it be to get groceries, grab some dinner or run errands with my friends. But many of my friends don’t have a car here, and they have to scramble to find a solution.

These friends are left with seldom choices because Orange is not a city that’s friendly to those without a car. Even those who have a car, like me, find themselves annoyed with the sheer amount of effort it requires just to relocate your body from place to place. It really shouldn’t be this hard, but it is.

And don’t even get me started on parking in Orange. I could write an entire column solely dedicated to my frustration with Chapman’s surrounding parking lots alone.

There have been multiple occasions where I have burst into tears while trying to park in the Circle or at Chapman. Full on, heaving sobs because someone pulled into the spot in front of me, blatantly ignored the turn signal I’d had on for at least five minutes or pulled too far forward so that I couldn’t parallel park into an available spot (a feat that I already struggle at accomplishing). The undue panic I experience may be excessive – I know I’m dramatic, that’s nothing new – but it’s a genuine feeling felt by multiple students. Driving around Orange causes them anguish and frustration.

This doesn’t even account for the fact that I believe Orange drivers are notoriously the worst. Maybe it’s because they’re college students. Maybe I’m not used to people cutting you off and scraping your car in the Trader Joe’s parking lot. Or maybe, Orange drivers are inherently bad at driving. To drive around Orange is to risk one’s life – and yet there aren’t any other options

I’m not suggesting that Orange should redesign the entire city to make it more friendly to those who are car-less; that’s unfeasible. Rather, I’m simply putting my dissatisfaction into words and dedicating an entire column to the utter hatred I have toward getting around this city. It’s ridiculous. Go ahead and call me dramatic for feeling so passionately about this, but I cannot stress my irritation enough. 

When I read this piece to my roommate, she accused me of being too defensive. I agree. But I shouldn’t have to pray for a parking spot. I shouldn’t have to hail an Uber to grab a bag of chips from the market. I should be able to easily get around Orange – but I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon. So in the meantime, I’ll just keep driving around and spending the best years of my life looking for parking.