Gas prices climb, students react

Gas prices cause students to reconsider summer plans

Jacob Greene - greenejw@plu.edu

mast news intern

College is an institution that causes many students to empty their pockets. This summer however, it will not be the college lifestyle that is robbing students of their money, there is another expense on the rise. Summer gas prices are skyrocketing and are expected to reach $4 a gallon for regular unleaded. The cost of this basic commodity soaring through the roof has left many students worrying about the effects it will have on their everyday lives. Oftentimes, summer vacation provides students with the opportunity to get a job and save up for the upcoming school year, however this year, the cost of gas alone is digging deep into that savings.

Some students were planning on taking a road trip to visit friends or just take a vacation. Gas prices have curbed those plans. Students have either decided it might be worth just buying a plane ticket, while some scrapped the trip altogether.

“I was going to take a road trip to California, but with the rising cost of gas, it’s cheaper for me to fly,” first-year Jonah Oh said. “Now I am going to have to use the bus system once I get down there, while I would rather drive. Los Angeles is not the best place to ride the bus.”

There are also some students who are staying on campus this summer and will be affected. First-year Patrick Kunkel, a George, Wash. native who will be working for the Science Department and living on campus this summer, said he feels forced to remain here because of the cost of driving back home.

“The cost of going home is so expensive that I probably won’t make too many trips back this summer,” Kunkel said.

Students are not the only ones forced to make changes in their daily lives. Communication professor Art Land said that it can affect everyone, having already made changes himself.

“I drive to campus from Seattle everyday, so it costs me a minimum of $12 to come in,” Land said. “This January, I bought a new car, and because of the gas prices, I looked for a car that got better mileage. I now buy gas in Tacoma because it is 8-10 cents cheaper than Seattle and am buying all of my produce at a market.”

Last week Shell Oil president John Hofmeister said that a major solution to the issue of high gas prices is to drill more within the United States. Based on policy decisions, the United States has been relying on other countries to drill and is not willing to drill internally.

As it is a presidential election year, this has become a very important issue within presidential debates and policies. Ideas such as suspending the gas tax during the summer and drilling in Alaska have been tossed around. This topic could turn into a make-or-break issue for a candidate to be elected.

While this has become a serious problem for many, there could be light at the end of the tunnel.

“The higher the prices get the quicker we will find an alternative to oil,” Land said. “I guess I am happy in that sense."