{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/commuterexperiences","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"commuterexperiences","excerpt":"More than 20,000 students commute to UCLA. What does life look like for these Bruins?","headline":"The extra mile","author":"Rania Soetirto","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/commuterexperiences/1.prime.commuterstudents.FC.8.2-f9d7523159f7be426d27942b3f663bbd.png","covercred":"Finn Chitwood","coveralt":"Photograph of traffic","articleType":"article","updated":null,"content":[{"type":"text","value":"I’ll admit it. I breathed a sigh of relief when UCLA announced it would be returning to remote instruction in January."},{"type":"text","value":"Of course I was worried about the threat of the omicron variant, but there was also another reason: It takes me more than an hour to get to UCLA on a typical day. I’m a student commuter."},{"type":"text","value":"I definitely missed being on campus, but the thought of not waking up at 4 a.m. to prepare for my commute felt like a luxury. Instead of squinting at my phone’s GPS for the best routes or taking naps in my car between classes, I was able to devote more time to school and my wishful goal of getting eight hours of sleep per night."},{"type":"text","value":"Sometimes when I drive to campus early in the mornings, the normally buzzing streets of Los Angeles can start to feel lonely. But I’m not alone in my commute."},{"type":"text","value":"There are more than 20,000 student commuters at UCLA, Joreen Oller being one of them."},{"type":"text","value":"I spoke with Oller, a social sciences graduate student and intern for the Commuter Support & Programs office of UCLA Bruin Commuters, on a Thursday afternoon during the time when I would normally be mentally preparing for my long drive home. But with winter quarter off to a virtual start, I was at home learning remotely."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"Sometimes when I drive to campus early in the mornings, the normally buzzing streets of Los Angeles can start to feel lonely.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Oller commutes from the Santa Clarita Valley, approximately 30 miles away from UCLA. A typical school day for her can begin at 6:15 a.m. and not end until 10 p.m. With the time and distance it takes her to drive back and forth from school, Oller can’t afford to go home between classes and opts to spend the entire day on campus."},{"type":"text","value":"A commuter for her entire college career, Oller has driven to school since her undergraduate days at California State University, Northridge. However, while her drive to CSUN only took 20 to 40 minutes, her commute to UCLA can take up to an hour and 20 minutes during rush hour. Oller said she often extends her stay on campus to avoid traffic."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo of Oller\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/commuterexperiences/1.prime.commuterstudents.FC.2-03634dc8f82b90285d63641a5a57736e.png\",\"credit\":\"Finn Chitwood/Daily Bruin\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Oller’s story created a sense of understanding between us as we chatted. Like her, I sometimes spend an entire day on campus in order to avoid commuting through LA’s infamous rush-hour traffic. As tired as I am after a long day of classes, it feels better to go home late than battle other stressed and exhausted drivers on a jammed freeway."},{"type":"text","value":"Maria Zaki, a fourth-year chemistry student, also leaves her home early in the morning to avoid driving through heavy traffic. On average, Zaki spends two to three hours of her day on the road. The commute can cause her to lose sleep, she said, because she has to factor in her long drive on top of the hours she spends studying and doing homework."},{"type":"text","value":"“It just amazes me that (I) spend a lot of time sitting in a car rather than studying and doing other things,” she told me."},{"type":"text","value":"I nodded in agreement."},{"type":"text","value":"Zaki drives to campus from Monday to Friday, an impressive feat considering she has to navigate 25 miles through LA traffic to reach campus. As a commuter myself, I know how challenging it can be to drive even just two or three days a week to campus."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"It feels better to go home late than battle other stressed and exhausted drivers on a jammed freeway.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"At the beginning of fall quarter, UCLA waitlisted Zaki for a parking permit, adding another inconvenience on top of her commute. Daily parking fees at UCLA can cost up to $20 depending on the parking structure a driver uses. Meanwhile, a permit would only cost Zaki $258 for the whole quarter. Although UCLA eventually granted Zaki a permit, she didn’t expect applying for one would be extremely competitive."},{"type":"text","value":"“Nothing that you can do can make you more likely to get a permit,” she said. “Honestly, I was terrified.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Lizette Garcia, a third-year sociology student, also finds parking at UCLA to be challenging. When she attended Cypress College, Garcia said all students could purchase a parking permit without an application. However, at UCLA, students not only have to endure the application process but they can only park in designated spots on campus. Failure to comply could result in receiving tickets or fines, she said."},{"type":"text","value":"“There’s so many different parking structures (at UCLA), and you have to park exactly where you’re told,” she said. “I feel like that’s kind of a hassle.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Luckily, Garcia crossed paths with a fellow commuter who attended the same junior high school as her. I saw the encounter sparked excitement in Garcia, and she said the two of them decided to drive to campus together. They first carpooled on the day of Garcia’s first midterm after UCLA resumed in-person instruction in early February."},{"type":"text","value":"The drive from Orange County to UCLA takes them an hour, Garcia said, although traffic usually gets difficult – and even dangerous – once they get closer to LA."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo of Garcia\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/commuterexperiences/1.prime.commuterstudents.6.FC.2-d5abe828622b37c1c5fd2469c1f55d36.png\",\"credit\":\"Finn Chitwood/Daily Bruin\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Recently, she purchased an automobile insurance plan with more coverage out of concern for the frequency of traffic accidents in LA. Whereas she used to pay an annual $500 fee, now she pays $1,200 per year. Other drivers can get very impatient on the road, Garcia said, leading to dangerous freeway conditions."},{"type":"text","value":"“It’s kind of scary because since there are so many accidents, you’d never know what’s going to happen,” she said."},{"type":"text","value":"To anticipate the long route to school, Garcia plans ahead for every commute, which involves a time-consuming routine of checking for traffic and calculating the duration of the commute."},{"type":"text","value":"Aside from school and her long commute, she juggles working at an optometrist’s office. When I asked Garcia why she chose to live far from campus, she said it was cheaper for her to stay at home and commute rather than live in Westwood because of the area’s high rent costs. Zaki agreed."},{"type":"text","value":"“I can’t afford to pay my own rent,” Zaki said. “I could barely handle tuition, so driving was my best choice.”"},{"type":"text","value":"Although difficult, Oller said her commuting experience has taught her how to be more responsible because it gives her less time to be idle, which boosts her time management skills."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"It’s kind of scary because since there are so many accidents, you’d never know what’s going to happen.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"“I have to plan basically my entire day around the commute,” she said. “I can’t just decide, ‘Oh, I’ll finish this assignment in the morning’ because I have to leave and go.”"},{"type":"text","value":"But a downside to Oller’s commute is that it often leaves her feeling disconnected from campus. Few UCLA resources and events are catered toward commuters, she said. It’s also generally harder for student commuters to make friends compared to students living on the Hill or in Westwood."},{"type":"text","value":"“Because (of) commuting plus the pandemic, I feel like I’m missing out on a lot,” Oller said."},{"type":"text","value":"Personally, whenever I scroll through Instagram, I’m reminded of events that I have missed: sports games, volunteering opportunities, club socials. Oller feels the same. As a commuter, she said she only hears about campus events through social media and stories from friends who live in Westwood."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo of traffic\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/commuterexperiences/1.prime.commuterstudents.7.FC.2-f9f3e4ee78b288795471febc0d611992.png\",\"credit\":\"Finn Chitwood/Daily Bruin\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"However, these challenges inspired Oller to become an intern for Commuter Support and Programs, a program that aims to support student commuters. Oller said she aspires to create an environment on campus where commuters can find a sense of community, letting them know that they are more than temporary visitors."},{"type":"text","value":"“If I can help (student commuters) make friendships on campus, or even if one person makes a friend or a contact, I think that’s what’s going to make (the experience) worth it,” she added."},{"type":"text","value":"Oller’s team at Commuter Support and Programs is made up of other student commuters who are all working to spread awareness about the campus resources available to other students like them. Since fall quarter, they have aimed to share information about BruinHub, a new space at the John Wooden Center that provides a place for commuters to rest and build community. Oller said she is particularly excited about BruinHub’s ability to provide a home for student commuters."},{"type":"text","value":"“I always thought it was so cool that there’s just a space for us,” Oller said."},{"type":"text","value":"Oller’s passion project as an intern is the Commuter Buddy Program, which pairs student commuters with each other in order to open doors for carpooling and peer-mentoring opportunities."},{"type":"text","value":"Amid attempts to support student commuters and distinguish the number of students who identify as such, different definitions of the term have arisen."},{"type":"text","value":"The Commuter Support and Programs office defines student commuters as those who reside five or more miles from the university, said Assistant Director in Campus Life Carmen Garcia-Shushtari in an emailed statement. She said her office based their definition of “student commuters” on students’ distance from campus in order to focus more efforts on those who would feel the most isolated. Establishing an exact number for the student commuter population at UCLA can be challenging, she added."},{"type":"text","value":"According to university data, approximately 14,000 students live in the residence halls on campus. UCLA considers the remaining 31,000 students to be commuters, including graduate and professional students. However, based on the Commuter Support and Programs office’s definition and Garcia-Shushtari’s experience working with students, she estimates that the number of student commuters at UCLA is closer to 20,000 to 24,000 – a smaller number than the university estimate but still a large demographic nonetheless."},{"type":"text","value":"Garcia-Shushtari said their program has developed a number of resources to meet the needs of student commuters and strengthen their sense of belonging on campus, such as a weekly commuter newsletter and a strong online presence via the Bruin Commuters Instagram page."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photo of Zaki\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/commuterexperiences/1.prime.commuterstudents.courtesy.2-16d8cf7f05ab2d5f86a9eea25a545251.png\",\"credit\":\"Courtesy of Maria Zaki\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Zaki said remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic actually offered her more opportunities to be involved at UCLA than in-person instruction. As many clubs turned to Zoom to host meetings, Zaki had the chance to be involved in multiple organizations during her first year at UCLA. However, when students finally returned to in-person instruction during fall quarter, Zaki struggled to stay active in all the clubs she had joined. Her commute forced her to prioritize which organizations she could continue participating in, and ultimately, she sacrificed several of her activities."},{"type":"text","value":"Yet Zaki said she does not hate her commute, as it gives her the much-needed time alone that she can’t afford at home or school. Garcia shared a similar sentiment. Despite the long hours and incessant traffic, both of them handle the stress of their commutes in the same way – with a love of driving."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I have to plan basically my entire day around the commute.”\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Garcia finds it peaceful when she drives with music playing and her car windows down. Meanwhile, Oller is a frequent listener of podcasts."},{"type":"text","value":"“When I listen to those podcasts, it feels like there’s someone else talking to me.  I’m not just by myself in my car,” she said."},{"type":"text","value":"Although Oller might be alone in her car, she’s not alone in her commute."},{"type":"text","value":"After talking with Oller, Garcia and Zaki, I felt relieved knowing that among the people driving alongside me in the mornings, there are students like them who are also weaving through endless lanes of highways – all of us taking the extra mile to get to our destination."}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"winter22","slug":"commuterexperiences"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}