Students Feeling Pinch of High Gas Prices

By  DAVID CHAPEK/Contributor 

Lydia O’Neal lives in Big Sandy and commutes to campus five days a week. Her commute? A whopping 32 miles each way.

Do the math, and that’s 320 miles a week.

Over the past three years, gas prices have risen sharply, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This year, the average cost of regular gas has risen nearly 20%.

What exactly are the negative ramifications for students? According to O’Neal, paying more for gas equals spending less on everything from traveling to buying food.

“It’s like, okay, what food can we afford this week, because we’re paying more on gas,” she said, speaking of herself and husband. “We don’t go anywhere other than church and school because gas is so expensive.”

O’Neal  said that because of her commute and high gas prices, she is “very conscientious about gas mileage. It’s expensive to drive all the way there.”

Not to mention the added stress of making sure she’s driving in the most mileage-efficient way: “It’s exhausting,” she added, “driving conscientiously like that.”

According to Inside Higher Ed, about 85% of college students commute to school. High gas prices have negative consequences for the majority of the 18.6 million Americans going to college.

Elias Peterson, a student at LeTourneau University in Longview, said gas prices affect all students, not just commuters.

“When you’re driving around still you’re using gas. …. Even if you’re just paying $70, $80 a month for gas, that’s a lot on top of any other expenses you might have.”

“Residents on campus who may have a job or ferry people around or whatnot, just needing to go different places,” Peterson said, “they still have to keep up with that gas. And even if they just fill it up once a month… it’s still quite a bit of money,” he said. “Money’s hard to get nowadays. Especially with the value of the American dollar lowering day by day.”

According to AAA, the national gas price average of $3.85 comes as Saudi Arabia continues cutting its oil production this year. If demand keeps up, AAA said, oil prices, a large factor of gas prices, could similarly continue to rise