UMass Amherst is a great school and we’re all here for different reasons. We are all diverse people that love the school for its different majors, clubs, and activities, but we can always find a common ground. UMass has a huge campus and the most challenging thing about being a student here is undoubtedly that dreaded walk to class.
First of all, you’re lucky if your walk to class is under ten minutes. If you live in Southwest and you have math, you should probably leave about 30 minutes before class just to get to Marcus on time. If you are one of the brave/unfortunate souls that lives in Orchard Hill or Sylvan, then you know that you’re getting a workout before class, and you might as well skip the gym because you’re doing enough sweating for the whole day just by rushing to your 8am class. Every student has to hike it to class no matter where you live on campus, so we all have an excuse to wear our workout gear to lectures.
Besides the fact that every student walks about 200 miles a day on this huge campus, there are also thousands of students walking to class at the exact same time! It gets exhausting to weave and bob your way through crowds and to try to make turns without getting bumped by a backpack or unsuspecting peer. During the fifteen minutes before and after classes, sidewalks are packed with students, and there is almost no wiggle room. Sometimes it feels as if getting from one class to another is like navigating through Times Square!
To get to class faster, some may choose to travel on wheels. People get to class on bikes, unicycles, roller skates, skateboards, and even scooters. At UMass, we’ve seen it all when it comes to personal transportation. The only problem about our friends on wheels is that they tend to move a bit faster than the rest of us on foot, so people get nailed by bikers and skateboarders all the time on the crowded sidewalks.
While all of us are hustling to class, there are always those few that seem to have all the time in the world. Some people just saunter along while talking on the phone, texting or chatting with a friend at a leisurely pace. Getting caught behind a slow walker on a crowded sidewalk can be an awkward encounter that requires too much tact for a Monday morning. Whichever way you clumsily choose to weave around them; those that have all the time in the world are an inevitable nuisance to those of us that have no time to spare.
However, slow walkers and fast bikers are a small problem when you walk in the DuBois wind tunnel and your main concern must be keeping your feet on the ground. The way the wind whips around the library makes it feel like you’re in the eye of a hurricane and the population of UMass students innocently trying to get to class will be swept up and swirled around into the sky.
If you choose to avoid all of these toils of walking to class, you could always take the bus! It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? Kids on the buses during primetime class hours are packed in like sardines. When thousands of people are trying to get to class at the same time, there is no way to win, whether you choose to use the PVTA or make the trek on foot. People have been trampled in a mad rush to get on buses and is the uncomfortable closeness during the ride even worth it to save a few extra minutes? Pick your poison, Collegiettes!
On the bright side, it only gets worse in the winter, so get ready for that wonderful Amherst frost!