This article was originally published in The Western Carolinian's Back to School issue - the Freshman Survival Guide section.
"Moving off campus is as big of an adjustment as moving on campus was
when students were freshmen. Suddenly, there is cooking, cleaning and
trying to find a parking space to worry about and plan. This guide will
make life a little easier and help cause less stress.
First, parking does not always have to be a headache. If you choose to
become a commuter student, remember to register for your parking permit
online before coming to campus. This will save you and One-Stop time and
effort. This year, parking passes are $84 and by registering online,
the parking pass is mailed to whatever mailing address you desire. The
$84 is charged to your student account and the pass arrives at your door
after a 24-hour processing and mailing time. However, obtaining a
parking permit requires more leg work after Aug. 1. You must go to the
Parking Services Office or One-Stop, both on campus buildings, to
receive your pass. You may still register online, but the permit will
not arrive in your mailbox. After Aug. 19, only One-Stop will have
parking permits to give.
Once you have your parking pass, know the lots you where you can park!
Parking Services will boot your car with an ugly orange metal
contraption that means “You cannot move until we say so” or a white
fluttering ticket on your windshield that ruins any day. You might stand
a chance of getting the ticket dismissed thanks to Student Government
Association’s Traffic Court, but it is easier and quicker to avoid
tickets and boots altogether. The Parking Services website has very
detailed and insightful maps to make sure commuters, staff, faculty, on
campus students and visitors park in the right areas every day of the
week. If you are a commuter, learn the routes of the Cat-Tran so that
you can safely park in a spot that may be a good walking distance from
your classes but is safe from tickets or boots. Ride the Cat-Tran to
your classes or put on some good walking shoes for a brisk walk to
breathe in that fresh mountain air. Some students frown or make jokes
about the Cat-Tran, but your tuition fees go toward the purple buses
whether you ride them or not, so enjoy and partake in the campus
transportation system. There is also an express route from the new
Health and Human Sciences building to the back of the University Center
this year. The route is specifically designed to get students from the
Health building to main campus and back again in enough time to attend
their classes on the separates campuses.
If you do not want to bring your car to campus at all, bicycles are a
plus because there are several shortcuts across campus that you cannot
use with your car. Many off campus apartments designed for students,
like The Summit or Rabbit Ridge, are within easy biking distance to both
main campus and the Health and Human Sciences building. Also, there is
the Catwalk to safely cross Highway 107. Over the summer, a new
crosswalk was built across the highway at the bottom of the hill of The
Summit Apartments. Now, students can signal the stop lights to stay red
for them to cross the streets without playing the most dangerous game of
tag ever played.
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| One of my roommates! |
In previous years, a shuttle ran to nearby off campus apartments on a
loop every weekday. Students did not have to pay for this service, and
it saved money on gas and parking permits. It was also less of a
headache because you did not have to fight for parking spaces or arrive
two hours early for class to make sure there was one left.
According to
Jackson County Transit, who ran the shuttle, Western Carolina University
did not renew their contract, and there will be no more off campus
shuttle services through the Transit. However, Don Taylor from Cat-Tran
told The Western Carolinian exclusively that the Cat-Tran is now
responsible for the off campus shuttle service. They will follow the
same route as Jackson County Transit, stopping at the same apartment
complexes, said Taylor.
Dining is another huge issue for off campus students. There are two
different commuter meal plans one can choose in order to save on
groceries and washing dishes. The Commuter Declining Balance plan is
$500 of DB points, which can be used at any dining location. The
Commuter Block plan is 25 block meals to be used at the upstairs
Courtyard Dining Hall throughout one semester plus $374 DB points to be
used anywhere. This plan is helpful in that you are still able to eat
with your friends upstairs with their on campus meal plans without using
up your DB points.
If you run out of points or are not interested in eating upstairs at
Courtyard, there are great places to get a meal or groceries in your
local community of
Cullowhee and
Sylva.
Until October, the Farmer’s Market runs every Saturday morning in
Sylva and every Wednesday evening in
Cullowhee.
Get the freshest, healthiest vegetables and even cuts of meat, cheese
and fish from local farmers. Herbs, lettuce and other products can be
found cheaper at the Market than at stores like Food Lion or Wal-Mart.
For snacks and bread products, try the Flowers Baking Company next door
to Rae’s City Grill, previously The Bone Shack. Flowers is a bakery
outlet and sells products at significantly lower prices like eight
Nature’s Own hamburger buns for $.59 and loaves of bread for under $2
each. Shoppers can also find Blue Bird snack cakes, ketchup, honey, bags
of chips, pies and other goodies for their pantries. Pick up a Customer
Appreciation Card for more savings.
For other ways to save on groceries, browse the websites of Food Lion
and Ingles to see what is on sale then add the coupon onto your MVP or
Ingles Advantage Card online. Try not to fall into a routine of only
stopping at one grocery store or another. Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Harold’s
Supermarket in
Dillsboro, Ingles and
Sav Mor
all have different sales going on during any given day, and by planning
ahead, you can save more money and find better deals. If you and your
roommates are planning on splitting the cost of groceries, shopping at
Wal-Mart is not your best choice. Food Lion and Ingles provide deals
like Buy-One-Get-One-Free and provide more discounts on family-sized
products than Wal-Mart."
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