By: Christian Cullen, Staff Writer
Every day when I walk onto campus, I am faced with an interesting conundrum: the commuter lots. They are filled to the brim during class times throughout the week. I would say, though, that the majority of Xavier students are not commuters. Most people do not consider themselves commuters, but any student living off-campus is considered a commuter. Living in UStation? Commuter. Cleneay? Commuter. These places are pretty close to campus, so why are the lots always full? Well, we live in a car-centric world. I think Xavier is a useful microcosm of this larger issue.
Students walk through campus daily, so why not go the extra mile and commute on foot or bike from your house?
We are entirely dependent on cars to get around. America runs not on Dunkin, but on Ford and Chevy. Even if Xavier recently procured free Metro passes for students, we are mainly reliant on automobile transport. The Kroger down on Montgomery is a good example of this issue. It is the closest place where a Xavier student can get good produce, yet it is a 30 minute walk, which is nearly impossible to do in the recent heat. You could go to the All For One shop to get your groceries, but most of the food there is not healthy. The Store located in The Village is a good option, and I am not disparaging it in any way. However, it is a different situation than a grocery store: they provide a more condensed variety of options, most of which are non-perishables. Realistically, Xavier students need a car to get their food.
Students fill parking lots at University Station with the cars they brought from home.
Most off-campus student housing is about a 20 to 30 minute walk away from the heart of campus. People could absolutely walk this, but it may not be the most suitable for someone to do, especially when the weather gets cold. When you live on campus, it is quite walkable, and let me tell you, I loved being able to walk everywhere. It is something I brag about when I give tours because I believe that it is an advantage that we have. It is also something from which all of society should have the opportunity to benefit.
Most people do not live in what is considered to be a walkable city; the city of Edmonton, Canada, attempted to reform itself into a “15-minute city” where everything is a 15-minute walk or bike ride away, but it faced massive protests. Our idea that cars are integral to suburban living is so deeply ingrained in our minds that we don’t recognize that we desperately need to change things up. Should every city turn into a college campus? No, that would likely not work. However, a redesign, especially in the suburbs, could provide some potential benefits.
If you have ever been to a typical American suburb, you know that it is just rows and rows of houses that look the same. There’s not a ton going on there. The bigger issue is that all those houses have people who have needs to be met. The stores selling those needs are well too far away for a walk, so they have to use a car. Take a moment to sit down and think about how much we use our cars to get to work, to get to campus, to get food and even to hang out (shout out Walmart parking lots to all my midwesterners out there). We need our cars to survive, but by using our cars, we will not survive in the long run. In sum, when you can, try to walk to campus.
Christian is a senior psychology major from Louisville, Kentucky.