College offers a plethora of opportunities. Students can focus on getting a high GPA, meeting new people or joining clubs. People who live on campus can do all of that within a ten-minute walk. Commuters, however, might live over an hour away from campus.

Paying for tuition alone is expensive. Adding room and board fees and a meal plan leaves students paying up to $25,000 a year.

Saving money, however, means making sacrifices. “I carpool twice to get here and back, so it takes around forty minutes,” says Kylie Caldwell, a senior information systems major. “My professor has a policy where if you’re fifteen minutes late, you’ll still be marked absent. I have to get up early just to make sure I make it on time.”

Late night studying presents another difficulty for commuters, who have to wake up early to find parking spots, arrive on time to their morning classes and eat breakfast. “Having 8:30 a.m. classes suck[s] for commuters,” Caldwell says.

Off-Campus Student Services provides commuters with carpooling programs, shuttle schedules and free transit lines. These initiatives aim to help students navigate campus while reducing UMBC’s carbon footprint.

Commuters face rush hour, which may add over thirty minutes to a commute. Once on campus, finding a parking space poses new difficulties. Senior environmental science and visual arts double major Kristina Soetje says, “I’ll arrive between 8 to 10 a.m. If you get to school at around 10:30 a.m., you can still get spots, but at 11 a.m. there are problems.”

With regard to the time commuters spend searching for spaces Soetje says, “I’m never usually late to my classes, but I do think the time could be used for studying.”

Commuters do not spend $11,000 a year on room and board fees like residential students do, but they have other expenditures such as gas. John Xu, a senior biology major and psych minor, says, “I luckily have good mileage but I still have to fill my gas [tank] once a week.”

The problem with commuting is not always the long drive. The time it takes to find a good parking spot is also taxing.

“My driver sometimes gives up looking for a [parking] spot. There’s no point in wasting all that time looking for a spot,” Caldwell says. The Stadium Lot, Commons Garage and inner circle often become heavily congested by noon.

Unavailable spots frequently force commuters away from convenient parking locations. “[Freshmen] sometimes have to park in the church parking lot,” Xu says, “then the trek to campus takes like fifteen minutes.”

Commuters have ideas about how to expand parking. “Maybe you could build new garages above currently existing ones. Of course, this would have to be done during the winter or summer sessions when they aren’t in much use,” Caldwell says.

However, starting a construction project may decrease already limited parking spaces.

Some students find it convenient to live at home and commute. “I live seventeen miles away, so what’s the point [of living on campus]?” Soetje says. “I like going home to my cats and my family. I like home cooked meals and I like my bedroom.”

Personal finances largely impact the commuter’s ability to live on campus. “I pay for everything out of pocket,” Caldwell says. “I can’t pay ten thousand [extra] dollars a semester for a room.”

I would like to share that I am accepting work along the lines of, but not limited to; sound design, ADR, Foley, mixing/mastering and editing, including dialogue, for films and video games. Also, tracking and recording for musicians.

I would like to share that I am accepting work along the lines of, but not limited to; sound design, ADR, Foley, mixing/mastering and editing, including dialogue, for films and video games. Also, tracking and recording for musicians.

I would like to share that I am accepting work along the lines of, but not limited to; sound design, ADR, Foley, mixing/mastering and editing, including dialogue, for films and video games. Also, tracking and recording for musicians.

I would like to share that I am accepting work along the lines of, but not limited to; sound design, ADR, Foley, mixing/mastering and editing, including dialogue, for films and video games. Also, tracking and recording for musicians.

As the spring semester begins, more and more faculty and students catch the flu. Classrooms, lecture halls and cramped hallways lead to higher risks of contagion. Sharing close personal spaces with sick roommates spreads the flu quickly. Unfortunately, many students are coming down with the illness.

The flu season lasts through the fall and winter months, stretching as late as May. This year, the flu has continued to worsen.

“If class attendance is required, [the student] should go, but there should be exceptions,” says senior computer engineering major Michael Daugherty. “Contact your professor and ask for an alternative so you don’t have to come in. Make the effort to find some other way around it.”

Some professors enforce strict attendance policies. If a student misses three classes, they fail the course. Many bedridden students have to deal with the risk of failing a class or returning to a pile of homework. Daugherty says, “I knew a few students who still came to class unless it was critical.”

Edward Hanson, a junior computer engineering major, advises students to, “take measures to feel better and get better. School is a big priority, but don’t force yourself to get to class when you’re sick.”

There are actions one can take to prevent getting the flu. The Centers for Disease Control recommends avoiding contact with sick people, washing hands and avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Even with these precautions, getting the flu might be inevitable.

“You don’t want to spread germs,” freshman computer science major Brady Ronayne says. “In lecture halls, there’s a lot of people. Even if you try to protect yourself from the flu, it’s gonna be hard.”

Students worry about the impact of the flu on their grades. Some will go to extreme lengths to make sure they do not miss class. They might wear surgical masks to reduce contamination of airborne disease. Nonetheless, the best way to avoid sickness is to maintain good hygiene.

University Health Services encourages students to get their flu shots. It is never too late to be vaccinated. Their office is located at Erickson Hall and is open from Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

“I would tell them to relax, stay in bed and have someone nearby to help,” says Ronayne. “If you have the flu for multiple days, email the professor or ask a friend to take notes. It’s gonna have some negative impact on your grades.”

It is difficult to fight the flu and keep up with classwork. There is always a chance that one’s grades will suffer. Clearly, students are struggling with maintaining a balance between health and class attendance. It is always better to reduce the spread of germs by taking a few days off and focusing on getting well. Professors generally understand when students take a day or two off.

“I would stay at home if it was contagious or if it caused me to be bedridden,” says Hanson.