Isabella Taylor
Recently, gas has been fluctuating like crazy in the US. Whether it be for political, social, or economic reasons specifically, no one can refute that gas prices have been ridiculous. The why of gas prices is a lot harder to narrow down than the actual statistics, but there is a lot of information on how rising gas prices affect college students like myself.
The last 10 years alone have had a pretty big change in gas prices. According to Trading Economics, in 2018, the gas price average for the US was about $1.46 per gallon, and in 2020, it reached an all time low (since 2018), of $0.66 per gallon. The current average gas price for 2026 is about $3.04 per gallon. These prices might reflect the COVID Pandemic and recent global tensions.
According to Sarah Ludwig, gas prices rising is likely to lead to an economizing spirit for most college campuses. Students on her campus are opting to cut gas consumption and extracurriculars–that require driving–if recent trends don’t change. On the Clemson campus, gas prices have risen to about $3.40 per gallon, which might begin to change the plans of some students on our campus.
For example, I spoke to Dylan Leclerc, a Freshman and member of multiple after school activities on campus. Dylan claimed that rising gas prices “have changed the amount of time [he] spend[s] off campus.”Â
“They’ve also kept me from going home as often as I’d like,” Dylan states.
The rising trend in gas prices doesn’t seem to be getting any better, especially as foreign involvement from the US plateaus. According to Zachary Folk from Forbes:
 “Gas prices neared $3.70 on Sunday and are on track to reach a national average of $4 per gallon next week, an analyst predicted—even as the International Energy Agency’s planned release of 400 million barrels of reserve oil begins entering markets next week as the Iran war continues to push prices up across the globe.”
If national gas prices rise to $4 per gallon in the next week, it might greatly affect spring break plans for many college students across the nation. Clemson Spring Break is this week, but some of our plans might be cut short if gas prices fail to peak soon.