The Soul Cycle craze was so summer 2012, but now that school is back in session, the hike to classes is in. As Emory continues to vamp up the freshman dorms in central campus and throw upperclassman miles away from the heart of campus, administrators, architects, designers and builders are actually doing students a great kindness. We no longer have to obsess about a Career Center meeting conflicting with our gym time. Now, just take that hike to class and you have automatically burned off that midnight snack you had not anticipated inhaling.
vs.
So, yes, the residents of Woodruff, Clifton and off-campus housing have something to be happy about – the added fitness bonus – but there’s a lot more to consider when living outside the Emory bubble. Follow these rules to make your daily commute as smooth as possible!
Do read the weather update in the morning.
If you are not a freshman and you do not have a car as an upperclassmen, you are one of the chosen people that gets your morning, before noon, afternoon, early dinner, and post dinner trek. We, as non-central campus inhabitants, are put in this position where we sweat to get to class in August, get rained on in September, freeze on the occasional cold front day, and carry an extra all-weather bag for the ambiguous weather days. My advice: invest in a miniature umbrella, this is Atlanta, after all.
Don’t underestimate the value of sneakers.
We, as upperclassmen, are forced to dread our walk to campus or, rather, hitchhike our way there. Adding a little hop to my step in order to make it from class-to-class-to-Clifton/Woodruff is crucial and I, for one, have been sporting athletic apparel and sneaks in order to do so. Wearing semi-presentable footwear just isn’t worth the pain and agony.
Do leave at least 20 minutes before class rather than five.
It may seem like overkill, but leave early to make sure you don’t get stopped by the inconsistent street light at the corner of Clifton and Asbury.
Don’t misjudge those late night walks back from the library.
Emory Safe Ride is notorious for saying, “We will get to you at some point.” Essentially, you can wait outside for anywhere from five minutes to 50 minutes, or you can continue your work in the library and hope you didn’t miss your safe and reliable ride home. If you’re not in the mood for the everlasting wait, hit up an upperclassman with some wheels. If all else fails, make sure you have a friend or two to walk back with, and stay on the phone with another friend (read: your mom) until you’re safely back home.
Do map out your day in advance.
Planners are your friends. Who needs B-school’s strategic management class when you can spend all day strategizing when you should go back to your room to grab more books, and when you should bring a duffle-sized satchel to class. Oh, the struggles of being a commuter. But seriously, before you leave each morning, make sure you have everything you need for the whole day, or else decide you’re going come back home instead of lunching at Cox during your break.
Biking faux pas? Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
While this gift of a free workout may be a nice return on our housing tuition, maybe Emory could consider providing a more reliable shuttle service to and from the campus outskirts. But until that day comes, you could always consider getting a bike from Bike Emory and attaching a basket for your stuff for the day. Can you say workout part deux?
Lessons learned: freshman, enjoy your time in the center of campus and never complain that the library is too far. Sophomores, follow these rules and you’ll soon find that you’re not so ideal housing situation isn’t actually that bad, and might even be convenient on those days when you just can’t bring yourself to hop on the treadmill.