Students who drive cope with high gas prices

Gas prices have been draining students' wallets lately.

At intersection after intersection, glistening signs advertise higher and higher gas prices, much to the dismay of drivers across the state. Aware of these rising prices, upperclassmen who drive often try to limit their gas usage, with prices rising to as high as $4.59 per gallon.

Junior Rachel Perera and her friends try to rotate in taking turns to drive off campus during lunch, especially since she has to pay for her own gas.

“My parents recently got me a debit card, so it’s gotten a lot better, but before that it was really difficult because I would just get $100 a month for gas, along with other stuff,” Perera said.

For Perera, the high prices hurt other areas of her life as well.

“It's really annoying because then you run out of money really fast, and if I need money for food or school supplies, then I can't buy it,” Perera said.

Perera feels that only students who drive can fully understand the extent of how expensive gas can be.

“It [is] really hard to pay for it. You don’t realize how expensive it is until you actually drive,” Perera said.  “It’s like $50 each time you fill up, which is a lot of money.”

Perera added that she has learned to become less wasteful.

“When I first started driving, I would just drive everywhere, and I didn’t really care if it cost money, but now it accumulates and you’re like ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’ Perera said.

Even so, Perera believes that students who earn their gas money themselves, dislike the high prices even more.

“In summer, when I get a job, I’m going to have to pay for it with my own hard earned money, and I’m going to be very frugal about it, but for now it’s not terrible,” Perera said. “I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who work already now and have to pay for [their gas].”

Senior Alex Wang said that he tries to avoid paying for gas when the prices go up, sharing driving responsibilities with his friends. He also drives with his mom so that she can pay for his gas.

Like Wang, Perera also has her own creative strategy for coping with this problem.

“I try to go on neutral and even though I go really slowly and annoy the cars, I don’t really care because I’m saving gas, and I’m saving money,” Perera said.