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With this and other complications, busing isn’t always easy for students. Many bus commuters commented that they chose to bus because they always seemed to be late when they drove themselves, due to the weather, traffic and parking.

Parking is another issue. Many felt the $120 for a permit that didn’t even guarantee a parking space was a waste. Senior Camila Penaloz-Vanegas said that she had no choice but to pay for the permit because of the amount of money she spent in previous years on tickets she received from parking on the street.
Commuters stated that parking becomes more of a hassle in the winter due the towing risk, which can cost $300 ore more in expenses.

Even the campus facilities are taking a hits from the recent hikes in fuel prices. Lowell Bromander, Associate Vice President of Facility Services, explained that the energy management system helps, but some buildings are older and can’t be temperature controlled as efficiently as some of the newer buildings. Old Main is harder to keep at a steady temperature compared to a newer building such as the Klas Center, where each room could be set at a different temperature.

The university has updated one of its boilers, and is working on updating the other two so that they run more efficiently and produce fewer toxins. The campus is also on interruptible gas to receive more favorable rates. This means, however, that Hamline must keep a back up supply of #2 fuel oil in case they would be asked to discontinue the use of natural gas for the residential customers.

Each month, Mike Waterbury, Director of Utility and Energy Services, gets a list of prices from various companies the campus could buy gas from and must calculate which option will produce the most energy for the least amount of money.

Staying within the budget often gets complicated. There are only seven engineers who help run the heating plant for the entire campus, and large swings in temperature and even wind play a factor into how everything operates. They must also plan for events on campus, keeping the rooms with the most use warmer than those that are typically vacant.

Bromander also said that since gas has been taking such large swings, it is still a mystery as to how the gas prices will affect us.

“There is [the] potential that gas could be a budget buster,” Bromander said.

Only time will tell exactly how much additional money will be spent on heating campus, and what effect the increased costs will have on students.