Arizona State University - Sun Devil Spark / Sahuaro Yearbook (Tempe, AZ)

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GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE alarm buzzed at 6 a.m. as a weary hand searched the nightstand and silenced the piercing ring. As the sleepy student rolled out of bed and staggered to the shower, the day of a commuter student had just begun. Getting up at 4 am. to make my 7:40 class is the biggest disadvantage of being a commuter student, said Pre-law Freshman Laura Repak who commuted from Northwest Phoenix. Of the approximately 43,000 MU students, 88% or 38,000 commuted to campus everyday. With such a large number of students taking to the road on foot, by bus, cycle or car, MU had to expand the programs available to commuters. One newly introduced program included I ' m Commuter Friendly buttons. Developed by the Office for Off-Campus Student Services and the Commuter Program, initiators hoped fellow commuters, identified by the button, would get to know each other. This was one of several steps taken to get commuters involved on campus. According to Commuter Devils Presi- dent Diane Arnott, a lack of involvement was the biggest problem commuters faced. In response to this, the Commuter Devils were working toward involving commuters in ASU ' s happenings such as Homecoming, concerts, rallies and lectures. With such a large student population it was easy to get lost in the shuffle. Most commuters, however, found it even easier to get lost in the transportation shuffle when just trying to get from here tho there. JAW ' Ilsititir most COMMUTERS DON ' T GET INVOLVED IN ON-CAMPUS ACTIVITIES. BUT THEN THEY ALSO nrthrT IFFI IINF THEY ARE A PART OF EVERYTHING GOING ON AROUND CAMPUS. NAME ARNOTT PRESIDENT COMMUTER DEVILS 111 n1,9 (tOTE 4E %MAP TICKS students o Lot 69, a tram heads for campus furthest and least ex- pensive lot. Trams moved students daily from several of the parking lots and strut. tures to a central tram stop near the Memorial Union. Commuters

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in Structure 4, several students OPLE POWER head from the structure down Orange Street. While II per- cent of students lived on campus, 36 percent lived six or more miles away. Photo by Mi- chelle Conway NLOAD sing his truck for the first part of the commute, Ju- nior Engineering stu- dent Stephen Marquez bikes the second half. Many commuters toted bikes to school for quick transportation. N PATROL verlooking park- ing in Palo Verde parking lots, a parking services atten• dant looks for a parking decal. About 62 percent of all students lived two or more miles away from campus, which made parking a major necessity. Layout by David Kexel Commuters

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DIPLOMAS WITH ItEk BG Ignatowski remembers the day her son was born. It was the day before she received her acceptance letter from ASU. She had left college in Florida to follow her husband to Michigan. Taking a job as a medical secretary, she supported him while he got his masters. Now it was her turn. A degree means more to me now, and my grades are doing so much better, said 26-year-old junior marketing major Kathy Ignatowski. Junior communcations major Doloris Haupt- man said that she agreed. I ' ve always wanted to finish school, she said. I don ' t want to be somebody ' s secretary for the rest of my life. Hauptman and Ignatowski were just two of approxi- mately 10,000 re-entry students at MU. A re-entry stu- dent is defined as someone who is over 25. A lot of the students come back because they found themselves at the head of the household or making a career change, said Marilyn Mason, a counselor for AWARE, a student support group for re-entry students. Hauptman has seven children and felt that she had to do something, both as an example and to help prepare herself financially for the future. I ' ve got to do something, Hauptman said. I have SOMEONE ' S MOTH- seven kids that we will have to put through college. I ER FOR THE PAST always tell my kids that they can do anything. It was just time for me to go ahead and do it. I wanted to set an 20 YEARS. example for my kids. However, balancing school and family can get pretty DOLORES HAUPTMAN hectic sometimes. JUNIOR Sometimes I feel guilty that I should be a housewife, COMMUNICATIONS Ignatowski said, but I think I spend good quality time with my son. - YOU CAN Hauptman said that her family life has suffered, somewhat. My whole family decided they were going to do this together, Hauptman said. It is hard. I ' m not running to PTA meetings anymore. The kids are becoming more independent. Both women experienced their own lesson of independence when they started school again. The transition of being around students that are years younger can be rough, at first. I felt old. I didn ' t know anyone, Ignatowski said. I seek out people who are married and older. Hauptman also said that she felt strange at first. I felt funny, she said. I was really intimidated. But both said that because they were re-entry students, their drive was increased and getting a degree was more meaningful. I enjoy it. I ' m going to do cartwheels on the stage when I get my degree, it means so much to me, Ignatowski said. WAS JUST ME. IT WAS AMAZING! I HAVE BEEN INTRO- DUCED AS SOME- ONE ' S WIFE OR ROTE ME ON THAT! Re-entry