Charles Cherney / McClatchy Tribune
Students who need financial aid assistance, a parking permit or an order of orange chicken from Panda Express had to endure long lines the first week back on campus.
As the fall semester kicked off last week, students taking care of back-to-school business waited in lines around campus for up to 90 minutes. Junior business administration major Melchor Santillan waited at Financial Aid for one hour on Wednesday and again late Friday afternoon for 25 minutes. Santillan said he knew it would be busy the first week back and expected the long line that wrapped around the building.
Although it is common to have longer wait times at the start of the year, the Financial Aid office had the added stress of increased fees and more students applying for aid this year compared to years past, said Guillermo Gaeta, functional financial aid expert.
The office has three counters open to assist students. To accommodate the longer lines for the first few weeks of class, Gaeta said the office stays open during the lunch hour and is also open Thursday mornings.
Junior English major Brandon Russell experienced the long wait at Financial Aid last week but came prepared with text books to read.
“I’m taking 17 units this semester. I don’t have 45 minutes to throw away,â€Â Russell said.
For students who drive to school, parking permits are a must, and the lineups at the start of the semester can seem daunting.
Permits were sold at the cashiers window in Joyal Administration and on the lower level in the University Student Union. In an attempt to avoid the long lines at Joyal, freshman Sarah Collins went to the USU on Monday to purchase her parking permit but found the wait time to be 45 minutes.
“It’s horrible,â€Â she said, “They only had one person working the counter.â€Â
Communications major Monique Cardenas was in the same lineup as Collins last Monday. This was the first semester Cardenas bought a parking permit and did not anticipate the long wait. “Now I know for the future,â€Â she said.
Amy Newman / McClatchy Tribune
For other students, waiting in line was not an issue. Freshman Lyanne Nava and junior Harman Dahillon bought their parking permits the week before classes started, avoiding the long lines altogether.
Not only were students waiting at the Cashiers Window and Financial Aid last week, but the lunch rush proved to be a test of patience as well.
Freshman criminology major Vanessa Luna waited 30 minutes just to get her food at Panda Express and even longer to pay.
“I had heard a little bit about the lines, but didn’t think it’d take that long,â€Â she said. Her suggestion; avoid the crowd and long waits by coming before or after noon.
At the start of every semester, the Kennel Bookstore experiences an increase in traffic from students purchasing textbooks.
Senior linguistics major Christianne Gordon has worked at the bookstore for three semesters and said the line last Monday wrapped all the way around the store. Gordon said the store hired extra temporary staff for the first week back and had all the registers open to help get students through the lines quicker.