UCSD’s recently heightened attempts to bring a variety of services and events to campus — most notably, the recent inception of the UCSD Farmer’s Market — is commendable. Well planned, on-campus events are highly beneficial to students unable to go off campus easily and are an integral part of making a student’s first few years on campus enjoyable.
Despite what the brochures may tell you, La Jolla is not an ideal college town. For students without transportation to and from campus, the greater San Diego area is an entirely unappealing locale. On weekends, when the Cityshuttle is out of commission, carless students who don’t want to waste time waiting for the poorly scheduled city busses are essentially stranded on campus.
This lack of transportation makes it difficult for students to acclimate themselves to the San Diego area, find entertainment or even take care of relatively simple tasks such as grocery shopping. This in turn makes it difficult for students to maintain healthy, balanced lifestyles.
Several years ago the National Library of Medicine ran a study to determine whether college students were receiving sufficient vitamins while living on campus; the students received a C-minus. Small wonder. It’s easy to see the same trend occurring at UCSD. You can try to be healthy at the on-campus dining halls, of course, but there are only so many times a day you can eat salad, and only so many different ways to balance your diet. Nutritious options are severely limited with the closest grocery store nearly two miles away from some parts of campus.
The Student Organization and Leadership Opportunities’ induction of the UCSD Farmer’s Market, held Tuesdays on Library Walk and Lyman Way, is an excellent blueprint for bringing off-campus amenities to campus. The market allows students to purchase fresh produce and other things at an affordable price, without having to leave campus. At the weekly markets, students can lunch on barbecue, purchase freshly cut flowers or sample various ethnic foods. Most importantly, students can stock up on fruits and vegetables — and, by extension, vitamins — otherwise unavailable on campus.
Vendor fairs on Library Walk offer similar opportunities to students who find it difficult to reach UTC or other shopping venues. The Price Center Theater shows discounted movies that students can watch without needing a ride to an off-campus theater. The University Center Concert Series provides students with musical entertainment available to those without their own transportation. Oftentimes individual colleges have programs designed to take students off campus to various museums, parks or other attractions. The MTVU and UCTV’s VJ search, which recently visited UCSD, was another good example of bringing outside life onto campus.
While such institutions are highly beneficial, they are fairly infrequent, and students who opt not to bring cars are still at a disadvantage. The A.S. Council, S.O.L.O. and individual campus organizations should focus on bringing more events onto campus. Warren College’s Earl’s Place, the nearest thing UCSD has to a grocery store, and on-campus dining halls should sell more fruit than waxy, unripened apples and oranges, and salad bars should have more variety.
Furthermore, UCSD should work to improve transportation infrastructure or parking — or both — so that students need not rely solely on the few existing on-campus resources. Thornton Hospital should be easily accessible — Student Health is wholly insufficient during emergency situations. Students should be provided with resources to go off-campus during weekends. The university should ensure that students have a place on campus to purchase groceries, especially given the large number of residence halls and apartments with kitchens. Finally, on-campus events should be better publicized so that students are aware of the options they have that don’t require cars.
Meanwhile, though, kudos to S.O.L.O. for assuaging at least one issue that plagues resident students.