By Rachel Lutz, Assistant Editorial Editor
The Pride Ride Connection, the University’s larger-than-life carpool system, is up and running again this Thanksgiving season. The program is the collaborative effort of the Offices of Commuter Students and Off-Campus Living and Students for a Greener Hofstra.
The idea stemmed from what used to be the University’s “Ride Board.” Students would post their information essentially on a giant bulletin board, hoping someone would be heading in the same direction. Other colleges have this similar idea, but nothing quite similar to the University’s Pride Ride Connection.
Anita Ellis, the director of the Offices of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services, also says the system is a way to meet new people and match students up so that the maximum amount of students get to go home for the holiday.
“We’re assuming that we’re going to have a large group of students; we’ve had a large number of inquiries,” Ellis said.
In some cases, an individual may not know any other students from his or her hometown area. This system works to pair together the students, but also helps introduce greener ideas into the campus. The Pride Ride Connection groups students who are going in the same direction, not necessarily in the same town or area. The students agree upon a drop-off and meeting spot between themselves. They also are responsible for discussing travel plans coming back to the University and travel expenses, such as gas money, tolls and food stops.
The Students for a Greener Hofstra club was also heavily involved in the coordination and logistics of this collaboration. Laura Wesely, club member, says that the club has the “potential to bring lots of interest” and “grow” in future years.
“It would be great if somehow there was a way to establish a database of students and their hometowns – only those [students] that are willing to give people rides/need rides – that is accessible to all students. I know that this is exactly what the program is trying to do, but I suppose making a Craigslist-like directory or even a cool interactive map online would really get people to be interested,” said Wesely.Wesely also listed some of the many benefits of carpooling.
“You save on gas-money by splitting it, you have a travel companion to keep you company, you have the opportunity to make new friends and most importantly, if you choose to carpool over driving yourself, you are reducing you carbon footprint by not putting all of your car’s exhaust fumes into the atmosphere,” said Wesely. She also included another idea for students that are travelling far from campus. “For really long rides it could also come in handy for sharing driving duties while the other sleeps (only if you trust the other driver that is).”
The Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services wouldn’t provide names of the students participating to get their opinion on the services.
For the residents who are staying on campus this holiday, Wesely suggested to “keep an open eye out for Thanksgiving programs in the residence halls or on the rest of campus.”
If the Pride Ride Connection can’t match a pair together, Wesely also suggests other forms of public transportation, such as busses and trains, versus traveling alone to reduce the carbon footprint.
