As I’m sure you can imagine, the various lines at school for the first few weeks of the Fall semester, will be very crowded and tiring to wait in. We’re not just talking about physical lines, but also cyber lines over the telephone that could have you waiting for a considerable amount of time.

Unfortunately, the lines will begin before you even step foot on campus. The lines in the parking lots will extend around the outskirts of campus, so keep in mind that if you are driving to school, you need to arrive an hour or two before your classes begin. Also keep in mind that you can save money by simply using our public transportation system. You can either take the Hornet Shuttle supported by University Transportation and Parking Services www.csus.edu/utaps or one of the busses that are run by the city. All public transportation is free as long as you have your One Card with an updated sticker for the Fall Semester 2003.

Also, keep in mind that if you are planning on skipping the lines at Foley Hall cause you’re too lazy to buy a semester parking permit, your wallet will be shrinking just as fast. Just last week daily parking permits were only $2.25 (yea…only), but the talking yellow machines are asking for an extra 50 cents. Weekly permits will cost you $6.75 and semester pass will cost you $108 dollars, an increase of $25 dollars from just last fall.

peaking of last of last fall, did you see the lines around campus then? They aren’t going to be much different. If you need to take care of any kind of business that has to deal with financial aid, student services, academic advising, go to the bathroom, buy a cup of coffee, or anything that’s going to force you to stand in line, continue rehearsing your excuse to tell your professors why you were late.

Now woe; And beware of the following lines: The Daily Pass permit; make sure you’ve guaranteed a spot before you actually buy one. Financial Aid; Too many people with long questions, and only able to service two people at a time. With ten people in front of you, you could be standing for 20 minutes. Lunch; as deep fried as it may be, you’ll still be hungry around noon. Plan on waiting 15 minutes for a sandwich. The Bookstore; It is inevitable that this will be the longest line on campus for the first couple weeks of school. However, credit must be given to the fast-paced, on their toes, minimum wage workers. They are probably the only well staffed customer-service based group there is on campus. Having good organization and getting people out of the lines speedily, you might be out of there before the parking police find out that you’re illegally parked.

Jon Robins, a senior in Communication Studies and employee of the Hornet Bookstore, informs us that it would be more efficient for students to order and pay for their books over the internet and have them delivered. If you had met the deadline, you could have picked them up at the store, but for now, you’ll have to pay for shipping costs. To order your books online go to www.hornetbooks.com.