By The population on campus went from overwhelming to sustainable within a few days of students settling into campus.
However, traffic on the road wasn’t the only jam students ran into. During the first few days of the semester it was crowded and there were long lines in the bookstore and Beach Shops.
“Last week [first week of classes] we saw significant foot traffic in restaurant and retail spaces,” Rosa Hernandez, Executive Director of the Beach Shops, said.
“Our biggest challenge we have seen is during 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. when we see the influx traffic for lunch.”
Hernandez explained the long lines come from the high demand in such a short period of time.
“For the first couple days of school, it was a lot of students coming in and buying stuff they needed for the first classes,” Miranda Mena, a bookstore employee said.
Mena has been a university bookstore employee since the summer. Experience from past retail jobs prepared her for busy stores and large crowds, but back to school at CSULB is different.
“I pretty much had no experience with the crowds, it’s different when it’s a bunch of college students,” Mena said.
Students were frustrated with the amount of “slow walkers” and how packed it was on the first day, which made it hard to get to classes on time, get food or school supplies.
08/23/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Students walk to and from class in the hallway next to the Liberal Arts buildings at Cal State University Long Beach during the first week of school. Photo credit: Naoki Gima
The campus was congested with students doing last-minute shopping in the bookstore, grabbing a bite from the Nugget and other Beach Shops, stopping by advising offices and finding their way around.
“It was packed,” Anna Clara, a CSULB art student said. ” I couldn’t even get a snack between classes or I would’ve been late.”
Shops around campus such as Coffee Bean, Caffeine Lab, Subway, and Carl’s Jr., had long lines all day during the first week of classes.
“If we can give students the biggest pro tip: mobile order, use Grubhub. It is super convenient and allows you to save time,” Rosa Hernandez said.
The crowding had adjusted by Thursday, and by the second week, students had figured out their schedules and classes, which made the campus far less crowded.
“My classes and the gym were filled [the first day],” Melody Rodriguez, a CSULB student said. “And then it was empty by Thursday afternoon.”
By the end of the first week, students were already emailing their professors about not coming to class.
“My first-year students not as much [skipping class] but more missing in advanced classes,” said English professor Rebecca Cummings. “And that’s because they got jobs, they got kids.”
By the second week, the attendance for several classes had reduced by half.
“It has evened out [by Thursday of the second week]. The crowd is what I’d expect for the beginning of the semester, it’s probably going to get a lot less busy when we get towards midterms.” Mena said.
