Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series that will focus on Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath and connection to the EC community.

Even though Hurricane Katrina happened down in the south and about a month ago, people are being affected here in the West Coast due to high gas prices.

The price of gas has been going up and down and is on a rise again which is causing problems for many students on campus.

Students who have to commute are the most affected by the rise of gas prices.

The students who commute are forced to spend their gas smartly and have to sacrifice the fun things they use to do just so they can get to school.

“I cannot go to the many places I use to go to,” Ayorinde Artibatise, 22, said.

“I use premium for my engine, which is three something, so I only can drive to school. I can’t visit my friends any more and I can’t go to the beach or those kind of places,” she said.

There are many reasons why gas prices have been going up even before Hurricane Katrina, but when the hurricane hit, it made gas prices jump from $2.25 to more than $3.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, it hit a lot of oil refineries which affected the cost of gas.

“Because there were a lot of refineries in the area that the hurricane destroyed, it affected us strongly,” political science professor Eduardo Munoz said.

“Because the refineries were in that part of the state, it is going to affect the prices because its going to reduce the amount of oil being refined in terms of gas.”

Munoz says gas prices hit the students really hard because of school prices and other costs of living that students have to endure on a daily basis.

“Gas prices went down last week and are going back up, and students who come to a college are in tight money situations,” Munoz said.

“Some of them are going to have to drive long distances and others are going to have to fill up their tanks quit often. And the higher the price of gas, the more money that comes out of the student’s pocket and they’re going to be spending money on other things.”

Another student affected by the rising gas prices is Amy Lee, architecture major; with no money and a tight budget, the rising gas prices affect her a lot.

“Hurricane Katrina didn’t affect our weather, but gas prices are going up and I don’t have any money,” Lee said.

“Gas prices do not only affect me but every student and with my car I use to only put in twenty dollars and now I am putting in thirty.”

Students are going to have to use their gas wisely to make it through school.

There are plenty of ways students can conserve gas by not driving to unnecessary places and not push down on their gas pedal too often.

“Students can take the bus or carpool. So there are many ways to save gas,” Lee said.