Don’t put on your walking shoes just yet. At Syracuse University, whether you are trying to get to class, a nice place to eat or the big game, walking isn’t the only option.

Although Syracuse doesn’t have a huge, sprawling campus, if students don’t have their bearings, walking from place to place can be difficult, SU senior Emily LoBraico said.

“I think the hardest part is learning where the different dorms are, but once you figure that out everything falls into place mentally,” the psychology and ethics major said.

Once the layout becomes second nature, the Syracuse campus only takes about 15 minutes to cover from one end to the other on foot, said Regina King, a senior finance and supply chain major. King, who is also an orientation leader, believes that walking is the best way to get around campus because it allows students to actually learn about the campus.

While getting to class and the dining halls are important, sometimes SU students feel the need to escape campus. There are many popular off-campus locations, such as Armory Square in Downtown Syracuse, which features some of the best restaurants in the city, and Destiny USA, the biggest shopping mall in the area.

Elizabeth Searight, a senior public relations major, believes there are many benefits to leaving campus.

“It’s great to get out of the Syracuse bubble. Obviously, we have a lot going on on-campus, but just to kind of broaden your perspectives and get to know the city a little more,” Searight said. “Syracuse is much more than Syracuse University.”

Because off-campus destinations are often too far to walk, and most freshmen students don’t bring their cars to campus, first-year SU students need to catch a ride, either on the bus or in an upperclassmen’s car.

Centro, the Regional Transportation Authority of Central New York, has teamed up with SU to provide a service known as the Connective Corridor. These free buses bring students to various locations including downtown, Destiny USA and the Regional Transportation Center. It makes going off-campus much more convenient than taking a taxi.

“Freshman year, it was really difficult to get downtown, but once the Connective Corridor kind of got up and running it got so much easier to go down there and go to Destiny,” King said.

For those that would prefer riding in a car, there are two main alternatives: ride-sharing and Zipcar.

Zipcar, a short-term car rental service, has a growing presence on the SU campus, with eight cars currently on campus, according to SU Parking and Transit Services. To join Zipcar, it costs $35 a year and most Zipcars are rented for an hourly rate of $7.50.

If renting isn’t appealing, there are many ways to find someone willing to carpool at Syracuse. In the Schine Student Center there is a ride-sharing board, where people post when and where they are driving, King said. Rides can also be found online at both the SU ride-sharing Facebook group and at Zimride, a relatively new private rideshare community that connects drivers and passengers within the Syracuse network.

While there may be many excuses to not explore off-campus, lack of transportation isn’t one.

Maeve Cortese, a sophomore civil engineering major who is bringing a car to campus for the first time, said that not having a car freshman year wasn’t a problem.

“I don’t think you necessarily need to bring your car,” Cortese said. “I think there are a lot of other options like Zipcars, and the buses are really easy to use.”

Although Cortese didn’t venture off-campus much her first year, Searight often travelled off-campus and said that it has been a long-term positive influence on her SU experience.

“I went downtown probably every other week for the first semester, and I’m really glad that I did it because I got to know my way around the city,” she said.

Published on August 20, 2014 at 1:05 am

Contact Brendan: bskrisel@syr.edu