A lot of people commute to Loyola. Some do this via the El or CTA buses. Others drive. I did all of these. Riding a bus to school is very dangerous if you're a dude, especially if you've just woken up.

The friction from the road is somehow intensified as it comes up through the tires and into your seat causing a condition I call "extended morning exhaustion." It sucks when you're riding the bus half asleep, recalling some dream you just had and then you find it's your stop. I switched to the el for this reason.

Taking the el to Loyola is not bad at all. Loyola has its own El stop equipped with a Dunkin Donuts (score!) and a limited menu Mcdonalds.

The el will take you to Loyola from all over the city. The only problem I ever had was when my train ran over someone and was delayed two hours. I felt lucky to have such an airtight excuse for missing classes, but it's too bad someone needed to die for that to happen. If I ever perish in a freak accident, I just hope it excuses a few people from their school or work.

If you live someplace inaccessible by bus or El, you may want to drive to school. There is actually a lot of street parking if you drive around the side streets. I spent a couple of semesters commuting this way, never had to pay for parking once and never got any tickets. If you don't mind paying for it, there's also a parking garage on campus.

If you're in your car driving around Rogers Park, when you're looking for parking for example, tune into WLUW 88.7. Loyola has an incredible college radio station that plays a great variety of underground music.

WLUW is really one of the gems of the school. In fact, I live in California and when I tell people in the music community that I went to Loyola-Chicago, they sometimes ask if I was involved in WLUW. I wasn't, although they played one of my songs a couple times, which was really nice. If you go to Loyola and are into interesting music, I recommend you get involved in college radio. I didn't and look at me. I'm a wreck.

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We have our own 'L' stop!

The Red Line Loyola 'L' stop connects students to the world of Chicago. Students can take the train north to Evanston or south to Chinatown. According to the CTA's marketing, the only thing connecting Cubs and Soxs fans is the CTA! In addition to the train, students can take the bus or a cab to their destination. The U-Pass makes public transportation hassle free. Just remember, no pass backs with the U-Pass. You have to wait 20 minutes between uses at the same location.

Students can also take the Loyola shuttle to and from the downtown campus. With regular departures, the Loyola shuttle makes taking classes at both campuses a breeze. Not taking into traffic, it typically takes 20 minutes to travel between campuses.

In addition to public transportation, students can travel to their destination in their car. Parking around campus is zoned, so be careful on where you park. There is a parking structure at the Lake Shore campus, but it can get pricey. Parking at the downtown campus is a variety of public parking lots. Some lots do offer discounted parking, but typically after a certain time of day.

Chicago also has several bike and running paths. In the summertime, you'll see tons of people running, skating, or riding their bike right along Lake Shore Drive. Chicago is also becoming more biker friendly, with painted lanes on several city streets.

No matter your mode of transportation, you'll find it relatively easy to navigate around Chicago. Enjoy!

CTA Train Schedules

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Loyola's two lakeside campuses are connected by the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line. The Lake Shore Campus is right across the street from the Loyola stop, and the Water Tower Campus is about a block from the Chicago stop. So getting around is no problem. Plus, the Red Line stops in several cool neighborhoods in between, like Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville, and the Red Line also connects with several other colleges, like DePaul, Roosevelt and Columbia College. At any time of day, you're likely to find the train cars full of students going to and from class.

Students can buy what is known as the U-Pass, which is good for unlimited rides on CTA trains and busses during the semester. For more information, visit www.luc.edu/upass

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