Living off campus is expected to bring about more responsibilities - from cooking and cleaning to dealing with landlords and paying monthly rent. However, at a big school like MSU, getting to class and around campus should not be a problem.

Recently, students living in the Northern Tier, which includes The Village of Chandler Crossing apartments and Capstone Commons apartments, along with a number of other complexes, have complained about crowded buses and long periods of waiting. Students have reported not only having to wait as multiple full buses pass by them, but also having found buses to be much slower once they actually get on one.

In the past few years, many students have chosen to make the move to Northern Tier apartment complexes. They have a reputation for being comfortable and modern, and advertisements for them are everywhere. The transportation systems should be able to support these students and get them to class in a reasonable amount of time.

This Northern Tier is becoming its own little city, with a bar and shopping center nearby. The community is accommodating to students in many ways, but an efficient means of public transportation seems to have been overlooked. If a functional college community is expected to be successful north of campus, they must think of everything - especially transportation to and from campus.

The bus system should be especially prepared for large amounts of student riders right now, during the cold winter months when more people use the buses than any other time. Sitting and waiting outside for the buses for long periods does a disservice to students who rely on them to get to class on time.

Whether more routes are implemented to cover the area, or more buses are put on existing routes, something needs to be done to get students to and from campus more quickly.