This scene unfolded around 10:30 a.m. on a Monday. 

It was not an exception.

MSU’s personal transportation system depends on thousands of strangers navigating the same narrow space in entirely different ways. Students walk across major intersections in packs. Scooters cut through crowds. Bikes weave around both. Cars slow to a crawl. Buses fall behind schedule.

For most students, those daily collisions — both literal and social — are just part of campus life. Some say the tension increases as the weather changes and traffic grows. 

Political science senior Sereniti Huff relies on CATA buses to get to class. She lives in the Brody Complex Neighborhood and catches the 31 bus most mornings. That ride, she said, is unpredictable. 

"Buses would be so full in the mornings," Huff said. "I would have to wait for the next bus."

She usually boards around 9:30 a.m. and rides toward Holden Hall. Mornings are the hardest. Between 8 and 10 a.m. the sidewalks fill quickly and the buses overflow. Some buses skip stops. Some arrive late. Some never appear at all. 

Huff used to bike but stopped once winter arrived. Now, she walks when she can, although that brings other concerns. 

"Scooters scare me. I almost got run over by one because they end up moving very fast and swerving a lot so they can go where they need to go," Huff said.

When it gets cold, Huff said, drivers become more impatient. Some stop for students. Others don’t. 

Advertising management senior Kyrstin De Vance travels across campus by car. She is an RA and holds a handicap permit, which helps — but not much. Finding a parking spot still takes 10 to 15 minutes. On some days it takes longer.

Pedestrians often do not pay attention when they cross the street, De Vance said. Walkers move into the road before traffic clears, and drivers slam their brakes to avoid hitting someone.

In colder temperatures, this daily choreography becomes more difficult. 

"When walking outside to class, cars don’t care that you are cold. They will keep going," Huff said. "They can either let you walk across the road or not."

Biking brings its own challenges. Cyclists often slow down for crowds and adjust to whatever is happening on the sidewalk.

Civil engineering freshman Giliaah Pepito bikes everywhere on campus. She lives in Wilson Hall and travels to classes in the South Neighborhood and to buildings farther away, including STEM and Chemistry.

The number of people in certain areas and at certain times shapes every trip. When larger classes finish, the flow of students creates a wave that fills the sidewalk. Pepito said riders get wedged behind groups that walk shoulder to shoulder, and the path narrows until it becomes almost impossible to move through on a bicycle.

Traffic gets heavier when cyclists and scooter riders try to navigate around one another. Some riders cannot hear what is behind them. Others cannot see. Speeds vary, and the mix creates an uneven and unpredictable path.

"Anyone going fast behind me scares me, bike or scooter," Pepito said.

Pepito avoids the sidewalks when she can. If the road is clear, she rides there instead. She said it gives her more space and a steadier pace, although that only works when traffic allows it.

MSU covers more than 5,000 acres and has more than 51,000 students. Thousands move at once in the same spaces. Some walk. Some bike. Some ride scooters. Some drive. Some run to catch a bus.

None of them move in the same way.

That defines the experience for many students. The challenge is not only where they are going. It is the tension it takes to get there. A missed signal. A horn. A crowded sidewalk after class. The moments add up.

MSU runs on movement, and it runs into itself every day. Students feel the frustration, yet they share the same roads and paths. The friction stays because everyone is part of the same crowded system.