Parking and Traffic

When a school has in excess of 30,000 students it does not make sense then that the available parking for the campus is limited to just a tad more then 10,000 spots. While all students do not have class at the same time, and there isn't always a problem with parking in off hours, more simply has to be done regarding the parking situation for the students that attend during the peak hours of around 9am to noon. With the outrageous cost of parking permits each semester the school could do more by adding another parking structure in the northwestern section of campus near the athletic fields to ease the parking problem that occurs daily. While taking classes at non peak hours would make more sense for a majority of the people, by the time mid day hits is when the traffic crunch around Orange County hits. What takes me a 20 minute drive in the morning to get to class turns into over an hours drive by mid day when all the traffic really begins to pile up. 

While CSUF does offer the option of bus travel with student tuition, overall the state of public transit and infrastructure is very poor compared to many countries around the world. For students looking to attend CSUF one must weigh their options and consider both the advantages and disadvantages of both the student dorms or transit for their needs when attending the university. 

Student Dorms

Located on the east side of campus, the dorms are broken up into several units that host a small amount of the student population as a majority of the campus commutes to school. All the dorm units are fairly new with all the modern amenities that one would expect such as a kitchen with a stove, two full sized bathrooms, and a living room. While the dorms have everything one would expect out of a living facility, there are however some complaints with the living quarters. The main issue for our section of dorms is the absence of the full college experience that one would come to expect. Due to the layout of the dorms, the floors are often devoid of people, limiting the social experience for everyone in the apartment style complex's. In addition, due to the rules set in place, students are prohibited from making excessive noise, possession of alcohol, and smoking in the general vicinity of the dorms. Not just limited to the dorms, overall, the schools internet is severely disapointing, between disappointing speeds and constant cut out over wireless, the internet situation leaves much to be desired. While there are many negative aspects to the dorm situation on campus, there are some upsides to living on campus. The main upside to living on campus regards the traffic situation that encompasses all of orange county. Due to the overpopulation of orange county, people who live on campus are able to make it to class on time because they don't have to deal with the freeways that are constantly congested. Another positive aspect to living on campus is that it provides a quiet relaxed atmosphere for students to work on their studies. Overall due to the many negative aspects described, I would not recommend the dorm situation for anyone if they can avoid it.

The Gastronome

The Gastronome is Cal State Fullerton's first official students cafeteria available to campus residents with pre-paid mail plans as well as to other students, faculty, and staff with pay-at-the-door rates.

This stylish, modern eatery can accommodate up to 565 guests at one time and offers a wide variety of food options.

The Gastronome also features late-night dining until 1 a.m with a limited menu of items such as pizza, sandwiches and beverages.

Gastronome Personal Review:

From the time I've spent living in the dorms at Cal State Fullerton I have noticed that the food quality at the Gastronome is wildly inconsistent. At times the food quality will range from fresh and well prepared to below average tasting as if it came straight from the freezer. Thankfully there is usually a wide variety of prepared food to choose from giving students the option to avoid any food they consider unsatisfactory. The major complaint that students often raise regarding the Gastronome is the hours of operation. Currently the hours of operation is Inaccessible to most students due to their closing time of 8pm whereas most night classes do not end until 9 to 9:30; in addition their opening hours restrict students who have class at 7 in the morning depriving them of a well balanced breakfast before class starts. An additional complaint that students raise regards the bathrooms and their location. the location of the bathrooms is situated outside of the main building, forcing students to reenter the gastronome through the main entrance where they must re validate themselves into the building. Overall the Gastronome is a decent place to eat and satisfies students nutritional requirement.