The 10 minute rush detours

Traffic. Traffic everywhere.

Traffic in the Metro is inarguably one of the major causes of hair-pulling and non-stop cussing every Filipino morning. It is an inescapable and powerful phenomenon, this thing we call traffic. We always try to avoid it, but once we’re within its tight and polluted grasp, there is nothing else to do but to be patient (and probably make some excuses to say to the boss or professor).

Traffic, indeed a nuisance on the road, can be the same along the halls and pathways in school. As you travel from one building to another, traffic will be there during the “peak” hours at Agno Street, SJ Walk, and the Andrew elevator lines.

In a study conducted in 2011 by Industrial Engineering faculty members, 85 percent of the student population is present during peak days Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday (Wednesday then was the University Break, not Friday). Also concluded by the report is that on any regular school day, half of the students who don’t have classes on any particular day still come to school to attend other activities i.e. thesis, organization activities, social gatherings and other ‘student’ gigs.

It is likely that these statistics would not be so far off today, as our entire student population has increased by 11 percent this year. Congestion has always been a major concern for the University, although solutions brought on by the administration are the construction of the Henry Sy Sr. Hall (HSSH), the integration of De La Salle Canlubang.

Despite these initiatives, students still need to know how to avoid the perennially congested paths of DLSU. With that, The Menagerie drives you through DLSU’s lesser-known shortcuts, which may just help you outsmart traffic and save you from getting late.

Pathways: Finally, Velasco to LS

Ah, the Henry Sy Building, the most (architecturally) contemporary addition to the DLSU Hall family! The home of the library, some offices, elevators, escalators, a large lobby space, and grass, we’ve got it all for us. But never mind all that; just focus on the best one it can offer for the “two minutes more and I’ll be late” DLSU student. The Cory Aquino Democratic Space in front of Henry Sy connects the Velasco building with the LS building, saving a large amount of travel time than going through crawl of SJ Walk. Compared to the SJ Walk and Taft Avenue itself, the Henry Sy is the reasonableoption to go to the South side of campus from the North side.

Hidden Hallways: The ‘real’ SJ Walk

SJ walk is one of the most congested parts of the University during the 10-minute chaos. Before the opening of Henry Sy Sr. Hall (HSSH), SJ’s canopy-covered walk was for most uninformed students the only means of connecting the two halves of the main campus, with the LS Hall and the Yuchengco Hall on one half, and Miguel, Velasco and Andrew on the other.

Say goodbye to annoying humid congestion during hot afternoons, or the tiring meeting of random friends who insist they have a kwento to tell even if you are already late for class: one commonsensical, obvious way that no one seems to do is to use the SJ building’s corridor, a place that we may call the “Inner SJ Walk”. Behind the building is a wide-open pathway that is soaked in fresh sunlight and air so fresh that SJ walk envies its existence.

The Inner SJ Walk is way less crowded and more so now that the Library has evolved into the Learning Commons, meaning less students pass there, and people are given three opportunities to enter it. Along the seemingly eternal and dragging normal SJ walk are three paths that connect it to the Inner SJ walk and provides students with three chances for salvation. So a word to the wise: Inner is better.

Warp zone: SJ to Miguel

Many believe that DLSU is a University that diversifies and continuously revolutionizes itself, one such achievement is the bridging together of the arts and sciences. Yes, though hard to believe, a bridge has been built and it serves a great deal to the students and faculty of the University. The said bridge, found on Miguel Hall’s second and a half floor and SJ’s third floor, aids students and faculty in getting through the 10-minute rush. People from Miguel who are just plain too irritated to pass by SJ walk can simply use this iconic bridge and take it easy.

Warp zone: Goks to Miguel

During the 10 minute break, one area that gets all Lasallians’ sticky arms together is the Agno gate just behind Miguel Hall. It can get really tight with people going out to get Agno grub, people going in for class, people from Andrew running to LS, and more people who feel like adding to the congestion of the gate swimming with people. One easy way out of this mess? Look up.

Yep, that bridge, the bridge that connects CCS to CLA, is a quick route for escape. Adding this to the SJ-Miguel Bridge, a walk from Central Plaza to Agno for some food can simply be a walk, and not a slow march of death before the dutiful guards who stall the noon crowd.

General Green tips

Of course there is a general shortcut: if you are more of a daredevil and need to wake yourself up with adrenaline, try hustling from Andrew along through Taft Avenue itself when going to your next class in LS. Just don’t get bumped by cars, held up, or soaked in occasional flooding.

When the shortest and easiest route to getting to your class is where traffic is hanging out, then there is no other choice but to go through the Lasallian jungle. Tip your hat with respect to traffic, tie your shoelaces, limber up, take a deep breath and prepare your vocal chords, it’s going to be a long adventure full of fast-walking, bumping, and saying “Excuse me,” to people.

In 10 minutes, many can be done. With all the running, pushing, and excusing yourself, hopefully this reading has aided you in some way. Learning these shortcuts can help you in tough times, whether it be a class to/from Andrew, getting a quick lunch, or maybe even winning a race. Getting around traffic takes skill, and an agile mind, and in an indirect manner, DLSU forces this on its aimless students.