The Wait Is Not Over at CSUN

All day Monday, campus quads were filled with anxious students thumbing through class catalogs. The bookstore was packed and the parking lot was bumper-to-bumper.

It was the first day of spring semester 2000 at Cal State Northridge.

“I came real early so I could get parking because I know what it’s like,” said senior Chris Duncan, a psychology major from Burbank. “It seems like there’s a lot more people than last year, like it’s really crowded.”

Monday’s preliminary spring enrollment of 25,816 was up 360 from last spring, said CSUN spokeswoman Muriel Banares, making it likely to retain its rank as the third-largest California State University campus behind San Diego State and Cal State Long Beach.

“There’s definitely been an increase in enrollment the last few years,” Banares said.

Last fall, CSUN posted the third-largest enrollment among the system’s 22 campuses, with 27,947 students, behind San Diego State with 31,413 and Cal State Long Beach with 30,011.

At the CSUN Student Services building Monday, the average wait was 45 minutes to pay for parking or classes. Students lined up with paperwork and checkbooks in hand.

Sabrena Smith manned the information booth a few feet from the door, answering the same questions hundreds of times and directing frustrated students to the long line behind her.

“I’m here from 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. and by the time I leave, I’ll have helped more than 1,000 people,” Smith said.

The most common questions, Smith said, were related to adding and dropping classes and parking permits.

“Parking is free until Feb. 7, but people want to know where they can buy a permit,” Smith said. “I tell them to get in that long line right there.”

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After glancing at the line, many students bolted for the nearest exit, but others sighed loudly and stood at the end.

The Matador Bookstore was just as crowded with students scrambling to buy books and supplies. Employee Rosa Vega said there was a long line outside before the store opened at 7:30 a.m.

“It’s been kind of crazy,” she said. “We’re open special hours, until 11 p.m., and it will be crowded the whole time.”

Just about the only place on campus that wasn’t packed Monday was the textbook buyback window around the corner from the bookstore. The lines were short, with an average of four people, and moved quickly.

To freshman Vincent Vaca, none of it really mattered. He relaxed in front of the Student Union between classes instead of fighting the mobs, which he believes will fade in the coming weeks.

“I didn’t even deal with parking,” he said. “Someone dropped me off.”