Teens face price-hike challenges

By JOANN JONES

Pooling resources, helping with costs and limiting trips help them cope.

When Brian Anderson’s classmates found out in May that he was riding his bike to school, they couldn’t believe it. Anderson was one of those “cool” seniors with a nice-looking car.

Anderson, however, as a student at both Sebring McKinley and the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center in the health tech prep program, was putting a lot more gas into his tank than his classmates were. Not only did he have to drive to the Career Center after spending the morning at Sebring, but he also had to attend classes at Youngstown State University every day. For that reason, he rode his bike to his morning classes in Sebring.

“I was spending about $50 a week for gas, with YSU everyday,” Anderson said, “but that was before the recent spike.”

That recent spike is the $4 or more a gallon teenagers are facing today when they go to the pump. They’re finding they have to conserve their gas, while also leaving out some of the fun things they used to do.

Cruising, driving to the mall when they’re bored, or driving a half hour or so to get something to eat used to be favorite summer pastimes. This summer, though, many teens are driving only when necessary.

“Most of the time my friends and I would rather not go out and do something because gas is so high,” said 18-year-old Rich Barker of Hanoverton. “We basically work to earn enough money just to get to work.”

“We try not to drive into town [Salem or Boardman] as much for mindless things such as getting a bite to eat when we could just as easily make something at home,” he added. “We don’t do things that require a lot of driving; we stay at home and play basketball or something of that sort.”

“I cut back on my trips out of town,” Anderson said. “I ride my bike if it’s nice and there’s no need to drive. But I’ll still go places like Cleveland or Pittsburgh, regardless of cost, because I still want to experience things.”

Fortunately for Anderson, during his high school years he’s held a part-time job at Copeland Oaks Retirement Home that pays him pretty well. For that reason he hasn’t been so hard on friends who ride with him.

“I’m pretty nice,” he said. “I don’t make people pay me. I figure I’m going to a place anyway, so they might as well ride with me. And my friends are usually not as fortunate as I am. They probably have better things to spend their money on.”

Barker, on the other hand, said all of his friends chip in for gas, but usually the tank is on empty, no matter who is driving.

“The people [who] do contribute are the ones who are not broke, basically forcing them to pay,” he said. “We try to make it as fair as possible, though. There is no problem asking anyone for gas money.”

Barker said his friends have been carpooling most of the time, whether they’re going to work or doing something fun.

“The thing that been affected the most is the ability to have fun,” he said. “Sometimes friends who can’t afford to shell out as much [money for gas] get left out of the fun.”

Nineteen-year-old Amy Sanor of Salem said she sometimes just pays for gas herself if she really wants to do something because “people change their minds about going if they have to pay for gas.”

“I sometimes feel bad asking people for gas money, but it’s not fair to me to have to pay it all,” Sanor said. “When I was still at school, a lot of people would just come along for the ride and not pay me for gas. I wouldn’t say that adversely affected any friendships, but it’s made me realize who the mooches are.”

Sanor said she has always practiced driving etiquette by offering to drive her share, but a lot of her friends don’t drive.

“Sometimes I’m stuck with it, which I usually don’t mind,” she said, “but it stinks when I don’t get any help paying for gas.”

Evan Campbell, a 17-year-old from Beloit, said he has cut back on his driving to conserve gas, too, by not always driving and by riding with a friend if he can. According to Campbell, most kids he knows alternate on who drives. But he also said that teens should just cut back on their overall driving in order to deal with gas prices.

When Campbell does drive, his friends chip in for gas.

“I have no problem telling them to give me gas money because it’s so expensive,” Campbell said.

Campbell, who plays summer baseball at Cene Park in Struthers, which is almost an hour away from his house, said he and the other players always carpool to conserve their gas.

Bekki Covert, also of Salem, said it costs more than $50 to fill her tank, which lasts her between two and three weeks.

“I definitely don’t go as many places as I used to,” Covert said. “When I drive, just about all my friends offer to pay for gas. It’s usually their parents who will give them money to give to me, though.”

Covert said she usually doesn’t ask her friends for gas money unless she feels they’re not being fair.

“I’m usually hesitant about asking unless where we’re going is a far drive or if I’ve driven the last few times we’ve gone somewhere,” she said.

“My friends and I take turns a lot,” she added. “But sometimes we just go by who has the most fuel-efficient car, and we throw in a couple bucks for the driver.”

High gas prices have kept her, too, from doing fun things.

“I actually was supposed to go to a concert this past week, but I had to cancel because it would’ve cost me about $40 in gas, plus food and my ticket. This concert was only in Akron, about an hour away.”

Amy Cobbs, a sophomore at Kent State University’s main campus, said she has to save more from her paycheck to go toward gas than she used to and has had to cut down on coming home from school every weekend.

“It takes $50 to fill my tank, and it’s half a tank each trip,” she said. Cobbs also had to give up a summer vacation.

“I want to go to New Jersey but can’t because of how expensive it is,” she said.

Sanor said the high gas prices have changed her thinking about doing fun, random things.

“I used to randomly decide to go to Pittsburgh because I was bored or to Akron because I wanted White Castle,” she said. “Now there has to be a really good reason to go, and I have to sit around and think about if it’s worth the gas or not.”