by Carly Bergthold | Nov 14, 2014 | News Slider
Gas prices can seem random, but there is a method behind the ups and downs. According to GasBuddy, Nashville gas prices haven’t been this low since late 2010. Lipscomb economics and finance professor Bill Ingram said prices have to do with simple supply and demand. “It’s all because of the price of crude oil,” Ingram said. “A big part of the cost of a product is the cost of the material that goes in the product. The United States is producing much more crude oil, so we’re less dependent on foreign oil.” In 2014, gas prices in Nashville spiked around April and began falling in July, which Ingram said is normal. “In the summertime when the demand increases, it puts more pressure on the manufacturers,” Ingram said. “They may have to use some equipment that’s less efficient. Some states require them to produce a different kind of gas in the summertime because there’s more of a chance of pollution. That costs more.” Customer demand and the price of crude oil, however, do not explain the variety of gas prices in one area. That is simply business. “One of the driving forces of pricing in product is competition,” Ingram said. “Certain parts of town, like a few blocks from campus in Green Hills, there are just a couple gas places. But if you go in another direction, like Thompson Lane, there are more places to buy gas. So it has to do with competition as well as the demographics of the neighborhood. Someone in Brentwood, where it’s more affluent, might be willing to pay more for convenience.” The cheapest places...
by Crystal Davis | Apr 1, 2011 | News Slider
Lipscomb students living off campus are finding it more and more expensive to get themselves to classes with gas prices soaring at the pumps. An obvious solution to this problem might be found in students carpooling or taking forms of public transportation like the Nashville M.T.A. buses to save money that would otherwise be spent filling up with gas. Freshman Sadie Stone from Louisville, Ky., doesn’t even like driving past gas stations. “Lately every time I pass a gas station my heart sinks,” Stone said. “Anger fills my body when I realize the continual increase in gas prices. There is no way I can continue to afford $3.59 a gallon. Something will have to give and I am not happy about it.” However, some students like sophomore Rachel Hacker, a communications major from Gallatin, Tenn., haven’t noticed much of an increase in gas prices. But whenHacker realized how much a gallon of gas costs, she planned to be more conscientious with her money. “I’ll be budgeting carefully to make the drive home to Gallatin and to other necessary places like the grocery store more convenient and affordable in relation to my inflow of cash,” Hacker said. Another factor affecting students who commute to campus daily is the type of vehicle they drive and what kind of gas mileage they get. In years prior the most relevant feature when college students were considering what car to buy might have been the color or the year. These days, different issues are in the forefront of people’s minds, like how far they can drive on a tank of gas. Hacker drives a...
by Lauren Edwards | Mar 10, 2011 | News Slider
Stereotypically, college students use spring break as an excuse to travel south for sand, swimming and sun.But this year, due to the economy and other concerns, Lipscomb students are looking at different options to fill that one-week break before buckling down for the home stretch toward finals. “I was going to go to Florida with some friends,” explains Alli Arms, a senior psychology major from Murfreesboro, Tenn. “But the economy has impacted my family greatly the last three years. A couple hundred bucks for spring break wasn’t an option.” Arms is hardly alone. However, she is making the best of it by using the break to teach a high school psychology class, which she sees as a great chance for experience for her future. Another student whose more adventurous plans were curtailed by the economy and gas prices, Lindsay Lamparyk, a freshman fashion merchandising major, is headed home. Back among her friends and family in Cleveland, Ohio, she’ll enjoy their company and take part in the big St. Patty’s Day festivities downtown. The rapidly increasing gas prices have not made traveling of any easier either. According to the Energy Information Administration’s website, gasoline prices are due to increase 13.4 percent from last year. “I found an upperclassman that is going to drive me to Columbus, and a friend will pick me up from there,” Lamparyk said. Even those who were able to fly to their destinations still see the effect the increased fuel and ticket prices has on their friends. “My friends cannot go on spring break,” said Joey Chiapetta, a freshman exercise science major from New Berlin, Wis....
