As Saraphine Latchie stands on the corner behind Middleton Library, 20 white students pass by with car keys in hand.
But Latchie, an anthropology junior, doesn’t have a car. She’s waiting for LSU’s Campus Transit.
She has used Campus Transit at least two times a week since she’s been at LSU.
Latchie, who is black, sees whites on the bus “not often at all,” she said.
Latchie is not the only one to notice the small number of whites using Campus Transit – the system of transportation provided to students by the University for night travel. The bus runs from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week.
Other students and some Campus Transit drivers have noticed the majority of students riding Campus Transit seem to be minorities. Some think the numbers are a sign of deeper division, but others think it’s not an issue.
Helen Frazier, a Campus Transit driver, said she has noticed the small number of white students riding Campus Transit.
“Maybe they’re not familiar with it, maybe they just don’t know how it works,” she said. “I think some of them may think it’s below them. But I wouldn’t let my pride get in the way of safety.”
Bernard Selder, another Campus Transit driver, said the number of whites riding is not as small as it used to be. He said he noticed a peak in white female riders on his bus before police caught serial killer suspect Derrick Todd Lee.
“Honestly, I think the numbers have gone back down a bit,” he said.
Katie Culotta, an elementary education sophomore, is one of the white females who rode the bus when Selder noticed the increase. She used Campus Transit usually twice a week the spring semester of her freshman year.
“I was car-less that year,” she said.
For Culotta, using the transit was not optional, she said. She would use it to travel from Miller dorm to the library and Christ the King Church late at night.
Campus Transit driver Saketrick Toney said Culotta is part of what he sees as a growing trend among white students.
“I don’t think there are as many whites and blacks riding, but it’s definitely getting better,” he said. “This semester, I’ve had more whites on my bus than usual.”
When Culotta rode the bus, she didn’t see much evidence of the increase.
“I was usually the only white person on the bus,” she said. “During the entire semester, I probably saw four other white people.”
When Culotta would leave Miller, other girls would make fun of her.
“They would say, ‘Katie, are you really going to take the bus? Don’t you know that’s not safe?’ They really thought something was wrong or weird or scary,” she said.
Chaunda Allen, program director for the Office of Multicultural Affairs said she does not know if more blacks than whites are using Campus Transit, but she said that would make sense.
“Many of the programs we sponsor for ethnic minorities are late at night,” she said. “I’ve seen all the black students using the Campus Transit to get there, but I never really thought of that as segregation.”
Satya Mahapatra, an electrical engineering graduate student, said he thinks most white students probably are not interested in Campus Transit, no matter what the safety concerns.
“Personally, I feel white people think it is below them,” said Mahapatra, an international student. “I think minority students feel it’s a free way to get around, and we’re going to take advantage of it. It may not be a status symbol, but it appears that way to me.”
Mahapatra rides Campus Transit four times a week.
“I hardly ever see white students,” he said.
Melanie Menes, a biological sciences major, said a more likely reason some white females don’t ride is because they don’t know about the service.
“I’ve seen it but never used it,” she said. “I don’t really know why, I just never really think about it.”
Callie Simoneaux, a psychology freshman, said she thinks more publicity could increase use of the Campus Transit by whites.
“Maybe if it were more publicized, more people would take it,” she said. “I’m going to continue getting rides home from my friends.”
Julie Anne Streete, a kinesiology freshman, said even knowing about the service, she’s probably not going to use the transit anytime soon.
“I usually just get rides with my friends,” she said. “I’m not trying to be racist, but I would be intimidated if I were the only white person on the bus. One little white sorority girl and five big black guys is intimidating.”
Even safety concerns don’t convince Streete. She once walked from Huey P. Long to Miller at night.
Traci Serio, a business freshman, said she usually just calls a friend.
“I don’t use Campus Transit because I never have to,” she said. “Usually my brother or someone can come pick me up from a night class.”
Serio thinks the lack of whites riding the bus is a sign of a deeper division.
“We live in the South,” she said. “I think some people may just think ‘That’s a black thing.'”
Latchie, the lone student waiting for Campus Transit at Middleton Library, said she thinks many black students use Campus Transit because they don’t have cars.
“I don’t,” she said.
Keshawn Williams, a psychology freshman, gave the same reason for her frequent use of Campus Transit.
“I use it two or three times a week,” she said. “I don’t have a car, and even if I did, I’d still ride [Campus Transit]. I think it’s safe.”
That students like Williams see the transit as safe pleases Eric Reid, assistant director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation.
“We’re just trying to provide a safe way for students to travel,” he said.
The Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation has no control over who actually uses the service, he said.
“If there are more minority students using [Campus Transit], I don’t see that as a problem,” he said. “We’re just providing the service, not for particular students-for all students.”