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Recent world events — possibly in the Middle East again — have seen gas prices across the country skyrocket by almost 47%. Amongst the groups most impacted by this are commuter students. Recognizing the financial struggles that many commuting students are under — none of those reasons have to do with the college itself, of course — the University has partnered with Shell to help students with their fuel needs.

The plan is simple: the eastern end of McKeldin Mall will be cut out, and a Shell station will be built off of Regents Drive. A full gas-station store will be there, packed with Celsius, Rockstar, more Celsius, oh, and now Alani! A substantial number of eight pumps will be built. In order to alleviate the damage to the walkability of the campus, DOTS has simply said, “fuck off.”

In a conference with President Pines and a Shell spokesperson, the agreement between parties will see UMD students charged $0.20 less per gallon than normal customers, a resounding $3.80 a gallon as of this writing.

To be able to register as a student customer, you will go to the DOTS Parking Portal and register for “COMMUTER: Fuel Saving Option”. It costs $860 per semester, which should be offset by the lowered prices for all who drive more than 1000 miles per week. It’s viable financial savings, and not a money grab.

Critics have said that partnering with an oil company in the current political environment is a slippery slope and unethical, and that it is potentially dangerous to partner with a large oil corporation. In response to these criticisms, President Pines said, “Couldn’t be worse than any other decision we’ve made lately.”

Construction will start immediately, maintaining the status quo of permanent South Campus construction.