The chattering of people in the hallways and the streets, the shuffle of students’ hard-earned money getting handed over to the bookstore and the university accounts center, the smell of beer in the dorm elevators.

It’s great to be a student. I am so glad it’s fall. Being a student is much more pleasing than being a commuter, which was my role this summer.

I had a great internship in Des Moines, so I faced the freeway traffic every morning on my way downtown.

Unfortunately, Interstate 35 is having a facial right now, so construction was a big part of my life.

I saw a lot of signs on the side of the road and on construction vehicles that made me wonder whether they were all that necessary.

You’ve probably seen those big trucks with gravel or what-not piled high in the back.

Perhaps you’ve also read the orange sign on the back of the trucks that states, “Do not follow into work area.”

Hmmm. Is this sign really a must?

I may be overestimating the average commuter, but if I were driving behind a truck and all of a sudden it signals to go onto the part of the unfinished road, I just may think twice about following it. However, would they have such a sign if it hadn’t happened before?

But then, they pay people a pretty penny to stand alongside the highway holding big signs that say “Slow.”

The irony would often strike me when I was reading those signs while sitting in construction-aided rush hour traffic.

OH, slow? Thank goodness you said something, or I may have been zipping around at a fast-paced 15 mph!

I got in the habit of reading people’s bumper stickers and license plates. One sticker especially struck my fancy.

A girl driving a car with her name on the license plate had graced her back window with the following words: “Bad girls drive bitchin’ toys.”

Since she was behind the wheel of your average borrowed-from-your-parents type of car — nothing special and most definitely not toy-like — I got a big kick out of it. I decided I wanted to call my car the bitchin’ toy and christened my ’87 red Escort with the name that very same day.

I try to work the new name into conversation a lot because I think it’s awfully fun to say. Try it yourself. If you ask for a ride, be sure to ask for it by name.

The bitchin’ toy had kind of a rough summer and had to take a few days off at the car doctor.

During its absence, I borrowed one of my friend’s cars.

Alas, a different car did not mean different difficulties for me.

Some of you may remember my experience last year with lack of fuel on Lincoln Way. I hate to admit it, but it happened again.

However, this time it was in the middle of an intersection, turning toward West Des Moines at approximately 5 p.m.

I was on my way to pick up the girl I carpooled with, and while I was making the turn, it began to sputter and then stalled.

I pulled onto the side of the road and immediately felt I had made a poor choice in not getting gas that morning. My justification was that in an unfamiliar car I just can’t tell when “E” means “E.”

Walking or biking to class sounds quite appealing to me at this point.

Walking in downtown Des Moines was not as much fun or as safe as treks on foot in Ames.

I soon discovered that once you are out of the student world, the rights of a pedestrian soon change, and not for the better.

On campus and the surrounding Campustown streets, students always have the right of way.

Cars sit frustrated at stoplights while students dash across the road, often using up your last few seconds of the green light.

Sometimes cars will speed up as if to hit you, but most people can hustle out of the way in time to avoid injury.

Just a quick tip for the freshmen: I’ve found that staring the cars down works well.

This might be because if you get a good enough look, you could identify them in the police report for hit and run.

Best of luck to all students young and old, and step lively this semester.

Just make sure you’re not stepping out in front of a car, and keep your gas tanks full.

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Joanne Roepke is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Aurora.