Tennessee college going remote on Fridays to save students gas money
National average gas prices have reached record highs
Southwest Tennessee Community College announced it will be holding remote classes on Fridays in an effort to save students gas money.
The college began remote Fridays on May 27 and will continue the practice through Aug. 27. The policy comes as gas prices skyrocket across the U.S., both due to inflation and economic fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The well-being of our students and employees is a top priority at Southwest Tennessee Community College," a college spokesperson told Campus Reform. "We are an engaged community with a culture of caring that understands their needs and challenges."
"When gas prices began to escalate, we know students and employees would be significantly impacted," the spokesperson added.
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FILE - Fuel is pumped into a vehicle, Thursday, June 14, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File / AP Newsroom)
Inflation in the U.S. hit a 40-year high in March and is expected to worsen in the coming months. President Joe Biden has sought to offset spiking gas prices by addressing inflation and releasing 180 million barrels from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but to little effect.
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Biden detailed his plan to rein in inflation in a Monday op-ed in the Wall St. Journal. The three-point plan largely delegates the issue to the Federal Reserve and Congress, however.
"The Federal Reserve has a primary responsibility to control inflation," Biden wrote. "My predecessor demeaned the Fed, and past presidents have sought to influence its decisions inappropriately during periods of elevated inflation. I won’t do this. I have appointed highly qualified people from both parties to lead that institution."
Biden Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that the administration had misread the early signs of inflation last year. Yellen and others had repeatedly claimed last year that inflation would be "transitory."
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"I think I was wrong then about the path that inflation would take," she said during a Tuesday CNN interview. "As I mentioned, there have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didn't at the time fully understand."