As the price of fuel has skyrocketed recently, the average cost in Alabama rose to $3.41 earlier this week. Even though gas prices in Alabama are lower than the national average, many UNA students are concerned about the price increase.

Lisa Power, a junior at UNA, used to commute to and from Rogersville to the university every day until she moved into on-campus housing last semester.

“It used to take me about $30 to drive to school and back home,” she said. “Back then, I thought that was too much for a 30-minute drive, so I moved to the campus. The point of living on campus is to save money on gas, but it kind of defeats the purpose when I paid $49 on gas yesterday.”

Several government officials and members of Congress have suggested that the government step in and monitor gas prices or put a price ceiling into place. Power agrees and worries about how unemployed Americans will manage with the price increase of gas.

“The government needs to step in and regulate this because there is no way that people could pay $5 a gallon if they only make minimum wage,” said Power. “That would take away a huge portion of their budget, and people can’t live like that.”

David Black, an instructor of Economics and Finance at UNA, sees things a little differently. He believes that people should have more faith in the economy and its self-regulatory powers.

“This rise in gas prices is not a problem,” he said. “It is the function of a problem. The real problem is getting from point A to point B and finding the most efficient way to get there.”

He feels that the market should be left alone and any government involvement would be an infringement on the citizens’ rights to make lifestyle choices.

“Lately, there has been a push from the government to drive more fuel efficient cars,” said Black. “They are not in the position to tell me what to drive. I want what I want, and if that happens to be large, black and eight cyclinders, they can’t stop me. This is what I see as efficient to me and that‘s what makes the market run. If a Prius could pull a horse trailer, I’d buy one. If not, I want my truck.”

Many people believe that the United States gets all of its oil from the Middle East, but this is not the case. According to the World Politics Review, the highest importer of oil to the U.S. is Canada, followed by Mexico and finally, Saudi Arabia.

As of Tuesday, the place with the lowest gas price in Florence was the D&D Quik Mart on CR-14 and AL-20. They are priced at $3.39 a gallon. The most expensive gas price was the BP on Florence Boulevard and Rivermont Road at $3.44, according to Alabama Gas Prices.