Sometimes walking across campus to get to your classes can feel like a workout all by itself. But as students, do we walk enough?

The United States Surgeon General advises that the average American should be walking about 10,000 steps a day which is generally the equivalent of five miles. Three students put on pedometers to see if they measured up to this standard.

Shannon French, a freshman English major, lives in Manchester Hall. She wore a pedometer for four days and on average walked 9,855 steps a day, falling just short of the Surgeon General’s standards.

“I’m surprised that I wasn’t at the government-recommended level for walking because I feel that I walk a pretty good amount every day throughout campus,” French said.

French has classes in Smith Hall, Cunningham Hall, Stopher/Johnson Hall and Merrill Hall, often taking the Esplanade to get to where she needs to go.

Kayla Hendry, freshman musical theater major, lives in Johnson Hall and has all of her classes in the Music and Speech Building.

“I walk through the memorial from Johnson Hall to get there,” Hendry said.

Hendry’s average number of steps per day was 9,297 over the course of five days, again falling below the national standard.

“Most days, my walking wasn’t at level because I was resting because I had a performance that night, or [I was] in my room working on all of my schoolwork,” Hendry said. “During this, I saw that on the days I had a lot of school work, I mainly sat in my room on my computer having to work on it, as I don’t like taking my computer outside.”

Allison Hessel, freshman English major, also lives in Johnson Hall and walked 9,640 steps per day over the course of five days.

“I usually take the Esplanade on Tuesdays and Thursdays to my classes, and then on Mondays and Wednesdays I go from Johnson to White Hall down the hill by the [May 4] memorial,” Hessel said.

Hessel, an employee at a local McDonald’s, found she walked more on the days that she worked but was still below the national recommendation.

“It was surprising for me to see that I wasn’t walking at the government-recommended level most days, especially since I have to walk to all of my classes, and, whenever I’m working, I’m on my feet for the entire shift,” she said.

The number of steps varies depending on whether or not students live on campus and, if they do, where they live. It also depends on where their classes are located.