Fifty-fivepercentofcollegestudentschoose tolivewithin100milesoftheirhome.Forsome, thismeanstheymightonlygohomeonweekends.Forothers,itmeanstheyhavetheoption toliveathomeandcommute toschool.Whatevertheirreasonforlivingoffcampus,somecommutersmight findithardertoparticipateinthesocialscene.

Thereareplentyofoptions forextra-curricularactivities,likethePhilosophy Clubmeetingpicturedhere.Becausemanyofthemareintheeveningaftermostclasseshaveended, thecommutecanmakeitdifficult toreturntocampus.

Badweatherorroadconditionscanalsofactorintoacommuterstudent’sdecisiononwhetherornotparticipateintheseactivities.

PhillipRudyk isacommuterstudentwholivesabout40minutesawayfromDU.Hewantedtojointhewaterpoloclub,whichmeetsfrom8p.m.to10p.m.twiceaweek.Ultimatelythecommutewastoomuch.

“Itwasjust,Ihavesomuchgoing,”hesaid.“Ihaveclasses,Ihavework,anddriving time,itjusttakesforever.”

ForRudyk,andstudents likehim,afternoonorearlyevening trafficisadailystruggle thatcandestroy

motivation togetbackon theroad.

Inaddition, Rudyk doesn’thaveregularaccesstohisowncar,sohereliesmostlyonborrowing hisparent’scarorcarpoolingtogettoandfromhishouse.

And ifhedoesborrowhisparents’car?

“SometimesIgottothinkabouthowmuchitwouldcost,gaswise,”hesaid.

Studentswhodoliveoncampusalsounderstandthedifficultiesofcommuting.

KeeganHeneghan istheVicePresidentof thecurlingclub.Butwouldhestillbeamember ifhehadtocommute?

“That’sdefinitelynotworthit,”hesaid. “It’shardlyworththefive-minutewalksometimes.”

Clubsandgroupsaren’ttheonlyextracurricularactivitiesthatcommuterstudentsmightfind itdifficult togetto;eventslikeDUhockeygamesmightalsobeheldattimesthatmakethemdifficulttoattend.

WesleyJansonisanothercommuter.Asafreshmanthisyear,hewenttothecommuters-onlymeetingattheendofDiscoveriesWeekinhopesofmeetingotherpeoplewhoweren’tlivingoncampus.

“Therewasnospecificopportunity togettogether tomeetjust commuterstudents,”hesaid. “Thenitseemslikeeveryoneelsekneweachotherbecausetheyallliveinthedorms.”

“Iarriveatschoolbymyself,”Jansonsaid.“SoIprettymuchwalktoclassbymyself,too.”

Jansondoesn’tmindwalkingtoclassbyhimself.Headdedthatbeingaloneis“justkindofasideeffect”thatyouhavetodealwithasacommuter.

Whybeacommuterstudent?

ForJanson,thechoicehastodowithboth theaddedcostofliving inthedormsandpersonalpreference.

“It’saplacewhereIfeeltotallycomfortable,”hesaid.“MyownspacethatfeelsfamiliarandI’msurrounded bymyfamily.”

Ifcommuter studentsarefeelingleftout,theUniversityofDenveroffersseveralresources,bothonlineandon-campus,thatcanhelpthemtofinddifferentclubsandorganizations.Here,JansonischeckingouttheStudentActivitieswebsite.

Oneoftheon-campusresourcesisStudentOutreachandSupport intheStudentLifeofficesinDriscollStudentCenter,wherestudentscanfindhelpwithconnectingwithother studentsandusingpublictransportation.