Commuters at DU
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Fifty-five percent of college students choose to live within 100 miles of their home. For some, this means they might only go home on weekends. For others, it means they have the option to live at home and commute to school. Whatever their reason for living off campus, some commuters might find it harder to participate in the social scene.
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Transcript of Commuters at DU
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.
