After having lived on campus for the majority of my years at Park, I became a commuter student my senior year. Although it may not seem that drastic, being a commuter is a whole different world.
Living in Copley or Chesnut gives students a sense of community. Freshman year, the people who live on your floor are the first people you meet and the first friends you make. Living in the dorms feels like living in a big house with all of your friends. Snowdays and days off make for the best memories.
When you live off campus, it is less likely that you will hang around campus when you are done with class. Either your friends are busy or in class or you just want to be at home. One trouble I have faced is where to spend my breaks between classes.
Another difficulty being a commuter is being involved. It is so easy to be involved in what is happening around campus when you are there all the time. You could simply happen upon an event and join it, or maybe you’ll see a poster in Copley Quad telling you the date and time of an upcoming event.
Athletic events are not difficult to find information on, but it never crosses my mind to look at the website to find it. Therefore, I generally find out by word of mouth or else not at all. Not to mention community builders held by the Resident Assistants every so often. Most of these events have free food and no college student will turn that down.
Speaking of food, the cafeteria is unchartered territory for most commuter students. It has been really hard for me to adjust not having meal swipes in the cafeteria. Now, finding a friend to swipe for me has become troublesome and probably annoying for everyone else.
Each student is different and everyone prefers different living situations, but personally I am glad I have lived on campus for most of my college career.
It is the reason I made most of the friends I have now and the memories with them.
