It is late Saturday evening, news has spread that there is a big lax bro party at the beach houses, and you are at home, stranded 20 minutes away from any form of a good time? Another exciting school year has begun, and though many students are looking forward to the weekend party seshes and all-around fun on campus, commuter students of Fairfield University have been handed the short end of the stick. From Latin Night at the Levee to Bingo Night in Gonzaga Auditorium, commuters must go through the hustle and bustle of making their own fun or finding alternative social connections.
Minimal to no adult supervision, crazy impromptu raves in dorm rooms, cramming in your Spanish homework at four in the morning, spending nights that you may or may not even remember with unforgettable friends – this and much more are all part of the stereotypical “college experience.” And in the backlight of it all, Fairfield commuters lurk, the infinite “extras” of the college nightlife.
As Brian Arpie ’14 put it, “The best part about being a commuter is living at home, but at the same time the worst part about being a commuter is living at home. Dealing with my parents, traveling the distance to school every morning, no FU nightlife. It’s frustrating sometimes,” he said.
“I love commuting, but I don’t get the ‘college experience’ everyone portrays. ”
Like many undergraduate students who live on campus, the life of a commuter never really crossed my mind. Essentially, I thought they mainly rolled out of bed half-conscious to get to class on time, left campus when their professors let them out of class, and then did not return until their next scheduled class.
Imagine my surprise then, when my friends and I stumbled upon the existence of the commuter lounge during a late night expedition of the BCC. But, even more astonishing than that was a group of commuters still assembled in the lounge at such a late hour.
What were they doing there? Why were they not at home? I did not realize then that I was asking the wrong questions. It should not have been, “Why are they here?” but “Why aren’t they here more often?”
“We do pretty much the same things everyone else does on campus,” says Ronny Nuñez ’14. “We go to class. We hang out in the BCC. We go to events. We even have a lounge for the commuter community. The university affords us some accommodations, and they certainly seem willing to work with us,” he says.
“There is however a disconnection between us as commuters and the rest of the student body, where it doesn’t seem evident that we are even a conscious thought to them. It comes with the territory. We are a niche, but we could certainly benefit from a little more outreach,” Nuñez says.
It is not a mystery as to why commuters feel so secluded. Aside from their little nook being tucked away in the far corner of the lower level BCC, most events for the student body are planned far after students’ last class, when commuters are gone with the wind. And let’s admit it, who wants to take the time out to come back to school for an event that lasts only an hour? To many college students, it would sound more like a chore.
One may not complain about the ability to sleep in his own bed, eat mom’s delicious, home-cooked meals, and shower in a clean bathroom, but when it comes down to Fairfield nightlife, commuters are excluded in several aspects. They go the distance for Fairfield, I think it’s time we return the favor.
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