Traditional Student on Campus vs. Commuting Students
Although I was going to do my paper
on Greek life, I could not find as much information on it so I decided to go
another direction. I chose about
commuting and dorming/living off campus with roommates. I have experienced both views and I feel like
there are different ways that people can approach these types of
schooling.
Many people view college as one big
party. I viewed my first year of college
as a party, until my grades started to slip.
I have always been very determined and my academics meant a lot to
me. That’s when I started
commuting. I found different conclusions
to each of these ways of attending college.
By commuting, I found that I could drive to and from class but had less
responsibilities since I was able to live at home. Although partying is still an option, it’s
less of a risk.
There are
pros and cons of dorming and commuting.
If you commute, you limit your interaction with your peers surrounding
you. On the other hand, you would not have to have roommate battles that many
people have when they room together.
Many topics
have interested me on this paper, but this is one that I would definitely like
to look into because I have experienced both sides. Looking into this, both sides make sense to
have a college experience, however one may be better for some people compared
to the other.
OK, this dorming vs commuting topic is good. I have seen some research on that, and as the librarian showed during our last class there are lots of resources out there. Two other students -- Marla and Karin -- are also doing this topic so you should follow their blogs and share sources.
ReplyDeleteHere is what I wrote on one student's idea:
ReplyDeleteHere is what I wrote in response to her topic idea:
There is an older article online that addresses the question of commuting and engagement:
http://nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/commuter.pdf
I am sure you can find more recent material by doing a scholarly article search using the library, as we will be doing in class.
You might also look for ways colleges can help commuters feel more connected. There is a unique program on Douglass that helps non-traditional-age students, both commuters and some residents, feel connected to campus: The Bunting Program. You can find info online:
https://douglass.rutgers.edu/bunting-program-non-traditional-students
I know Rutgers does things for transfer students, but I have not heard of any particular support for commuters. It would be interesting if other schools have worked to help commuters feel more at home.
I would also add that there is research that suggests commuting and living at home affects males and females differently: for boys, living at home is generally positive because they get a lot of support at home and help staying on track with their school work; for girls, it can be negative because they are often expected to do more to help out around the house and they feel restricted by the home environment. That might be an interesting angle.
Also: dorm life definitely has its downsides, as Armstrong and Hamilton show.