For most commuters, starting the day is ‘not a pretty process’
As the sun rises, and Waynesburg University campus is yet to wake up; as security is unlocking the buildings; and as students are hitting their snooze alarms for the third time, some students sit in their cars waiting.
Some have been up for hours.
Kara Forse has been up since 4:30 a.m. She makes sure she puts on an extra layer of clothing to help her stay warm before her car warms up. She double checks to make sure she has everything a nursing student will need for the day.
Her home is in Pittsburgh, so if she forgets something, she’s screwed. She makes the one to two-hour drive – depending on the traffic – and then circles the campus searching for the rare parking spot. Maybe she will find one; maybe she will have to make one.
Now, she sits and waits as her engine runs and the clock ticks another minute closer to when her class begins and she can exit her car.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Tutson and Eric Brownfield begin the walk from their homes with their backpacks filled with every book for every class, every assignment for the day and every recreational item needed: make up, workout clothes, lunch, etc. There is no ‘I’ll be right back,’ for them if they forgot something.
Tutson rubs her shoulders and readjusts the weight of the bag half way to campus as she watches her breath appear as a cloud and then slowly dissipate.
Meanwhile, Kristen Wilson pops her trunk and quickly runs and grabs one of three crates that never leave her car. One for food – that should be bigger – one for school materials, and one she calls her clothes crate. She rummages through slippers and belts to make sure she has some appropriate clothing for lab. She is a sophomore secondary education major focusing on chemistry, and the dress code for lab has become stricter this year; so if she forgot it, she won’t be able to attend lab.
“I live in my car,” Wilson explains with the nods and reassuring ‘yes’ and ‘me too’ of numerous other commuters who go through the same morning routine to attend Waynesburg University. “It’s not a pretty process.”
A process that does not allow snooze buttons to be hit more than once.
A process of driving through the horrible traffic at the bottleneck in Waynesburg.
A process that, according to multiple commuters, makes one look like they are homeless and living out of their vehicles.
A process that, according to student services, 19 percent of Waynesburg University’s student population goes through every morning.
“Where are all these people? That is a large number,” said Wilson, president of the commuter club who never sees those numbers at events or meetings.
According to Mary Cummings, vice president of Waynesburg University, the commuter club is one of the biggest accommodations that the university provides for students choosing this lifestyle in college.
“We try to provide a way for them to network with folks that are in the same situation,” said Cummings. “And I would say that most of the things we do are through that commuter club.”
A couple things that have been initiated to make life a little better for commuters is the Starbucks opening at 7:30 a.m. instead of 8:00, and the breakfast that occurred in October.
Advisor of the commuter club, Chaley Knight, said that creating a place for this group of students has been a difficult process, but the breakfast seemed to be a hit.
Running from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m., Knight saw many commuters coming in and out of the Organization Room throughout the entire time period. Some students took the time to sit down and enjoy the Keurig coffee, pancake muffins and good company.
“This event seemed to work for them a lot better than others,” said Knight. “The large time span gives them the freedom to work around their schedule.”
The commuter club plans to host more of these breakfasts to give students a place to go rather than taking naps in their cars.
This is another part of the commuter lifestyle: they don’t feel a part of campus life all the time.
With most activities going on within the evenings, many of them struggle to make it to Waynesburg Idol plays, and the like.
Wilson understands that this is not the university’s fault; it is just one of the inevitable truths of living at home while going to college.
“We live two lives,” said Wilson; one life within the bubble of Waynesburg University and one life at home.
On campus they have all of the responsibilities as every other student: homework, friends, classes and a social life, but they also have another life at home, full of responsibilities such as dinner with the family, loading the dishwasher and going to see grandma with their parents on Sunday.
“We have to try to keep up with both,” said Wilson. “You know, normal students focus on life here on campus, and then during breaks focus on home life, but we have to focus and keep up with both at the same time.”
Cummings agrees that this can be a difficult lifestyle.
“The bigger challenge is that commuter students tend to only be here based on their schedule,” said Cummings. “For a commuter student to come back to campus for a meeting is a little bit harder.”
This is a problem Wilson knows all too well.
Commuters are a group that have 257 students behind it, 324 if off campus housing students are included, and yet she has trouble getting double digits to attend commuter meetings.
“My goal these next two years is to give commuters a voice,” said Wilson, but she realizes she needs help to do this.
Wilson is striving to give the close-to-a-quarter of Waynesburg University students more of a presence on campus.
She wants to focus for the next two years on getting the commuter’s their own team during Residence Life events and freshmen orientation week at the beginning of the year, creating more events that commuters can easily be a part of and just getting their club out there so students realize they exist.
“I want to let people know that we are here,” said Wilson.