When I first came to Tusculum College, I had to make the decision of whether I wanted to live on campus or stay at home and commute. I live roughly 40 minutes away and the drive seemed doable. After weighing my options and the pros and cons of both, I opted to live at home and simply commute to class. My financial aid wouldn’t pay enough to allow me to live on campus anyway, so it worked out for the best. However, I soon learned that Tusculum is not a campus that caters to commuters. In fact, I have felt much discrimination and inequality.
This article is not to bash Tusculum and its residents; the issues certainly do not lie in the residents themselves. Instead, it’s with the overall treatment and view that the administration and student life has towards commuters. In my quest to get information, I was met with the same response among all the commuters I talked to: they all felt left out. This includes small things that aren’t really major issues to things that have a huge impact on students’ lives.
The first area of concern I have is the on campus events. Tusculum’s classes run from either 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. Most events on campus, whether it be arts and lecture or just extracurricular, are held well into the evening. If a commuter were to stay on campus for such an event, that means they have hours upon hours of time to kill. For me, going back home and coming back later isn’t feasible. The first reason being it would be too expensive in terms of gas money to drive 30 miles home, then 30 miles back twice a day. Commuters on Tusculum’s campus need a place to go while they wait. We don’t have dorms to stay in and Tusculum’s hangout places are less than desirable for long periods. Likewise, commuters don’t have meal plans so in order to eat between class and events, we have to pay a considerable amount just for a snack. A few times a semester isn’t bad, but after a while it does add up.
Aside from events and campus activities being too limited access to commuters, I also feel there’s just an overall discord. For example, residents are given their new school ID’s during the first week on campus. Commuters, however, are never sent any information on where or how to retrieve theirs. Thankfully, after 4 years there, I’ve learned how to go about getting it. But this year, when I entered the Student Affairs office and told them I needed my ID, they assumed I was a freshman who had lost my old one. They gasped and seemed shocked when I said, “No, I’m a senior. I’m a commuter and never got my ID.”
Add in terrible parking for commuters, no Perk Points, little given information for events, and things tailored completely for residents, the commuter community at Tusculum seems like a group that is ostracized. On Thursday, the Tusculum Events Twitter page tweeted that seniors were to meet in front of McCormick to march for convocation. However, this was tweeted exactly 19 minutes before it was to begin. If I lived on campus, that would have been plenty of time to get myself ready. However, considering I live 40 minutes away, it was physically impossible for me to make it. Therefore, I was unable to participate. Had Tusculum given information on the event ahead of time? Perhaps. Being a commuter though, I don’t have access to the flyers posted in the dorms or cafeteria.
Likewise, there have been times when classes are cancelled after I have already driven to campus. Or last minute meetings for clubs and organizations that I am unable to attend. Tusculum needs to realize that commuters cannot just drive to campus at the drop of a hat. I could go on for hours and create a list a mile long of things that have happened because I am a commuter but this article just isn’t long enough for that. Overall, I feel as though my four years at Tusculum could have been improved if commuters were treated better. I – along with the majority of commuters I spoke with – agree that they feel left out and looked down upon. It’s as if commuters are less than residents and not considered “real” students. As I graduate in May and leave Tusculum, I hope the campus does better for the classes of commuters after me.
