{"id":1311,"date":"2018-01-22T10:14:21","date_gmt":"2018-01-22T15:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/?p=1311"},"modified":"2025-09-28T11:15:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T15:15:31","slug":"peek-inside-commuter-student-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/2018\/01\/peek-inside-commuter-student-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Peek Inside Commuter Student Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A typical day in the Commuter Center is full of laughter. There\u2019s one person studying in the corner, another sleeping on the couch, and a lively discussion that meanders from orca whales to artificial intelligence filling the room. Students make plans for later in the day, talk about class, support each other \u2013 and gently rib each other- through a day that looks quite a bit different than a typical Miami student.<\/p>\n

For one, these students don\u2019t live on campus. And most of them don\u2019t even live in Oxford. For the most part, they live at home with their parents, though a few live on their own or with a spouse\/partner.<\/p>\n

Not living on campus has its perks \u2013 access to a car, typically, and regular interaction with the world outside the \u201cOxford Bubble\u201d. Not to mention the enormous cost savings of room and board (or off-campus rent in Oxford).<\/p>\n

But there are drawbacks, too. An earlier wake-up time is almost certainly a requirement, as commuters have to make time to drive to campus, park on the outskirts in the satellite lots, and then take a long walk or wait for the bus to arrive at their final destination. They typically don\u2019t have the option to slug back to their bedroom for a quick catnap between classes, and they probably aren\u2019t spending much time in the buffet dining halls.<\/p>\n

When it comes to student org meetings, late night events, and evening lectures, they tend to be pretty selective about what they attend. \u201cIt makes it hard to go to activities and stuff that are late in the day. You have to hang around and find something to do for several hours and it can get annoying at times,\u201d remarked one student, when asked about the challenges of commuting.<\/p>\n

So while the commuter student experience might look different than a typical residence hall student, they find ways to make it their own. The Commuter Center, located in 2045 Armstrong, plays a huge role in creating a campus life for commuters. \u201cThe Center helps them find each other,\u201d says Jen O\u2019Brien, Director of Off-Campus Outreach and manager of the Center. \u201cIt\u2019s a place they can call their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a home away from home,\u201d said Nathan Wall, sophomore and past-president of Commuters of Miami (COM), the student organization for commuting students at Miami.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Commuters<\/a>

Commuters pose for a “selfie” in September 2017. Photo Credit: Bri Mariles<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Commuter enthusiasm has been on the rise in the past few years. \u201cOur numbers have exploded this year with new events and more advertising toward incoming students,\u201d said Aisha Fichtner, junior who works in the Center. \u201cEvery chair is filled and sometimes students just sit on the floor.\u201d Membership in Commuters of Miami has more than doubled this year as well.<\/p>\n

The officers of the COM organization credit the increased usage of the Center and membership in the group to the first annual \u201cCommuter Preview Day\u201d they held with Off-Campus Outreach in August to give incoming commuters a chance to learn about buses, the Center, parking, and issues they might encounter. \u201cThe Preview Day helped make students more comfortable walking into the Center and joining the organization,\u201d O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n

To capitalize on the enthusiastic group of students this year, COM and the Commuter Center held several more events during semester, including monthly Uptown Chow-Downs, Terror at the Drive-In, Pumpkin Painting, Hockey Games, and Locker Decorating.<\/p>\n

The commuter students at Miami University come in from all over Southwest Ohio (and Southeast Indiana and Northern Kentucky). They have different majors, interests, and reasons for driving to campus everyday instead of living in a residence hall. But here, in the Commuter Center, they have found a home with each other.<\/p>\n

Contributions by Aisha Fichtner and Bri Mariles<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A typical day in the Commuter Center is full of laughter. There\u2019s one person studying in the corner, another sleeping on the couch, and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1679,"featured_media":1318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-at-miami"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/student-life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}