When I first started my journey as a commuter student at Goucher, I was excited to have the freedoms that come with living off campus while still experiencing the community advertised at Goucher. Goucher had been advertised to me as a tight-knit school with plenty of opportunities to get involved and build relationships, and I was assured that being a commuter would not affect that at all. Unfortunately, the Goucher experience I had dreamed of was just that, a dream.
I learned very quickly that being a commuter was a great way to ensure that you were left out of any and all events on campus. Because I wasn’t a resident student living in close quarters with other students, I was immediately behind on social life at Goucher and at a disadvantage for making friends.
Last minute campus events, parties, and casual hangouts were out of the question because I never knew they were happening. Having no meal plan and therefore not being allowed into the dining hall where all of my friends and classmates ate, I sat alone every day. By the halfway point of my first semester, I felt so isolated that I cried nearly every day. My mental health was taking a hit, and it took an immense effort to show up and show an interest in any of my classes. By then I had a small group of friends, and to them I am immensely grateful, but I felt completely cut off from the greater Goucher community.
As it turns out, I am not the only commuter student who feels abandoned by their school. I sent out a survey where commuters could anonymously give feedback and share their experiences. All serious responses reported a negative experience. One commuter part-time student was denied access to designated commuter lockers in the Ath because they are not a full-time student, despite the vast majority of commuter lockers being unused.
Another commuter who is also an athlete shared: “Athletes especially feel these issues. Me personally, for the past two years, I have had to be on campus for twelve plus hours due to classes and practice without being able to eat meals. I’m often alone in the locker room with the two other commuters on my team because we can’t participate in lunch and dinner.” Others stated they feel that they are left out of events, have no voice, and not encouraged to be active members of the Goucher community.
Things started to improve last spring with efforts from Erica Gardner and Denzel Stewart within the Office of Student Engagement (OSE). Gardner and Stewart instituted a monthly commuter meal pass that allows commuter students to eat once a month for free in the dining hall or redeem for a Pick 3 in the student market. They also installed a commuter pantry in the Commuter Lounge with microwaveable meals and other snacks for free. I greatly appreciated the pantry because being on campus longer than anticipated meant going hungry. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Just a few short days after the pantry was opened non-commuter students got into the Commuter Lounge and raided the pantry. They took weeks worth of food and left us with nothing in a matter of minutes. The irresponsibility of a few resident’s actions meant that OSE’s commuter pantry was closed indefinitely for all commuter students, and when it reopened it was relocated to OSE in Mary Fisher where we would be required to show our ID to access food.
Where do we go from here? Faculty, staff, and resident students, commuters need your help to feel integrated into the greater Goucher community. I ask you to advocate for us, invite us, include us, and reach out to us. Integrating commuter students into Goucher life is not a difficult task, and there are definitive steps you can take to ensure we are not left behind:
Consider the location of events. Mary Fisher dining hall is not accessible to commuters, so we cannot participate in any events like bingo, trivia or raffles that take place there. I remember this past fall receiving an email for the Study Abroad Fair taking place in Mary Fisher where all students were encouraged to stop by, but commuters had to RSVP by a certain date and sign in to be allowed entry into the fair. It was embarrassing and exclusionary, and there must be a better way to include commuters.
I have seen several events in just the first few weeks of this semester so far that take place in the First Year Village (FYV). The FYV has always been a place where commuters are quite literally locked out of the Goucher community, having to rely on a friend or helpful resident to let you in for a hangout in the movie room or kitchen. If you cannot host events somewhere obviously accessible to all students, make it clear that commuters are not only welcomed but encouraged to attend, without having to sign up separately.
Consider commuter spaces. The commuter pantry incident was infuriating because it showed that resident students had no respect or consideration for commuters, and they took the little privilege we had that was exclusive to us. The same goes for the current commuter kitchen scenario. Currently, the kitchen in the commuter lounge is littered with boxes, wires, speakers, and other assorted equipment and poles are strewn across the floor in a way that prevents the door from opening fully. Not only is this inconsiderate of our space and takes up the one kitchen table we have, it makes the space inaccessible for students with disabilities and is a fire hazard. Neither commuters nor Denzel Stewart, who oversees commuter life, were informed of this disruption. I can understand the need to temporarily store things in a communal space, but it is just as important with commuters as it is with residents that you give students a heads up and acknowledge that you are inconveniencing people.
Fellow commuters, I encourage you also to reach out and advocate for yourselves. No one will help improve our experience if we do not speak up and ask for change. We need to foster relationships not only with resident students but with other commuters. Building friendships and sharing our experiences will help us feel less isolated and a lot more involved. Whether that means striking up a conversation with someone in the Commuter Lounge, meeting up off campus, or getting involved in extracurriculars when you can, let your voice be heard. A Commuter Club is currently in development, and I believe that is a great place to start.
By Abby Ryan, ‘26
