Jack Abbot- General Reporter
“Good Morning Commuters” is hosted by Commuter Services every Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Adanti Student Center Resource Room for students who are arriving early to class.
This week, it was themed for the “Week of Wellbeing.” They offered miniature Zen gardens to students while playing calming music to encourage a relaxing atmosphere.
“This is especially important for commuters because we try to advocate for a closer bond between commuters and the campus,” Commuter Assistant, psychology major and sophomore Heather Rae Gaydowen said. “We try to encourage them to stay on campus or create connections and relationships as much as possible.”
Commuter Services is an organization on campus that aims to provide events and resources for commuters. They also have several other events including Commuter Luncheons, which take place monthly and Commuter Crew, which take place bi-weekly.
“There’s usually always food and prizes,” Gaydowen said. “It’s just a nice, fun way to connect with other commuters.”
Commuter crew events usually focus on helping commuters make connections through games and teamwork. Commuters often have a hard time making connections on campus. These events are to help them stay on campus when class ends and make friends who they can see regularly.
“I just like being able to get to connect with a lot of the commuters,” Gaydowen said. “I see new faces every time.”
They are also working to introduce more regular events, including a juice bar which may soon start to take place on Tuesdays in the Engleman Rotunda.
“Sometimes, I don’t have time in the morning to make myself breakfast or go to another place and get breakfast,” recreation and leisure studies major Hailey Ortiz, a sophomore, said.
Ortiz takes the bus to campus, meaning that stopping for food on the way is not an option. Commuter meals such as this one are a way for people like Ortiz to find food on campus in a pinch without having to pay for food at the Adanti Student Center or Connecticut Hall.
“If I don’t have breakfast, I am very low energy, and sometimes I even feel sick in the morning without breakfast,” Ortiz said.
These events also act as a way for commuters to meet their Commuter Assistants who help to organize these events and provide resources for them. It helps introduce them to the Resource Room, which is an open space for commuters to visit and hang out during the day with free drinks.
The commuter office is across the hall where commuter assistants are ready to provide help or answer questions for commuters.
“Commuter Services is still somewhat new,” Gaydowen said. “We’re still growing and trying to see what’s best.”
The organization is still growing and is looking to offer more regular events to commuters going forward.
“Southern is a commuter college. The majority of us are commuters, and it’s important to be able to do events that cater towards them or make it a bit easier,” Gaydowen said. “It would suck to think that a commuter would feel less important on their college campus.”
