Let’s face it, being a commuter student kind of sucks, especially when most of your friends are in residence. Everyone else opted for better, I mean, different schools and now your commutes are long and tedious. As for you, well you’re still at home, and Brampton can feel like it’s lacking. Don’t get me wrong, Mississauga is lacking too. Basically, anywhere you commute from kind of sucks.
But there are ways to make it work, if you’re willing to put in the time and catch a late GO bus.
There are several clubs around campus through which you can meet people. There’s an anime club, if you’re kawaii enough for it. There are plenty of intramural sports teams and clubs, as well as a bunch of organizations that cater to cultural and ethnic niches. If you’re South Asian, black, gay, or any other flavour of human you can think of, there are clubs and service group for you, such as the Black Students Association and TBLGAY.
While anyone can join these clubs, finding a community outside of residence is important as a commuter student, especially since they shove similar majors into the same residences.
If you’re more inclined to the nightlife, you might want to find friends at residence or in the Village, because the buses do stop, and then you’re left without a place to crash. The Absinthe in Winters College and the Underground in the Student Centre have Thursday pub nights, and the /r/YorkU subreddit has semi regular meetups.
Whatever college you’re associated with, has a commuter representative whose job it is to make things better for you. Don’t hesitate to talk to them if you feel like you’re being underrepresented. There are plenty of daytime and late events around campus you can take part in. There’s also the question of people in your classes, which, you know, you’ll only get to know if you start a conversation with. If your major requires an ARTS 1900 course, it provides a great opportunity to go out with other people and do the required course activities.
A majority of York students commute and leave, which is a fair thing to do. It’s not exactly a cheap place, emotionally and financially, to spend your time. But there’s a lot more it can offer if you stick around.
And through it all, there’s an assumption you’re keeping some friends from high school, right? It’s easy to lose touch with those people, especially if they’re living off campus and you’re not, but having access to the homestead and all that it brings is one of the great perks of commuting.
Just think about how much you’re saving on housing.
Abdul Malik, Features Editor
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Kevin Lafreniere
