On Nov. 14, 2018, the University of La Verne hosted its annual Commuter Day, a day that caters to the school’s commuter population. Great, but with nearly three-fourths commuter students, one day a year is not enough.
The University hosts plenty of events each month that are meant to strengthen the school’s sense of community and reflect our core values, but many start so late that it is unreasonable to expect commuter students to attend.
Some commuter students work during the day and therefore take 6:50 to 10 p.m. night classes. Many of the school’s events, like Campus Center movie showings, start at 10 p.m. and go until midnight, which is far too late for the average commuter student to drive themself home after an already long enough day.
For example, the University’s Campus Activities Board hosted a showing of “Love Simon” this past Tuesday night from 9 p.m. to midnight in the LaFetra Auditorium. Many night classes do not end until 10 p.m.
It is wrong to expect commuters to stay on campus so late during the middle of the week, especially because many of these students have class the following morning. Perhaps it would be more beneficial to host events closer to the weekend as opposed to the beginning and middle of the week. The University could host a “movie day” on a weekend, that way it could accommodate to students’ varying schedules.
Only about 30% of the University of La Verne’s students live in dorms, meaning the other 70% are commuter students. It is not right for the University programming not to consider such a large part of its student body.
Because the commuter students are unable to attend many of the school’s events, this creates a disconnect where commuters do not feel like an integral part of the community. The University, including student leaders, needs to ask the input of the school’s commuters frequently to find better times throughout the day, week and month to host events – which commuters too can attend.
Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.