How Ramapo Commuters Can Be Involved On Campus

By ANTHONY GADALETA

MAHWAH – More than half of the 6,000 students at Ramapo College are commuters, and there are more ways for their voices to be heard on campus. Approximately half of the overall student body of 3,000 commuter students make up a vast majority of the campus.

Being a commuter is often challenging and the accessibility to clubs, extracurricular activities, and special events becomes important. Two primary outlets on campus such as the Center for Commuter Affairs and the Center for Student Involvement invite follow commuters to events of interest to keep students engaged. Their commitment is serving students with engaging academic and social programs that meet the commuter population. They also partner with the CPB, the College Programming Board by hosting events like a free breakfast or stuff a plush.

Some issues they commonly tackle are ensuring the scheduled times of these events correlate to commuter’s schedule during common hours so that they can attend these events after their classes have ended for the day.

Julia Drennan, commuter affairs assistant, sophomore biology major & psychology minor, she gave her perspective on how commuters can get involved on campus.

“I’m a commuter student as well and we make up over 50 percent of the population. Having our voices heard is really important to be represented,” said Drennan.

Since they don’t live on campus, it is only fair that everyone has access to all that Ramapo has to offer.

According to The National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 87 percent of college students commute to class. This is due to lower expenses in overall tuition to avoid additional housing room and board fees as well as making the cost more feasible to the student in the long run if that individual lives in close proximity to the campus.

In the long run, being a commuter gives one the best of both worlds since you are the academic student and the opportunities of your future careers are at your fingertips with going to and from campus.

According to the Center for Commuter Affairs, one can find all the new information and exciting upcoming events happening on campus to keep involved and gain a deeper appreciation of your experience spent at Ramapo College. Check their website for additional details on what is coming up.

Commuter Realities

“I commute three days a week and I have a part-time job so it makes it a little difficult for me to be involved as a commuter on campus in terms of clubs and other extracurricular activities because of my hectic schedule. It’s nice to hear that there are opportunities for me to get out there and make my mark as a Ramapo student,” said Megan Rose, 20, who is a junior and psychology major.

“Being a commuter allows me to get to and from campus at my leisure for when I have classes but I never tend to stay later because of the late classes I have as a Bio major,” said Joshua Tolentino, 20 who is a junior and biology major at Ramapo.

Tomorrow, February 14th, Commuter Affairs is hosting Stuff-A-Plush as a part of 2nd Friday with @CPBRamapo starting at 1:00pm. First Come, First Serve. #rcnjcommuters #beepbeep pic.twitter.com/7tdEQa7pjq

— Commuter Affairs (@RCNJCommuters) February 13, 2020