Hannah Ramsey, Guest Writer~
Special events and organizations for commuter students at Lynchburg College are being used as a way to build a community.
Jonathan Fries, coordinator of commuter student services said “our commuters contribute in a lot of different ways, but they also have a lot of different needs and it’s hard to do something for everyone, but we try the best we can, and our commuters are very strong, active members of our campus.”
With events such as monthly commuter lunches and commuter week, LC is trying to help commuter students connect and be involved with on-campus life. That sense of community can be more important than the number of attendees at these events.
“If a student comes and gets connected and it starts to develop a sense of community, that’s a successful event whether it was five students or 105 students that come,” Fries explained.
The Commuter Student Association at LC is also working to provide them with a community, while also acting as a resource for students.
The CSA President Mary King said “we want to be a really good resource for the commuter students. I’ve had a couple of students email me and just say, hey I need help with this, I’m trying to figure out this class, I’m having this schedule conflict with planning the time to drive home and everything, and they were having trouble with that.”
The LC website states that the CSA “is dedicated to promote commuter student involvement with each other and the LC community, to address the needs of commuter students, to initiate social and educational programs for commuter students and to promote the understanding of issues associated with commuter students at Lynchburg College.”
The CSA holds monthly meetings, and is also currently working on increasing their social media presence.