Senior Lauren Larit leaves her off-campus house and drives off in her Jetta every day heading for school. The commute is a hassle, but it has to be done. Eventually the classes end and Larit drives back to her off-campus house, which is often cold and empty.
“My roommates and I all have different schedules, so I barely even see them anymore, much less my friends that live elsewhere,” Larit said. “I walk around campus and I barely know anyone. Living on campus was definitely a lot more fun. I feel like I am not even in college anymore.”
Many seniors have started to express their discontent with being forced to live off-campus this year. One of the major complaints from seniors is that they barely see the rest of their class. The only seniors left on campus are Resident Assistants, like senior Christina Accumanno.
“The only seniors I ever see really are [other] RAs,” Accumanno said. “Sometimes I will get lucky and bump into one of my friends that live off-campus at the cafe or walking back and fourth from classes, but it just isn’t the same. I hate it.”
Sawyer Hutto-Blake has found ways to appreciate being off-campus, despite the obvious woes.
“I feel disconnected, but at the same time the learning experience is very necessary,” said Hutto-Blake. “This period of being forced to pay bills etc., has given us a transitional year before being fully immersed into the real world.”
Other seniors feel that they actually see people more often since being moved off-campus. Senior Matt Periera says that since he now spends full days on campus and doesn’t have a dorm to lounge in between classes, he now utilizes the campus more and as a result socializes more with the senior class.
“Where I would have gone back to my dorm last year, I now go to the library, cafe, quad or gym,” Periera said.
Seniors feeling disconnected is a choice and state of mind according to the assistant director of off-campus housing, Stacy Jackson.
“Just because you don’t live on campus does not mean that you can’t engage in the campus activities,” Jackson said. “In terms of feeling disconnected, you can get as connected as you want to be.”
Seniors continue to receive e-mails on the weekly events that take place here at Quinnipiac, whether or not they will choose to go remains a question, said Jackson.