Spring Break
Campus activities planned with commuters in mind
Finding a niche is tough for some commuters, transfers
'Take the risk to step out there'
Nami Yasue
Daily Staff Writer
- Page 1 of 1
Carolina Delgado, a junior business major and commuter from Palo Alto, said she doesn't feel connected to the SJSU campus.
"I don't feel like I belong here," Delgado said.
Delgado said she parks her car at the Palo Alto Caltrain station. Then, she takes public transportation to SJSU for at least more than an hour each way.
Because of her long commute and part-time job, she usually spends her breaks between classes alone doing homework and must leave the campus immediately after her class.
Delgado, former president of the Latino Heritage Club at Foothill College, said she hasn't looked to join any SJSU student organizations, even though she has found difficulties fitting in as a transfer student.
SJSU students have different perspectives, and many cultural student organizations are either too political or too socialized for partying, Delgado said. She also said club traditions and the rules have been already set and transfer students can't really find the place themselves.
According to the Fall '03 enrollment by Institutional Planning and Academic Resources, 7 percent of undergraduate students were transfer students and 15 percent were first-time students.
Jane Boyd, coordinator of the Re-Entry and Commuter Help Program and part-time psychology lecturer, said students can discover a suitable club since they have many choices from the different types of student organizations. She said about half of all students are transfer students and, whether they are continuous or transfer students, many of them join student organizations during their junior year.
Amanda Sabolish, junior art major and commuter from Sunnyvale, said she has started to feel connections to the campus community since last semester when she began to drive to school.
When she used to take light rail, she said, she could not stay very long on campus because she constantly was concerned about the transportation schedule.
"It was such a long commute. It was an hour each way," Sabolish said.
She said it takes her 12 minutes to get to SJSU by car, and she has the freedom to hang around with friends and to make flexible schedules.
Sulie Guhasarkar, a sophomore business major and commuter from Mountain View, said she does not feel like fitting into the campus community because she is older than the average SJSU students.
"I have friends on campus. But it's not on the same social level sometimes," Guhasarkar said.
Average age of an undergraduate student at SJSU is 23.89, and the highest concentration of ages fall between 20 and 24 (43 percent of students), according to Fall '03 Institutional Planning and Academic Resources.
William McDonald, a senior art major and commuter from Fremont, said he spends most of his time at the art department, and he feels connected to the campus community, although he works and isn't part of a student organization.
He said it takes desire to be part of the SJSU community.
"I think a lot of people feel like San Jose State is just a stopping point. It's not a place like to be involved," McDonald said.
Boyd said some midday events called the Brown Bag Lunch Series, hosted by the commuter program, help student commuters connect to the campus community. She said the program has been on campus for the last 20 years.
The Re-Entry and Commuter Help Program also provides services for returning students, older students and commuting students and helps them fit into a SJSU program. It offers workshops and advising throughout the academic year.
The Mosaic Cross Cultural Center and the Career Center often work in correlation with the program, Boyd said.
Boyd said generally 20 students drop in for the Brown Bag Lunch Series, but the numbers of the participants depend on the schedule of students, the topic or the weather.
Students with their own lunches meet in the Pacheco room of the Student Union the first and third Wednesday of each month from noon to 1:30 p.m. At the meeting, Boyd provides some snacks such as cookies or popcorn.
Boyd said the two major purposes of the Brown Bag Lunch Series are providing a place to meet friendly people and sharing information, especially among commuters or older students because they may feel alienated on campus.
Many participants are transfer students and older students. Some of them are from as far as Santa Cruz, and some of them are San Jose residents.
The students come with problems or concerns about their progress in the university, Boyd said, but they receive information on counseling or advising or how to apply for graduation.
Boyd said the Brown Bag Lunch Series is recommended for students who are interested in socializing in a relatively quiet and friendly manner.
Many students are working and have family obligations, so they put school first and are not involved in campus life, Boyd said.
"They don't take opportunities, and the opportunities are not laid out," Boyd said. "Please come. Take the risk to step out there."
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