Ask any commuter, any real commuter, what they want most. Most are asking for a nice quiet place to put their feet up, charge their laptop and relax — a lounge, an area set aside for the students who don’t live on or near campus to relax and hang out during the day.
The Commuter Student Organization was the first organization I participated in when I came to NSU. It is great to be able to voice my gripes and glories with like-minded individuals who share the same experience of living off campus.
I really appreciate the executive board of CSO. They work their fins off for us and support the group. But the one gripe I do have is that the Commuter Student Lounge is being built — next year.
I think next year is not soon enough. Some sort of temporary action should be taken to accommodate the commuter students in a central facility that features amenities to properly satisfy the needs of commuter students.
I am glad that we will soon join the ranks of other schools like Barry University and St. Leo University who already have established commuter student lounges, but like a present-starved kid on Christmas Eve, I cannot wait for next year for our lounge.
I’ll be here next year and, hopefully, will be able to enjoy the new lounge (unless it is finished at the end of next year like I am theorizing). So I should be patient, right? The problem is that a substantial amount of students in CSO will graduate this year and they deserve some sort of lounge or temporary area now; an area where students can receive similar services like Barry’s commuter lounge. Features like a refrigerator, microwave, public and private study areas and access to magazines and journals are just some of the features what many CSO members agree we need now.
NSU is not, and will, hopefully, never be like Barry or St. Leo. But, I think if there is one thing we can learn from them – it’s that commuter students need a lounge and it is too essential to wait for.
