Beyond the bubble: Oxford’s commuting community

A small town surrounded by cornfields, Oxford is often considered to be a tight bubble. Yet, 869 commuting students slip in and out of town largely unnoticed.

Everyday, these students choose to wake up early to wake up and commute from their homes to Oxford for classes. That decision sets them apart from the majority of Miami University’s residential crowd. Commuting students navigate a different set of unique challenges, including managing travel time, gas affordability, bad weather, impeded routes and Miami’s parking policies.

“[Commuting students] choose Miami every day when they wake up, and it’s freezing,” BaShaun Smith, associate vice president and dean of students, said. “[We are] very blessed that they chose and they continue to choose us even when it’s difficult, even when it's raining, even when it's snowing, even when they don’t want to get up in the morning."

Justin Watson, a sophomore biochemistry and pre-med major, is evidence of the commitment of commuter students. Despite his distance from Oxford, Watson balances numerous on-campus activities: Best Buddies, Greek life, Medical Ethics Club, Med Life, the Honors College and inorganic chemistry research of different ligands of cobalt molecules.

Watson said he also works three to four nights a week at a hospital and volunteers at St. Vincent de Paul, a non-profit in Cincinnati. After sleepless overnight shifts, Watson makes the morning drive to his classes in Oxford. He is only able to rest after his commute home.

“There’ll be a lot of nights where I don’t sleep at all, and I just come to class,” Watson said. “Naps are big for me.”

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Travel time is only one of many considerations for students who voyage into Oxford daily. In addition to the extra time dedicated to traveling, commuting students must also account for traffic and parking on campus.

In her first week as a Miami commuter student, Ashlyn Claywell, a first-year biology major and resident of College Corner, Indiana, was handed three parking violations — although two have since been retracted. On top of that, she said potholes in the Millett parking lot have proven to be problematic for her small car.

For many commuters, scheduling and logistics shape their daily routines. Some commuting students avoid returning home unless they are finished with all classes and activities for the day. Claywell said she sometimes waits hours around campus for her club meetings, which begin at 8 p.m. Rather than returning to a dorm room or using a meal plan to eat in a dining hall, Claywell must find new places to linger.

Claywell said relationships can be hard to form for commuting students who do not have time on campus to be involved in clubs and organizations.

“If I was not involved in clubs, I feel like it would be hard [to make friends],” Claywell said. “Especially because you’re not going home to these people, like you’re going to your home. So it’s not like you’re with them 24 hours a day.”

Involvement in clubs and organizations may become difficult for commuting students to coordinate. Watson shared insight on how scheduling is different for commuters — noting that many campus groups forget Oxford is not exclusively filled with close residents.

“Some people get so wrapped up in the ‘everyone lives in Oxford’ or ‘Oxford is this community where we’re all right here,’ Watson said. “All of the sudden, [clubs] spring, ‘We’re gonna have a meeting in 30 minutes,’ and no one knew about it until just now. I can’t be there unless you give me a little bit more of an advance.”

Miami offers services that acknowledge the special circumstances of commuter students. Oxford’s commuter students are invited by the Office of the Dean to spend time in the Commuter Center in Armstrong room 2045. It’s a welcoming environment for fostering community building and academic success, and the center holds resources for traveling students including lockers and assistants, according to the website.

Photo by Sarah Frosch | The Miami Student
Lockers are offered for people commuting to Miami, who aren't able to easily head to a dorm or house close by.

“Commuter students can reach out to all the various services that we have on campus and we will be more than willing to support them,” Smith said. “If they need anything, they can reach out to the Dean of Students Office. We have a designated person that’s working with our off-campus and commuter students.”

duganec@miamioh.edu