Fewer commuters finding homes in the collegia

Posted by admin on Feb 7, 2006 in News | 0 comments

While both the West Coast and Marlie Snider Collegiums are like a second home to many of Trinity Western University’s commuter students, memberships have dropped significantly this year for the first time since the Collegium Project began in 2000.

“I don’t know why it is,” said Glenn Hansen, Assistant Director of Community Life for Graduate and Commuter Programs. “It’s the first time in six years we’ve ever sort of faced this.”

While the collegia have had up to 270 memberships each, currently the West Coast is home to about 230 commuters and the Marlie Snider to about 180.

“They run the risk of not being connected,” Hansen said of non-member commuters. “But, not everyone wants to be there. Commuters have full lives – they might just simply not have time.”

The West Coast Collegium, which houses first and fourth year students, was opened in September 2000 after TWU noticed a trend of first year commuter students not returning for a second semester.

The project, designed after a similar commuter program at Seattle University, was an immediate success as it reached its target membership of 250 within the first two months.

The Marlie Snider Collegium (originally named Pacific Rim) was built the following year for second and third year students.

But, the collegia are not actually home to the majority of commuters, who account for 72 per cent of the student population of 2,300.

Third year education student Brittani Wagner, who transferred to TWU last year, originally had a membership to a collegium, but chose not to renew it this year. “I found that everybody was already friends,” Wagner said. “People would say hi, but never introduce themselves.”

After spending one year not really making friends in the collegium, Wagner decided to put her $150 membership fee to use somewhere else.

And while she feels she could have made more of an effort to meet people, she does not regret her decision to
leave.

“I think it’s the [collegium assistant’s] job to put themselves out there first,” she said.

While Hansen acknowledges that $150 per year can seem like yet another cost for a burdened TWU student, he feels that, ultimately, commuters are getting a good deal.

“[The collegia] are meeting basic needs,” he said. “When basic needs are met, people can grow academically, spiritually, and relationally.”

The fees, which have risen by $50 since they were instituted, go towards the upkeep of the buildings, as well as employing collegium assistants (CA).

Hansen also feels one of the main perks is the subsidized food, thanks to a partnership with Sodexho.

“I really believe that the money is well spent just because of the wellsubsidized food,” Hansen said of the collegium honour bars.

Angy Hanna, a third year communications student, has been a CA for the last two years and sees the collegia as a vital part of TWU.

“They play a major role in allowing commuters to feel like they’re part of the community,” she said. “There’s a sense of consistency and belonging.”

Hanna said she has noticed less people in the Marlie Snider Collegium this year, and attributes this to students feeling like they do not need the building anymore to have the same sense of community.

“Second and third years may be thinking, ‘I don’t need to join now that I’ve gotten my start,’” Hanna guessed.

Similarly, Wagner noted a lot of commuter students are past residents, who already have a group of friends.

Adrianne Schmidt is one of those students.

Spending her first two years in dorms, Schmidt made a group of friends that gathered together to rent a house off campus this year. None of the group have collegia memberships.

“We already have enough of a community in our house,” she said.

But some students have remained faithful to the Collegium Project, such as fourth year Paul Richardson.

“My core group of friends are all from the collegium,” Richardson said. “This is where it begins.”

Though TWU faces a drop in collegia memberships for the first time, Hansen is not worried.

A new, smaller collegium opened this year for graduate students and Hansen is currently attempting to raise the profile of the collegia through programs like Good Morning Commuter and by having more faculty members become actively involved.

“I would like to see [the collegia] full to overflowing,” Hansen said of the next school year.