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There& #39;s a lot to like in this piece on commuter students and the way norms are framed by universities - but there& #39;s something off about it too https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/30/if-more-students-choose-home-over-halls-its-time-to-celebrate?CMP=twt_a-education_b-gdnedu">https://www.theguardian.com/education...
My issue with it centres on this line "Buddy schemes suppose they yearn for companionship, when many already have full social lives". Our loneliness research last year suggests that it& #39;s absolutely true that commuter students want/need friendship at university.
This idea - that residential students need friends but commuters are fine and just want teaching cus, you know, friends already is shared as "true" but is nonsense. It& #39;s as nonsense as the idea that we don& #39;t need friends at work because we have friends at home.
Only half of commuter students feel that they are part of a community of staff and students, almost 2 out of 10 commuter students have not made any true friends at university and more commuter students report feeling lonely on a daily basis.
This isn’t out of choice – the qual told us that meeting new people and making friends is a key priority for them, mentioning practical considerations (time constraints, difficult commute), not knowing how or not feeling welcome.
