By Ava Geaniotis

Nathalie Rozo, a sophomore psychology major, spends four hours of her day commuting to and from Adelphi University from her home. To make it to campus on time for her first class (and in preparation for a school day that lasts 11 hours), she leaves at 5:30 a.m. to take the bus to her local train station. From there, she takes the Long Island Rail Road. At the end of her last class, she rushes to catch the train at Nassau Boulevard for a two-hour trip home, mirroring that of her morning commute.

Even though being a commuter student is a dominant part of her life, Rozo hasn’t engaged with – or even heard of – any commuter-specific resources that Adelphi offers. She just never realized these programs existed.

As a result, the university offers a variety of programs aiming to engage and aid its unique commuter student population, including the Commuter Assistant Program, the Commuter Student Organization (CSO) and Commuter Appreciation Week (CAW), according to the university’s website. Yet, according to a recent survey of eight commuter students, 50% had never heard of any of these programs. Perhaps more strikingly, even including those who knew about them, like Rozo, 75% have never engaged with one.

So, how can we bridge the gap between the programs offered by Adelphi University and the commuter students they are designed for?

Understanding the Programs

The Commuter Assistant Program aims to help commuter students transition to college life. “[It] pairs incoming commuter students with trained upper-class commuter leaders who can offer guidance and help them get acclimated to campus,” said Sloane Somerstein, the senior coordinator of the Center for Student and Community Engagement. “The program focuses on connection, support and information-sharing.”

While the Commuter Assistant Program is aimed at first-year students, the Commuter Student Organization (CSO) is open to students of all years, according to its executive board.

Senior nursing major Alyssa Shapiro, former CSO president, said that the club is “here to provide commuters with a sense of community, a place to go every Monday to learn about the events going on on campus.” 

Shapiro is still on the club’s executive board – this year, as the Commuter Appreciation Week chair. Every semester, the CSO dedicates a week to supporting commuters, whether it’s through giveaways or community-building opportunities.

However, the CSO’s executives said they feel there hasn’t been consistent participation in their organization. 

“We just really want to provide free things for commuters because we know it’s hard to commute to campus,” said current CSO president Sofia Kastanos. She added that this semester, however, the club has seen fewer club attendees. 

The Gap

“In my sophomore year, we had a lot of people at our meetings,” Shapiro said. “It’d be a very lively place to be.” While the organization structures meetings the same way now as they did then – going over the week’s events and then playing games or hosting competitions – fewer people attend meetings now than before. 

“I think the attendance has greatly declined during my time on the CSO executive board,” Shapiro said, adding that she noticed that as students get into the routine of their semester, fewer are willing to introduce new club meetings to their schedules.

“I think every week the engagement gets worse,” said Kastanos. “I don’t know what it is, because our meeting time is at common hour [from 1-2 p.m. on Mondays], but I think it’s because other clubs also meet at this time.”

As a result, the CSO tries to set itself apart from other clubs. Kastanos explained how they host free activities, but the incentive hasn’t worked. Furthermore, she said they’ve tried to host more interactive giveaways to encourage students to attend meetings and interact with the organization – but to no avail.

“There could be a lot of people at our meetings,” said Kastanos. “I’m just wondering if it’s a thing of time or if it’s our meetings aren’t interesting enough.”

For many students it’s more a matter of time conflicts. Sophomore history major Elizabeth Manton said she knows about CSO, but never engaged with it – or any other commuter-specific engagement opportunities. She cites timing as the main problem. “I don’t come on Fridays because I don’t have classes, and a bunch of the major events are on Fridays,” she said. “Or, they’re at night – and I either want to go home, or I have work.”

For other commuters, it’s lack of awareness that prevents them from engaging. 

“I feel like usually we don’t get as many emails about [commuter activities],” Rozo said. “Maybe, it’s like one email.”

Furthermore, she feels that resident student events get more recognition than commuter student events. “On campus, you don’t see as many posters about these events or things that might be going on,” she said.

Rozo added, “Usually, I see posters about most activities or events for residents.”

Shapiro agrees and said, “I don’t really see flyers for other commuter student opportunities.”

She explained how the CSO organization tried flyers last year for their big winter celebration. Many people attended the event, but she said she felt it was because winter events are popular at Adelphi – not because of their efforts. 

Towards a Solution

Still, students cite posters as an effective means of raising awareness. “Maybe [these organizations], for a bigger event, can make colorful posters and signs to grab attention,” said sophomore physical education major Meredith Papiro.

For the upcoming semester, the executive board is open to revisiting this idea. “I have never printed [flyers] out and put them around Adelphi,” said Christina Contoudis, a sophomore marketing major and CSO’s public relations executive. “But next semester I would be open to trying that.” 

Most of Contoudis’ club promotion efforts are concentrated on Instagram, which aligns with student interests. According to the commuter survey, 87.5% of commuters find information about campus events on Instagram and 75% find it in their inbox. However, 100% of the surveyed students also use TikTok, a platform that many of these organizations do not use.

Contoudis describes Instagram promotions as “a hit or miss sometimes.” She said that she tries to make her posts eye-catching. She finds that quick, simple-to-read, short captions often see the most engagement and best turnout at club meetings.

Moving Forward

Ultimately, commuters who have engaged with these programs said they have felt fulfillment from their participation. Sophomore studio art major Sayem Ahmed is a regular attendee of CSO meetings and said he finds them “super awesome.”

“I got to see some of my friends again, and I also got to talk to new people and do some chalk art,” he said following the Fall 2025 CAW Chalk Kickoff meeting in November. “I made some Pac-Man art, and I became a bit more sociable.”

As for the Commuter Assistant Program, Somerstein said she was a former Commuter Assistant and now she encourages students to get involved. “I thought it was really fun,” she said.

Somerstein mentioned how, in any leadership role mentoring first-year students, “having an impact and seeing the student grow over the year is always super rewarding.”

So, commuters, don’t let getting involved on campus “drive” you crazy. There are resources here to help–as long as you can find them and they can connect with you.

Somerstein suggests that students check their emails every Monday at 10 a.m. to see the Student Insider–a list of events open to all students every week. She also encourages students to stay connected with the Commuter Student Organization (@csoadelphi) and with the Center for Student and Community Engagement (@engageadelphi) on Instagram.

“Adelphi is still home away from home,” Somerstein said. “There are so many ways for students to get involved and stay connected, and our office is always here to support them.”

The Center for Student and Community Engagement is located at the Ruth S. Harley University Center, room 123, and its email is engage@adelphi.edu.