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Our school outgrew its original location in South Miami and now there are two campuses, the second is located approximately 40 minutes away in Hialeah. Unfortunately many students have to take classes at both campuses and this can cause confusion and frustration for many reasons. Commuting in Miami is not a pleasant business. Students who live on campus and who do not reside in Miami find getting back and forth between the campuses a daunting task. In this essay, I lay out the reasons why certain programs should be housed at on campus or the other to eliminate the need for commuting.
Commuting in Miami is difficult. The only viable public transportation available between the two campuses are buses. However it would take two to three buses to commute between the two campuses. Buses can be late or full. Transfers are tricky business if the buses don’t run on time. Miami suffers from incurable rain during most of the year, which results in uncomfortable travelling conditions. So much time is wasted when travelling by bus. This time is much better spent on studying and completing assignments, not standing up on a bus trying to get to class on time. A study by the Office for National Statistics has found that commuting by bus causes unhappiness and anxiety, especially if the ride is longer than 30 minutes.
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If a student is fortunate enough to own a car, the commute would seem to be a much easier and pleasant experience requiring. Traffic in Miami, especially on the roads and highways between the two campuses are always congested or worse yet, jammed up. This could cause not only tardiness to class but genuine physical problems. According to an article in Time magazine, a commute of twenty five or more minutes causes: higher cholesterol; higher blood sugar; increased anxiety and increased blood pressure.
Time management for college students is a challenge. Suddenly their days are not as structured as they were in high school. They are learning to manage their time and their resources appropriately and more importantly, independently. The stress of bouncing from one physical location to another by commuting can be too demanding on new students. Getting to know one large university campus is often very confusing, not to mention having to learn two. Programs and schedules should be set up to ensure that students spend as little time logistically getting from Class A to Class B with as little stress as possible. The fear and dread of being late to class, or missing class altogether is alleviated by removing the travel time.
In conclusion, the argument for keeping students scheduled on one campus would increase their success and reduce their anxiety. Their time could be devoted to their studies and not wasted waiting on buses or sitting in traffic. Their confidence would increase and they would feel more secure if they were able to remain on one campus for all of their classes.
References
Kylstra, Carolyn (12 Feb 2014) Ten things your commute does to your body. Time http://time.com/9912/10-things-your-commute-does-to-your-body/
Osbourne, Hilary (12, Feb 2014) Commuting makes you unhappy and anxious, says ONS. The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/feb/12/commuting-unhappy-anxious-ons
