Non-Key Tweets

[billybud]

I listen to the comments about "commuter school" and wondered does it really matter that a university draws from it's adjacent large city population with the majority of students not residing on campus. I lived on campus for two years and then an off campus apartment and had never thought about the commuter difference. Was I commuting when I lived off campus?

Exploring the issue via internet, I assume that Houston's college experience is akin to the college experience at branch locations of major colleges.

The education received at UConn's five branches is essentially the same as received at Storrs. But as I googled, it did appear that going to a commuter campus leaves a different college experience.

As a quoted (in the piece that I read) former Waterbury campus student (now at Storrs) said, “The cons of commuting include a stale campus and a high-school-like nature of just showing up to class.”

I can see the disconnect between the traditional college life and the commuter student.

IMHO...the lower academics at Houston are more important than the commuter aspect...but I see where folks are going with the non resident student participation comments.



Viewpoint: Reflecting on the disconnect between UConn’s commuter and resident students

 

[CallMeBruce]

I wouldn't consider an off-campus apartment to be commuting, but I'm not sure how the school defines it. I moved off-campus after two years, but to an apartment behind East and then to Willington Oaks, and I certainly never felt like a commuter.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Dude is half right (is that a record). TV will want BYU, and UH is likely critical to getting Texas to extend the GOR (something TV is going to want for their half a billion dollars. Problem is that you still need the Non-Texas Schools to sign off as well as the Leftover 8. To do that you need better schools and schools that are not tied to UT.

That means 14. Sounds like we are at least halfway there inside the room, if any of this has a shred of truth to it.

Who says TV wants BYU? I keep seeing that as if it is some fact. ESPN already has BYU. Fox wants eastern time zone TV content, and as the graphic Fishy put up shows, most LDS members are mountain and pacific time zone. BYU has a nice football program but otherwise makes no sense. They get slaughtered by U of Utah in SLC tv market.

Unless the Big XII goes into the eastern time zone, it is doomed. That is what Fox wants, UConn or the Florida schools.

 

[Slasher]

I wouldn't consider an off-campus apartment to be commuting, but I'm not sure how the school defines it. I moved off-campus after two years, but to an apartment behind East and then to Willington Oaks, and I certainly never felt like a commuter.

If you have to drive (or take public transit), that's commuting in my mind. If you live "off campus" but are still walking distance, while that's not classified as "on campus" it's still not commuting imo.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If you have to drive (or take public transit), that's commuting in my mind. If you live "off campus" but are still walking distance, while that's not classified as "on campus" it's still not commuting imo.

Agreed. I'd even say that taking the university shuttle bus system is "on campus". Living with your mom and dad? That's commuting. I do think it matters to the college experience. Even schools like BU or Northeastern really will never generate the sense of togetherness that exists with students living together on campus or in a college town with no other school.

 

[cttxus]

Agreed. I'd even say that taking the university shuttle bus system is "on campus". Living with your mom and dad? That's commuting. I do think it matters to the college experience. Even schools like BU or Northeastern really will never generate the sense of togetherness that exists with students living together on campus or in a college town with no other school.

I attended the Groton-Avery Point campus and then Storrs for 3 years. Avery Point, and I think all other UConn campuses at the time, didn't have on-campus housing so everyone lived off campus and commuted, some from home and others from rental housing. To me, that was a true commuting environment. You drove to school, went to class, and then drove home.

When I transferred to Storrs, I lived in a dorm for one year and then moved off campus to Walden Apartments my last 2 years. Looking back, I don't consider that I was a commuter during those last two years even though I was driving 3-4 miles to campus every day. Why? Because I had made a lot of friends at my dorm and still hung out with those guys, sometimes at the dorm, when I wasn't in class.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Step away from the edge for a second...do you realize you are actually making statements based on tweets and a article written by someone who seriously needs to be committed for a psych eval?

I snapped. Thanks for bringing me back. Whew!

 

[HuskyHawk]

I attended the Groton-Avery Point campus and then Storrs for 3 years. Avery Point, and I think all other UConn campuses at the time, didn't have on-campus housing so everyone lived off campus and commuted, some from home and others from rental housing. To me, that was a true commuting environment. You drove to school, went to class, and then drove home.

When I transferred to Storrs, I lived in a dorm for one year and then moved off campus to Walden Apartments my last 2 years. I don't consider myself a commuter during those last two years even though I was driving 3-4 miles to campus every day. Why? Because I had made a lot of friends at my dorm and still hung out with those guys, sometimes at the dorm, when I wasn't in class.

Yes, and that's the point about "city schools". Commuting a short distance from housing in a college town that is mostly used by students is really not much different than living on campus. For the city schools its different, and there is less of a college town feel in that off campus housing.

I drove about 1.5 miles to law school, but anywhere you lived in Lawrence, KS, you were at KU. You can't escape it.

 

[upstater]

Agreed. I'd even say that taking the university shuttle bus system is "on campus". Living with your mom and dad? That's commuting. I do think it matters to the college experience. Even schools like BU or Northeastern really will never generate the sense of togetherness that exists with students living together on campus or in a college town with no other school.

Why do you say that about BU when the vast majority of students there do not come from the area?

If you say that about BU, you have to say it about all city schools, including Harvard, Yale, New York U., U Chicago, U Pittsburgh, U Pennsylvania, Georgetown and George Washington, etc. All of these schools have urban campuses with the vast majority of students living in dorms or off campus apartments just like BU.

Are you saying only rural schools experience "togetherness?" Because I've lived on an urban campus and a rural campus, and it's not very different just because the vast majority of the students are not commuting.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Why do you say that about BU when the vast majority of students there do not come from the area?

If you say that about BU, you have to say it about all city schools, including Harvard, Yale, New York U., U Chicago, U Pittsburgh, U Pennsylvania, Georgetown and George Washington, etc. All of these schools have urban campuses with the vast majority of students living in dorms or off campus apartments just like BU.

Are you saying only rural schools experience "togetherness?" Because I've lived on an urban campus and a rural campus, and it's not very different just because the vast majority of the students are not commuting.

BU has changed some and may not deserve my ire. Harvard and Yale have a very distinct campuses, with quads and large areas all within campus. BU back when I went to college (at UConn) was a long strip of more or less office buildings, and the students rode the Green Line from one end to the other. The BU students I knew lived in apartments mixed with workers and students of other schools. I don't know the other campuses well enough. Certainly PC and BC have discreet campuses. I'm told Cincinnati does as well.

 

[MattMang23]

The education received at UConn's five branches is essentially the same as received at Storrs. But as I googled, it did appear that going to a commuter campus leaves a different college experience.

Uh, yeah, no. No it isn't. But OK.

There is a reason the best applicants are taken at Storrs and the rest are asked to go to the branch. There is a reason the main campus hosts the top professors in the system. There is a reason the highest performing out-of-state students go to Storrs and not Waterbury or wherever.

 

[MattMang23]

If you have to drive (or take public transit), that's commuting in my mind. If you live "off campus" but are still walking distance, while that's not classified as "on campus" it's still not commuting imo.

I lived in Hunting Lodge my senior year and drove in every day. I never considered myself a commuter because I had a full campus atmosphere at my apartment building. It was only UConn students who lived there and you could walk to campus if your reallllllly wanted.

 

[upstater]

BU has changed some and may not deserve my ire. Harvard and Yale have a very distinct campuses, with quads and large areas all within campus. BU back when I went to college (at UConn) was a long strip of more or less office buildings, and the students rode the Green Line from one end to the other. The BU students I knew lived in apartments mixed with workers and students of other schools. I don't know the other campuses well enough. Certainly PC and BC have discreet campuses. I'm told Cincinnati does as well.

Not what I experienced at BU. Office buildings? I mean, there were no office buildings. The school was mainly the old college buildings west of Kenmore Square. Those are really old buildings from the birth of the university. All the new buildings, like engineering, communications, sciences, etc., look exactly like the new buildings you see n any college campuses. If there is anything weird or ugly about BU, it is only the mega-dorms. Warren Towers, West Campus.

What people miss about BU as they drive down Commonwealth past the solid old buildings is that behind there there are roads packed with brownstones and even an old castle. These are university owned. There is even some green space. It has been this way since the 1980s when I went there. But all those brownstones are either owned by the university for classes (I took classes in brownstones!) or else they serve as student housing. The students that rode the green line were off-campus housing students. Obviously, you don't need to ever get on a train once you are on campus. The only exception to this is for students who attend the College of General Studies, which is closer to West Campus.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

When you go to a commuter school ,the attachments to that school are minimal even for Alumni.
I would guess more state resident graduates of SCSU ,CCU,or UNH are UConn fans and really could care less about their school. I would suspect a fair number of former Houston students are UT or A&M fans or UCF fans are really UF or FSU fans.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

BU has changed some and may not deserve my ire. Harvard and Yale have a very distinct campuses, with quads and large areas all within campus. BU back when I went to college (at UConn) was a long strip of more or less office buildings, and the students rode the Green Line from one end to the other. The BU students I knew lived in apartments mixed with workers and students of other schools. I don't know the other campuses well enough. Certainly PC and BC have discreet campuses. I'm told Cincinnati does as well.

Mayor Menino pushed many of Boston's universities in the 90's to build on-campus housing to take pressure off of the residential rental market (and to separate college Boston from professional Boston). Last I head, Boston U went from 33% on campus housing to 75%, Northeastern went from 25% to about 67% and even colleges like Emerson built dorms and UMass-Boston will be doing the same next year. BU and Northeastern defiantly have a 'campus' or community feel within the city. BC, as is is less urban, already had that. Going to an urban college is vastly different than going to UConn; but, it is still a college experience and those are not commuter schools like Bunker Hill CC. I've never been to U Houston, do no idea if it is more like an urban college or a community college. I have been to downtown Houston though and I woud take living in downtown Boston and many other cities over Houston any day. Downtown Houston clears out faster that Hartford did on non Whaler & Husky night in February back in the '90's.

 

[huskypantz]

Yes, and that's the point about "city schools". Commuting a short distance from housing in a college town that is mostly used by students is really not much different than living on campus. For the city schools its different, and there is less of a college town feel in that off campus housing.

I drove about 1.5 miles to law school, but anywhere you lived in Lawrence, KS, you were at KU. You can't escape it.

Exactly. Carriage House, Celeron etc are all off campus but their sole (let's say 90%) purpose is to provide housing for UConn students. They are just an extension of the college environment. This is completely different from a BU student living in an apartment building in back bay or a Temple student living in center city. Even if they're living with classmates, the environment is separate and unique.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Not what I experienced at BU. Office buildings? I mean, there were no office buildings. The school was mainly the old college buildings west of Kenmore Square. Those are really old buildings from the birth of the university. All the new buildings, like engineering, communications, sciences, etc., look exactly like the new buildings you see n any college campuses. If there is anything weird or ugly about BU, it is only the mega-dorms. Warren Towers, West Campus.

What people miss about BU as they drive down Commonwealth past the solid old buildings is that behind there there are roads packed with brownstones and even an old castle. These are university owned. There is even some green space. It has been this way since the 1980s when I went there. But all those brownstones are either owned by the university for classes (I took classes in brownstones!) or else they serve as student housing. The students that rode the green line were off-campus housing students. Obviously, you don't need to ever get on a train once you are on campus. The only exception to this is for students who attend the College of General Studies, which is closer to West Campus.

I got my MBA (part-time) from BU. Took the Green Line from Copley where I worked to Kenmore Sq where the 'new' business building is about 3 times a week (twice for class, once or group meetings). Then walked home after class to my apartment in Coolidge Corner. I knew a lot of undergrad MBA kids who took the B Line all of the time because BU's campus is narrow, basically each side of Commonwealth Ave; but, very long, about 2 miles I think from Barnes & Noble to the ice rink. Thus, between it being urban, with retail often located on the first level of many building and being odd shape, BU does not look like a campus; but, it is sure not a community college.

UConn, as a contrast, is only about a a mile from Storrs Center to the backside of Horsebarn Hill.

PS - Taking a walk over to the BU 'Beach,' especially right before spring break, was a pleasant way to kill time between work and classes in the spring.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Mayor Menino pushed many of Boston's universities in the 90's to build on-campus housing to take pressure off of the residential rental market (and to separate college Boston from professional Boston). Last I head, Boston U went from 33% on campus housing to 75%, Northeastern went from 25% to about 67% and even colleges like Emerson built dorms and UMass-Boston will be doing the same next year. BU and Northeastern defiantly have a 'campus' or community feel within the city. BC, as is is less urban, already had that. Going to an urban college is vastly different than going to UConn; but, it is still a college experience and those are not commuter schools like Bunker Hill CC. I've never been to U Houston, do no idea if it is more like an urban college or a community college. I have been to downtown Houston though and I woud take living in downtown Boston and many other cities over Houston any day. Downtown Houston clears out faster that Hartford did on non Whaler & Husky night in February back in the '90's.

Yes, that's why I said things have changed and I'm probably being unfair to BU. Upstater makes a good point about the actual "campus" being invisible from Comm Ave., which exacerbates the perception.

 

[NYUConn]

Exactly. Carriage House, Celeron etc are all off campus but their sole (let's say 90%) purpose is to provide housing for UConn students. They are just an extension of the college environment. This is completely different from a BU student living in an apartment building in back bay or a Temple student living in center city. Even if they're living with classmates, the environment is separate and unique.

Side note, not sure if this is still the case, but it was when I was there 10 years ago: UConn actually owns the land that Celeron is on. Celeron is a private company leasing the land from UConn, but unlike Carriage which is completely private, UConn police have the right to roam Celeron grounds freely because of the agreement in place between the school and Celeron.

I learned this the hard way my sophomore year when a bunch of my friends got busted for underage drinking while just hanging out and playing beer pong outside of a friends apartment.

 

[BKarchitect]

I hope you hacked into the Big 12's computers and found that.

Sorry to disappoint you all but I created that graphic and posted it to the WVU Big 12 board and KU board to try and get some enthusiasm for this particular expansion route.

I'm a KU Jayhawk born and bred but I cringe at the lunacy of some of these expansion proposals and the relative ignorance in the central part of the country about what UConn can offer so I'm beating the drum a bit. Hope you all don't mind my posting here from time to time in the future, hopefully as conference mates and basketball rivals someday!

<-------P.S. those are my Huskies

 

[MattMang23]

Sorry to disappoint you all but I created that graphic and posted it to the WVU Big 12 board and KU board to try and get some enthusiasm for this particular expansion route.

I'm a KU Jayhawk born and bred but I cringe at the lunacy of some of these expansion proposals and the relative ignorance in the central part of the country about what UConn can offer so I'm beating the drum a bit. Hope you all don't mind my posting here from time to time in the future, hopefully as conference mates and basketball rivals someday!

<-------P.S. those are my Huskies

We don't mind outsiders. Unless you disagree with our opinions.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

BU is anything but a commuter school, the percentage of students who commute is very, very low - last I checked it was <5%. There's a large number of students who live nearby off-campus, but housing is guaranteed to all students for all four years, and you're required to live on campus for your freshman year. To say there isn't a community would be absolutely preposterous. Yes, there's a smattering of office-like looking buildings from Kenmore to Packard's Corner, but that vast majority are wholly owned and operated by BU and are either dorms, offices, or class buildings. There is absolutely no comparison between BU or Northeastern and schools like USF and Houston. Not to mention both are far superior from an academic perspective.

 

[temery]

There's a large number of students who live nearby off-campus, but housing is guaranteed to all students for all four years, and you're required to live on campus for your freshman year.

True, but from what I've seen, it's not exactly a traditional campus. The campus is pretty spread out.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Sorry to disappoint you all but I created that graphic and posted it to the WVU Big 12 board and KU board to try and get some enthusiasm for this particular expansion route.

I'm a KU Jayhawk born and bred but I cringe at the lunacy of some of these expansion proposals and the relative ignorance in the central part of the country about what UConn can offer so I'm beating the drum a bit. Hope you all don't mind my posting here from time to time in the future, hopefully as conference mates and basketball rivals someday!

<-------P.S. those are my Huskies

Welcome to the Boneyard! I suppose I'm a born and bred Jayhawk too, 4th generation born in KS. Mostly raised in CT though. Went to KU law. Thanks for preaching the Gospel to the masses on UConn's behalf. We need an image makeover in Big 12 country.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

True, but from what I've seen, it's not exactly a traditional campus. The campus is pretty spread out.

No school centrally located in a city the size of Boston with as little geographical space as there is can have a "traditional" campus. There's a reason BC is in Newton Northeastern has a few segments that look sort of traditional, but it's also a much smaller campus than we have, and if you walk down Bay State Road, and further down the area adjacent to the Charles, BU looks far more traditional than the Comm Ave portion.

 

[upstater]

I got my MBA (part-time) from BU. Took the Green Line from Copley where I worked to Kenmore Sq where the 'new' business building is about 3 times a week (twice for class, once or group meetings). Then walked home after class to my apartment in Coolidge Corner. I knew a lot of undergrad MBA kids who took the B Line all of the time because BU's campus is narrow, basically each side of Commonwealth Ave; but, very long, about 2 miles I think from Barnes & Noble to the ice rink. Thus, between it being urban, with retail often located on the first level of many building and being odd shape, BU does not look like a campus; but, it is sure not a community college.

UConn, as a contrast, is only about a a mile from Storrs Center to the backside of Horsebarn Hill.

PS - Taking a walk over to the BU 'Beach,' especially right before spring break, was a pleasant way to kill time between work and classes in the spring.

I think grad school is very different. I lived a ways away from my grad schools (in all 3 cases).

I did not know a single student who lived in Coolidge Corner. Brighton, yes. Allston, yes. Kenmore, yes. South Bay, yes. A few by the Fens. What I meant was, if you're living around Boston U., you don't need to shuttle from class to class on the T. You walk between the buildings on Commonwealth and Bay State Road. What would be the point of taking the T one stop from in front of Warren Towers to Kenmore. Even the engineering building is right next to Kenmore.

 

[upstater]

True, but from what I've seen, it's not exactly a traditional campus. The campus is pretty spread out.

It is an urban campus, but it is no more spread out than any other. I think people get fooled a little bit because of the football stadium, the arena, etc. The College of General Studies is certainly spread out away from the main campus, and so are the athletic facilities. But the classrooms down in the center of campus make everything walkable within minutes for the vast majority of students. The only students who are spread out are the GS students, a small %, but they basically spend all day at GS anyway.

 

[BKarchitect]

Welcome to the Boneyard! I suppose I'm a born and bred Jayhawk too, 4th generation born in KS. Mostly raised in CT though. Went to KU law. Thanks for preaching the Gospel to the masses on UConn's behalf. We need an image makeover in Big 12 country.

It's really an issue that is perpetuated by the media and especially by idiotic sports talk shows and callers - it's the issue that the masses don't see this as anything more than an NFL-style arrangement of football teams. Not only that, but the baseline for judging football teams is "what was your record last year" because people in general have the attention span of 8-week old puppies.

When the SEC expands, when the B1G expands - they look at it as 50+ year investments. They look for peer institutions. Yes, football is a big deal but this isn't a football league realignment, as much as Joe Blow football fan wants it to be. It's about aligning your university with like-minded universities who match your school's profile. It includes (or should) a look at the entire university - academic profile, ability to grow and utilize endowment and research, type of school, willingness to work and cooperate with conference mates, overall athletic department profile, diversity of geography and demographics and overall "brand" name.

To say that the University of Texas looks at Houston as a peer institution is laughable. Everybody knows what taking Houston means. It's keeping the 4th Texas seat warm for when UT bolts. If UT wants Houston so bad, they need to tie themselves down to the Big 12 for 20 more years in a new GOR. Do you think Texas' aims are to be stuck with Houston for several decades? Everybody know what taking Memphis means. It means getting FedEx involvement until the teams that can bolt, do. UConn is one of the few choices that represents a legitimate peer institution addition and a national brand that can be grown quickly into a fully-functioning Big 12 member in all areas, not just football. But it seems most in these parts are scared of UConn because the plane ride will take like 60 minutes longer than it does to get to West Virginia and you all don't (in our minds anyways) appreciate stuffing your faces with BBQ and Whataburger. The desire here is seemingly to want to replicate the SEC's regional football strength but that is simply not possible...so what we will end up with potentially is the SWC Mark II. Because what the Big 12 is doing right now is working so darn well, let's just keep doing that.

I can only hope that Bowlsby and Company have the foresight to think outside this little regional box and grow the conference. And even if he does want that, this collection of school presidents has to have the political savvy to sell an expansion that includes the likes of UConn to the masses here who only know you all had a mediocre football record in a G5 conference last year and are not the good, middle America folk who eat, sleep and breathe football.

 

[billybud]

Sounds nothing like the campus of Florida's "Dodge City" in the 60's. (also affectionately known as "Boggy Tech" )

The new college took over the small defunct downtown that had been displaced by strip malls on a four lane....students went to classes in the old bank building, the drug store was administration and a beauty shop the library....I dated, for a while, a girl who was a student.

Now the University of Northwest Florida.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It's really an issue that is perpetuated by the media and especially by idiotic sports talk shows and callers - it's the issue that the masses don't see this as anything more than an NFL-style arrangement of football teams. Not only that, but the baseline for judging football teams is "what was your record last year" because people in general have the attention span of 8-week old puppies.

When the SEC expands, when the B1G expands - they look at it as 50+ year investments. They look for peer institutions. Yes, football is a big deal but this isn't a football league realignment, as much as Joe Blow football fan wants it to be. It's about aligning your university with like-minded universities who match your school's profile. It includes (or should) a look at the entire university - academic profile, ability to grow and utilize endowment and research, type of school, willingness to work and cooperate with conference mates, overall athletic department profile, diversity of geography and demographics and overall "brand" name.

To say that the University of Texas looks at Houston as a peer institution is laughable. Everybody knows what taking Houston means. It's keeping the 4th Texas seat warm for when UT bolts. If UT wants Houston so bad, they need to tie themselves down to the Big 12 for 20 more years in a new GOR. Do you think Texas' aims are to be stuck with Houston for several decades? Everybody know what taking Memphis means. It means getting FedEx involvement until the teams that can bolt, do. UConn is one of the few choices that represents a legitimate peer institution addition and a national brand that can be grown quickly into a fully-functioning Big 12 member in all areas, not just football. But it seems most in these parts are scared of UConn because the plane ride will take like 60 minutes longer than it does to get to West Virginia and you all don't (in our minds anyways) appreciate stuffing your faces with BBQ and Whataburger. The desire here is seemingly to want to replicate the SEC's regional football strength but that is simply not possible...so what we will end up with potentially is the SWC Mark II. Because what the Big 12 is doing right now is working so darn well, let's just keep doing that.

I can only hope that Bowlsby and Company have the foresight to think outside this little regional box and grow the conference. And even if he does want that, this collection of school presidents has to have the political savvy to sell an expansion that includes the likes of UConn to the masses here who only know you all had a mediocre football record in a G5 conference last year and are not the good, middle America folk who eat, sleep and breathe football.

I think that pretty much sums up what most of us have been saying for months. It is pretty frustrating on this end of it, to be compared to the likes of Memphis by some people and found wanting. I mean Memphis, their football is worse than ours over the last decade or so and they draw fewer fans. Houston's attendance last year in a 12-1 season was worse than ours was in any Randy Edsall season.

I'm looking forward to getting back to Lawrence, strolling down Mass Ave., drinking a beer or two at Free State and catching a UConn road game at AFH. We need to make it happen.