By Brianna Vaca, Staff Reporter
This semester, I am a part of The Bulletin’s social media desk. The other week, my team and I were given an assignment to interview Toros about Election Day. This would be a slam-dunk social video, we thought, and could probably be done in just a day.
We headed out from the newsroom at 3:45 p.m., thinking there would still be plenty of people on campus – it was Monday, after all. But campus was seemingly dead, there wasn’t a soul in sight. The East Walkway is usually packed with students going to and from their classes at this time, but that day it was the total opposite.
Maybe it was Daylight Savings Time and people just wanted to go home early, we weren’t sure, but the atmosphere just felt off.
We found a few students who were willing to speak to us for the assignment, but it took a long time to find them. Nonetheless, we finished the assignment.
As we walked back to the newsroom, I couldn’t help but wonder to myself, “Why is this campus so dead? Was this really what my college experience is?”
I have one more semester left at CSUDH, and it feels like I haven’t done any of the things considered by modern culture as typical of the “real college experience.” But what does that even mean? Everyone has their own idea of what college is supposed to be like, I know, but I feel like I haven’t figured out how this period of my life will be defined.
I came to CSUDH from El Camino College, where I earned my Associate’s degree in June 2023. Even at El Camino, I felt like my undergraduate experience was lacking. Just like I am now, I was a staff reporter for the school’s student-run newspaper, The Union. Whenever I was assigned a story that required interviews from students, it was difficult to get anyone to talk.
There wasn’t much school spirit at El Camino, so I was excited to become part of the Toro Nation.
Boy, was that enthusiasm misplaced.
From the academics to all the fun, on-campus activities, I’ve always loved school. But the past few semesters have been a bit blah. I tried to get involved on campus and joined student clubs, but that didn’t really boost my sense of school spirit. I just feel like I haven’t thrived as an undergraduate student as much as I thought I would.
My first couple of months here consisted of going to my two classes and immediately going home. I didn’t really talk to anyone outside of my classes. That’s on me, of course, but the overall vibe of the people in some of my classes made it seem like they felt the same way about the campus culture.
Like most Toros, I commute to campus. One of the primary reasons I transferred here was because of how close the university is to my home. The most recent CSUDH data reports that about 94 percent of undergraduate students enrolled during the Fall 2022 semester lived off-campus or were commuters.
Living off-campus makes CSUDH a sleepy place to be. There’s nothing wrong with that, necessarily, that’s just the way it is. But I can’t say that doesn’t put a damper on how I’ll look back on my college years.
I just wish things were different, especially before I graduate and join the workforce. I think if CSUDH put more effort into creating an on-campus experience, students like me would leave feeling a sense of satisfaction – plus, campus would be more lively.
One of my best friends attends UC-Riverside. I often see her posting about all the activities and happenings on campus, including concerts. Seriously, when is the last time CSUDH had an artist here that would get the party going for Toros? That’s just one way I think the university could bring a bit more culture and fun to campus.
As I near the end of my college career, I’m still going to make the best of my experience as much as I can. College can be an important time for people, and even if the “college experience” wasn’t what I had hoped, I plan on making sure it’s still a positive one.
