Research Blog #9: Counter-Argument

The main counterargument to my topic is that, despite the difficulties and challenges that commuter students face, they actually do gain a lot from this experience, and what they gain makes them better equipped to deal with college and their life after graduation as well. "It has been suggested that, even though commuter students are more apt to work full-time, they are not as stressed by working, commuting, or time limitations because they have more experience at time management" (Newbold 81). In essence, some scholars argue that the added responsibility that commuters endure build them into stronger, more mature individuals because in a way they are forced to deal with situations that residential students do not. In an article named "Commuter lifestyle gives students a more realistic life experience", the title in itself states a powerful position that commuter students experience "real life" obstacles and demands, and in turn that shapes their character and perspective in a way that living on campus would not.

"Commuter students either quickly learn how to balance a demanding work life with a complicated home life or they crash and burn, but it's short-sighted to conclude that the daily challenges facing commuters automatically wears down their drive to succeed in college"

"Commuters tend to have more diverse support systems than residents and rely to a greater extent on spouses, relatives, friends, employers and other off-campus (relations) to negotiate the demands of a college education"

"Many UH students can testify that hitting the road at the crack of dawn to beat traffic, spending hours searching for a parking spot, choosing to pay tuition instead of living expenses, and fitting your distant work like around school is a test of endurance"

"However, thousands of UH students face these challenges regularly and overcome commuter pains every day because they are persistent in their goal of receiving an education"

"Although commuting can be vigorous in comparison to residential life, the desire that most commuters carry to further their education establishes the emotional stamina needed to survive greater life challenges"

In "The Disengaged Commuter Student: Fact or Fiction?", authors George D. Kuh, Robert M. Gonyea and Megan Palmer concluded that commuter students were just as likely as other students to work harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor's standards, to work with other students on projects during class, to ask questions or contribute to class discussions, to discuss ideas from readings with others outside of class, to write long papers (20 pages or more) and to read on their own personal enjoyment or academic enrichment. All in all, although commuter students may have time constraints due to work, family obligations and other matters, they are in the same level of academic classes as their peers and do put in as much effort as other students do.