Commuters get cooking

By: Alex Ziolkowski, Contributing Writer

On Tuesday, Sept. 29, members of Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) provided commuters with free food and health resources on the Paws Patio.

Community Ambassadors Jesse Kabundji and Zane Smith joined Coordinator for Off-Campus Student Services Joyce Herold and Megan Byrd, marketing and social media coordinator for Student Activities, in handing out flyers to promote Commuter Appreciation Week.

Students snagged free oven mitts and lunch boxes to encourage the wellness theme.
Byrd and Herold act as liaisons to the gap between Towson University and its commuting population by addressing the disconnect between commuter students and on-campus events and students. They want commuters to know that they matter to Towson University.

Commuter Appreciation Week is one way that Student Activities and OCSS interact with students by “showing them some love,” according to Herold.

Byrd said that events like Commuter Appreciation Week give commuter students “a way to tie into campus and feel a part of the community.”

OCSS provided attendees with recipes of all of the dishes they served, including a salad made with spinach, gorgonzola cheese and a raspberry vinaigrette, as well as finger sandwiches for on-the-go.

Between eating and mingling, students could offer health tips to one another by writing suggestions on a poster nearby.

Healthcare management major and junior Omosade Olaiya, wrote down that she and her fellow commuters should only take 15 or 30-minute naps to recharge from an early day.

Olaiya said that she noticed a better reception between this Commuter Appreciation Week and last semester’s.

OCSS is a sub-branch of Student Activities. Under the guidance of Herold, OCSS has hosted a Commuter Appreciation Week once every semester, and a Commuter Appreciation Day once every month.

Herold credits the success of Cooking with Commuters to her community ambassadors, who are commuters themselves.

“We are the bridge between Towson and off-campus students,” Kabundji said.