This year, during the last week of classes, commuter students also feasted on an energy-boosting breakfast, but at a more commuter-friendly time.

Midnight Breakfast has long been a popular finals week tradition at Fordham, but last spring Commuter Student Services (CSS) planned and executed the first Midday Breakfast for commuters at the Rose Hill campus. (Lincoln Center has been hosting Midday Breakfast since the fall of 2009.) The event—with 203 student attendees—was such a huge success that the organizers, Commuter Assistants Michael Persaud, FCRH ’21, and Viviana Muniz, FCRH ’19, implemented the same program this past fall.

The fall commuter Midday Breakfast took place on Dec. 5. At 2 p.m. students made their way to McGinley, where volunteer staff were serving up breakfast staples and a few of the event’s department and student club co-sponsors were there to chat with students about their organizations and raffle off prizes.

This semester’s co-sponsors included Fordham College Rose Hill Dean’s Office, the Gabelli School of Business Dean’s Office, Campus Ministry, the Office Of Study Abroad, the Commuting Students Association, United Student Government, Campus Activities Board, the Office of Career Services, the Office of Alumni Relations, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office for Student Involvement, and the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.

At Campus Ministry’s booth, students had the opportunity to write cards in Spanish to those who are being held in the immigrant detention centers in Arizona. The Office of Study Abroad raffled off a free application waiver at their booth. The Office of Career Services was promoting Handshake, an online job/internship database, as well as phone and virtual career counseling appointments.

The Office of Alumni Relations was happy to co-sponsor and volunteer for the event by serving food and handing out Fordham University Alumni Relations gloves to students. “It was wonderful to see the good will of so many members of the Fordham community who showed up to serve students in this capacity,” said Matthew Burns, FCRH ’13, associate director for young alumni and student engagement. “We want commuters to know that our office—and, by extension, our alumni community—is here to support them even before they graduate. It was great to meet so many students and talk about the Fordham University Alumni Association, the alumni directory, and some of the events they can look forward to after they graduate.”

Commuter and off-campus students make up 40% of the Rose Hill undergraduate population. “A major goal of Commuter Student Services,” said Stephen J. Esposito, FCRH ’17, assistant director for leadership and commuter student services, “is to provide an opportunity for commuter and off-campus students to be able to participate in Fordham community events and traditions.”

With approximately 275 attendees, the event was a clear hit, said Persaud, adding that CSS hopes to continue the tradition next spring. “Events such as Midday Breakfast are a clear example of how interested different departments and student clubs are in engaging with the commuter population here at Fordham,” said Persaud. “It feels amazing to be part of such a diverse, outgoing, and supportive group of individuals who have shown, over the course of this semester, how much they care about engaging with Fordham’s commuter population.”

Popa commutes to Rose Hill from Little Neck, Queens. Some days it takes up to three hours for him to get to campus by public transportation. A commute that would take 30 minutes by car is made all the more arduous by by MTA buses that don’t synch with the Long Island Rail Road train schedule, he said. He’s rallied support from members from Community Board 11 in Queens to get the MTA to study the problem.

But commuters still make up a good portion of Fordham’s students. At a May 4 event celebrating today’s commuter students, sponsored by the Commuter Student Association, (CSA) and Commuter Student Services, Chris Rodgers, assistant vice president and dean of student, recalled when the commuters were known as “day hoppers.”

“Commuters are woven into the tradition of Fordham,” he said. “That’s a part of who we are.”

But just as the University has changed, with far more undergraduate residential students than commuters, so too has the makeup of the commuter student body. Once composed primarily of Irish and Italian New Yorkers, today the commuters are primarily students of color.

A lot of the diversity on campus comes from the commuters,” said outgoing CSA President Nemesis Dipre.

In speech to the students, Rafael Zapata, the University’s chief diversity officer, said he was familiar with the routines and challenges faced by many commuters. He said he commuted from Manhattan to Iona College in New Rochelle in the early 1990s. On the train to school, he said, the commuter students, mostly people of color like himself, got to know each other. But as his college years passed, many of the students dropped out.

“Maybe they took a job at UPS, or a family member got sick, or their girlfriend got pregnant,” he said. “Those are the things people can’t know: That you have to take care of younger siblings, your parents, help the family, and contribute.”

Though commuter students may not always have a long trek to campus, college life can seem very far from the world they grew up in.

For senior Jazmin Jimenez, her four-minute walk from Webster Avenue might as well be worlds away, she said. She grew up in the Dominican Republic and arrived in New York City when she was 13. Learning English, she said, was probably the toughest part of her journey from childhood in the D.R. to her senior year at Fordham.

“This is the biggest accomplishment of my life,” she said of her upcoming graduation.

Jimenez said that when she lived in the Dominican Republic her grandmother raised her. She was very happy to be reunited with her mother in New York City years later. But she understood she had to contribute. She helped her mom cook, clean, and take care of her younger sister, all while taking classes, doing homework, and working in the admissions office. She said she’s very thankful for the scholarship she received from Fordham that made it all possible.

Incoming CSA President Vanessa Reyes lives near campus too. On her 10-minute walk along Fordham Road she said she sees a sea of diverse faces. She said that she views events supported by CSA as a way to bring that diversity into the Rose Hill community. She noted the recent Bronx Celebration Day as a good starting point.

“Events that invite the community on campus are positive,” she said.

Both Jimenez and Reyes said they’re working with United Student Government and the Residence Halls Association to bridge gaps between commuters and students that live on campus as well. Last year’s Backyard Bash was pushed back from starting at 9 p.m. to 7 p.m. out of safety concerns for commuters who would otherwise have had to make their way home late at night.

“The residents I speak to want to do events that are commuter friendly,” said Reyes, adding that communication was key. Both residents and commuters know what it’s like when parents are waiting up, she said.