Commuting Student Association (CSA) is hosting programming for Commuter Month from late March into April. Last year, CSA had a Commuter Week, but they recently expanded the event into a month.
This year Commuter Month is paying homage to 2020’s RamFest, which was the theme of their 2020 Commuter Week celebration. The month will have four festival-themed events throughout the month, including Rams Blockfest, Spudfest, NYC Street Food Fest and Movie Mania Filmfest from March 23 to April 12.

The first event, Rams Blockfest, took place on March 23 on McShane Lawn, where there was ice cream from Mister Softee, hot dogs, empanadas, sand art, bracelet making and games. On March 31, Spudfest took place in McShane Gallery, which was a potato-themed fest with food, games and prizes that centered around potatoes. On April 5, the NYC Street Food Fest will take place on McShane Lawn with different NYC-street inspired food, such as Chinatown, Little Italy, Koreatown and Little India. The final event, Movie Mania Filmfest, will take place on April 12 in the McShane Ballroom.
Malia Guebli, FCRH ’23, executive treasurer for CSA, explained the purpose of having the events over a month.

“By having the events scheduled over a month’s time, we hope that students will recognize the value that commuters bring to the Fordham community,” said Guebli. “We decided to change Commuter Week to Commuter Month to alleviate some of the planning pressure, and to ensure that each board is able and available to plan their events with as little conflict as possible.”

Alessandra Carino, executive president, FCRH ’23, also explained the benefits of the switch to a month of events.

“This year CSA did not have a senior board. Since Commuter Week would need 5 events, we thought since a month had 4 weeks, it would be a better fit,” said Carino. “We also found that a week of programming was very taxing, and since commuters are balancing many responsibilities, it isn’t always feasible to adjust our schedules to be on campus to accommodate the work it requires. So, we thought we would change it to work better for our needs so we could better prove to our community.”
Gueblli added: “We hope that commuters feel that they are represented! Additionally, we hope all students (because our events are open to commuters and residents) enjoy our events and have fun, and learn a little bit about CSA.”

Guebli said that she is involved in CSA because loves representing the commuter student population and that there are still more events for people to participate in.

“I think it’s important that we get our voices heard, and I’m happy to be one of many members that take part in creating events and working on initiatives for commuters,” said Guebli. “We still have two commuter month events coming up in April, and then our junior board event will also be coming up, so stay updated with the @fordhamcsa Instagram because we always have fun events!”

Angelina Yoon, FCRH ’25, who is a commuter, believes awareness of the subject is important.

“I think commuter awareness is important because the experiences a commuter goes through are different from a traditional dorming student. We learn to adapt and be effective during our long times at school. As commuters make up a large population of Fordham students, it is important to bring to light the challenges commuters face and include commuters in the Fordham social environment,” said Yoon.

Overall, Carino said she hopes that commuter students realize that they are appreciated during this month.

“I hope commuters remember that they are being remembered, and even though it can be hard to see. There are students fighting for them that are thankful for their presence and perspective on campus,” said Carino.