By Laura Hoksbergen

Features Editor

For some students on campus, the NRA has nothing to do with guns. In fact, for these students, the NRA is an organization that allows them to make friends and become part of the Calvin community.

Indeed, to commuter students, the NRA, or Non-Resident's Association, allows them to experience something similar to dorm life.

``Because there's a group for commuters, I don't feel like I don't know anyone on campus,'' said Jacque Alberta, club treasurer. ``And we do a lot of activities together, so there's a vicarious dorm retreat experience for me.''

``Commuter students make up 40 percent of students at Calvin College,'' said John Britton, assistant dean of student development and the advisor of the Non-Residents Association. ``The vast majority of these students are upperclassmen, since we require first and second year students to stay on campus. Of the 1,035 first-year students that attend Calvin, 30 live off campus with family members. So this is a small percentage of the class.''

There are various reasons why students may live off campus their first years at Calvin.

``I became a commuter student because driving to campus everyday is much cheaper than living on campus,'' said Alberta. ``I drive from Hudsonville every day, and even at that great distance, gas per year is cheaper than living in a dorm room.''

``I don't think dorm life is for me anyway,'' she continued. ``I know living in a dorm is a great experience, but I need sleep and my own private quarters. I've stayed in the dorms already, and it was fun for a night, but I wouldn't want to stay there everyday.''

``[For me], it was probably the money reason,'' said Jenny deFouw, another member of the organization. ``I'm paying for Calvin myself, so to chop off$5,000 was pretty nice.''

Not to mention the extra perks that come with staying home.

``The best part of being a commuter student is that you still have all the comforts of home, and can escape the Calvin bubble whenever you want,'' Alberta said. ``Plus, I'd rather have my own laundry room where I know my clothes will not shrink and I'd rather have home cooked meals.''

``Definitely the superior food,'' deFouw said, smiling.

At the same time, there are difficulties.

By the time upperclassmen move off campus, they have usually become involved enough on campus to have a friendship base. First-year students who live off campus with relatives have a harder time connecting.

``Commuters feel separate,'' says Alberta, a sophomore. ``We can't visit those people we do know, because our ID cards won't work in the dorms. If the deskie isn't there, we really can't get in unless a resident comes along with their key, and we sneak in after them.''

``Calvin isn't exactly commuter friendly,'' said deFouw, ``So [I would like to see] more activities to include everyone.''

The NRA was started a few years back by three students who felt left out of student life simply because they did not live in the dorms or the apartments.

Now, there are approximately 10 to 15 students who get together every Monday night for a meeting, and twice a month to hang out and have fun.

``We do big activities like go to the beach or cookout or something else [like that],'' deFouw commented. ``Otherwise we have movie nights, games, go out for dinner, etc. We also go to Cedar Point at the end of the year.''

Making underclassmen aware of this organization begins early in the year.

``During orientation we make an attempt to connect first year commuters,'' said Britton. ``These first-year commuter students have many challenges because Calvin is so dominated by residential students. We want to provide they the opportunity to connect with other who share similar experiences.''

All in all, the club seems to be working well.

``For the people involved I think it's going very well,'' said deFouw. ``We've really built a community of friends among us all. We try to keep it informal, and try to get to really know the people who come and get them involved. We keep it fun.''

Of course, despite the club's efforts, some things are still difficult.

``If I could change one thing, I would like there to be a better way to meet on-campus students,'' said Alberta. ``Because we're a separate group, we don't really get to know these students, and we stick basically to our own group.''