Maharashtra’s Amity University students experience quite different lives depending on where they live during their graduation or post-graduation. The lives of hostellers and day scholars differ to a large extent.
One of the major challenges for a college student is to reach the class on time. Not all students have the luxury of having a home close to the campus. Many of them opt for campus facilities like hostels and many others either live with their families or friends near the campus.
While hostellers have the privilege of living on the campus, the day scholars have to commute daily; even though they go to the same college and attend the same classes, they can have entirely different experiences in terms of living situations, friendships, freedom, etc.
When the hostellers and day scholars of Amity shared their experiences with this correspondent, they revealed new perspectives.
Hostellers
For many students, one of the positive points of living in a hostel on campus is that it allows them to sleep late as they don’t have to travel a long distance to reach the campus. This way, they save a lot of time, energy and money. Moreover, unlike students who live by themselves, the hostellers don’t have to cook their food, worry about paying monthly rent, electricity bills, cleaning their rooms, etc, which are taken care of by the hostel staff.
Kosanam Karuna John, an aeronautical engineering student who is an ex-hosteller in Amity, shared that making friends and creating memories during hostel life is a big achievement in life.
“Friends are the main thing, friends are the main purpose,” John said. According to John, it’s easier to make friends in a hostel as one is surrounded by people of the same age. There are also many avenues for recreation to enjoy with friends in a hostel like sports, cafeteria or just sitting and admiring the sunset at sunset point. Living without parents in the hostel also eases a person into an independent lifestyle in the future.
However, several hostellers also complain that there is a lack of freedom inside the hostel. They say they have to return to their rooms by 9.15 pm. The campus gates also close after 9 pm, which makes it difficult for the hostellers to enter their hostel if they arrive late in the evening.
They also mention the submission of an ‘out pass’, a slip that hosteller students must submit to the warden before stepping out of the university with permission from their parents and sometimes even their faculty.
Jessica John a second-year Fashion Communication student explains, “Even with the proper permission from parents and faculty, the wardens can be stingy about issuing an out pass. They only issue the out passes during class hours making it harder on the students to get it issued. They also don’t issue an out pass for the same day, making it harder for students as they can’t plan a day prior every time they need to leave campus.”
Many hostellers also mention the lack of activities around the campus. As the campus is located in the far reaches of Panvel, surrounded by jungles and villages, living in a hostel can make one feel a little secluded from the normal city life expected of Mumbai. Being so far from the hustle and bustle of the town also makes it harder for them to travel out of campus.
Day scholars
Day scholars have a very different life. Their days start with waking up early in the morning. They have to leave early and then travel by bus, autos, trains or personal vehicles, sometimes using two or three modes of transportation daily to reach the campus.
Day scholars from any college face the universal problem of cancelled classes, however, in Amity, the stakes are much higher considering day scholars have to travel very long distances only to have to sit in the cafeteria for hours due to cancelled classes wasting their energy for a low reward.
Day scholars can be further divided into two categories—those who live with their parents and those who live by themselves.
Many ex-hostellers tend to leave after the first year and live in a rented flat. The main reason behind this is their quest to enjoy a slice of freedom. But with freedom, there comes great responsibility.
Clarisa Pradeep, a second-year psychology student says “When you live in a flat it is very important to take the initiative for things like calling the maid, cleaning the house or splitting into house items.” She also mentions the cost of living. “The prices are so much, everything gets more expensive, almost double,” she adds.
But for many, the freedom and the shorter distance from college make up for it all even if it is a little more difficult to live alone as an individual. It teaches many students how to manage funds, a house, electricity, water and living with other people while also juggling their college studies.
Finally, many students are fortunate enough to have their parents live near campus, they live comfortably without having to worry about hostel in-times or rent.
When asked about their experience living with their parents, Aditya Saran, a first-year business administration student says, “What a lot of them (hostellers) have in common is not living with family. You can choose your crowd but at home, you have to follow your dad and mom”.
Finally, ARS Harini, a third-year clinical psychology student says, “Based on what your priority in life is you should shift around.” Harini highlights that choosing where to stay and commute to college is based on individual needs and what is more important to the student at that time.
But how do you, the reader, reach your classroom?
