Commuters

While the majority of Gordon’s students are residential, students commuting locally are an important part of the Gordon family and we want you to feel at home on campus. With that in mind, we’ve introduced the following resources for you on campus.

On-campus Activities

The majority of events, whether athletic, social, fine arts, etc. are conducted after 4:30 p.m. or on the weekends. We would strongly encourage you to consider joining a club, attending theater productions or concerts, get involved in La Vida, or check out what the Campus Events Council is doing for the weekend. Make sure to check your email daily for what’s happening. The Office of Student Life is ready to assist you in making these connections. There’s a lot that goes on at Gordon and we want you to be a part of it!

The Residence Hall “Adoption” Program 

The primary developer of the community at Gordon is the residence hall, as students interact hour-by-hour as they go about their daily routines. First-year commuting students have the opportunity to be “adopted” by a particular residence hall floor. Once this relationship is assigned, the commuting student is given key or card access to the residence hall, and is able to use residence hall lounges/kitchens during the day, and is invited to participate in floor and hall events. Commuters are required to observe the normal “sleepover” guidelines, limiting overnights with friends to three consecutive days, twice per month. To inquire about this program, please email [email protected].  

The Commuter Lounge

Commuters are given card access to the lounge located in Jenks Library 221. This lounge is exclusively for the use of commuters and has lockers, a sink with filtered water, Keurig machine (bring your own coffee!), microwave, and a refrigerator. Lockers are first-come, first-served, and are useful for storing lunches, backpacks, books, etc. We prefer that you use a lock provided by the Office of Student Life, as all other locks will be removed if left at the end of the year. To sign-out a lock, please email [email protected].

Chapel Attendance 

All students taking a full-time academic credit load (12 credits or more) are required to attend a specified number of chapels per semester. Resident students are required to attend thirty, and commuting students are required to attend fifteen. 

Parking

Commuters can park in most campus parking lots with the exception of the Bennett Center parking lot, the Ken Olsen Science Center parking lot, and specific spots that have “Reserved For” signs. All parking lots that have restrictions have a sign at the entrance identifying who is eligible to park in that lot. All campus parking regulations can be viewed here, or if you have any questions regarding parking, you can always call Gordon Police at 978.867.4444.

Every vehicle operated on campus by a student, faculty, or staff member must be registered with Gordon Police on the first day it is brought to campus. This includes part-time and commuter students. You may register online at any time; a form is available on the GO site (which is preferred) or on the public site (if you are unable to access the GO site for some reason). There is no payment required when you register; the applicable registration fee will be charged to your student account. All commuter students are automatically billed the yearly registration fee at the start of the school year. If you are a commuter, but you will not be driving a car to campus or parking on campus any time during the school year (e.g., you are dropped off), contact Gordon Police via email ([email protected]) to arrange for removal of the fee.