The Bland Life of the College

Vagabond

Robert Thomasian, Hira Rahman

Table of Contents
Identifying Challenges and Opportunities

Generating Insights from Empathy Research

Analyzing/Synthesizing Empathy Research

Generating Ideas

Building, Testing, Learning

Drawing Conclusions and Making Recommendations

Identifying Challenges and Opportunities

The life of a college student is a difficult one. When you add a daily commute, it creates

even more difficulties and responsibilities for the college student. Being commuters ourselves,
our daily experiences have sparked a strong interest for a research-based exploration of the

lifestyle. We focused our inquiry on the impacts of commuting on student wellbeing as a

manifestation of health. In collecting feedback from our stakeholders, we heavily relied on the

Empathize and Define segments of the design process. Across all stakeholder groups:

driving, shuttle, and working commuters, users reported that their time on campus is best

characterized by a lack of physical activity, energy, and social participation. Driving, public

transportation, and working commuter students need to find a way to feel refreshed and

energized at the start of every day in order to promote health.

In general, beyond our specific users, an absence of student vigor in the aforementioned

areas is very troubling. First of all, physical activity or exercise prevents chronic diseases,

boosts energy, and increases blood flow to the brain (CDC). Similarly, research shows that sleep

and relaxation are vitally important for promoting energy and immunity to disease

(FamilyDoctor.org). A 2012 study found that the accommodative nature of waiting spaces in

hospitals, most saliently their physical comfort, acoustic comfort, privacy, and technical

functionality, were found to be directly correlated to the length of the healing process for patients

and their feelings of rest (Huisman). In essence, the study found the impacts of indoor

environmental factors on user wellbeing to be statistically significant (Huisman). Finally, social

interaction through conversation, sharing, being in touch with others who have active, involved

lives gives living a purpose. Sharing with friends helps multiply the joys and divide the sorrow

(ValueOptions). Campus student organizations offer unparalleled opportunities for positive social

interaction. Subsequently, involvement in these organizations have been shown by many

longitudinal studies to endow students with significant psychosocial development and allow

them to establish purpose (Foubert).

offer an effective solution. This Commuter Corner app will first serve as an announcement

mechanism for commuter fitness events. Specifically, these conveniently timed group jogs and

walks will offer commuters a chance to exercise, while allowing them to socialize in and be part

of a formal campus student organization. Next, there will be an expansion of the designation of

Stamps Student Involvement Suite to officially include an actual, physical Commuter Corner.

In this space, commuters can spend their free time relaxing in a comfortable, technically

accommodating, and quiet space that is centrally located. Allowing commuters to have a space

that is theirs will increase their feelings of comfort as well as involvement. Ultimately, by adding

legitimacy to their lifestyle, commuters can be connected back to an accommodating campus.

Generating Insights From Empathy Research

Besides the inevitable and exhaustive nature of the commute, from our interviews, we

gained the strong insight that across all stakeholder groups: driving, public transportation, and

working commuters, students share the same experiences and perspectives with regards to their

free time on campus. This enables a composite character portrayal of their views.
 The first key question guiding our empathy research was identifying where most

commuters spend their time in between classes and work. During our exploration, users

expressed that they spend their time in centrally located buildings such as Stamp or Hornbake

Library. Kevin, a driving commuter, told us, I choose to chill in Stamp because I may have a

class in South Campus or North Campus, so being equidistant is important.

Next, we wanted to find out about commuters level of physical activity during their free

time. Asking whether or not commuter interviewees frequently go to the gym during this free

time produced a chorus of No. Our users attributed this to their lack of energy and the long

distance of the gym. Yasa, a shuttle commuter, said I barely have the energy to study, so what

makes you think I can walk all the way to the gym and do some cardio. John, a working

commuter, also said I used to go to the gym to lift weights before my shift at the lab, but

walking to the gym and back was so time consuming. I could barely get any reps in. Now, I dont

go at all. The lack of fitness motivation amongst commuters is not surprising. According to

fitness psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, It can be hard to push yourself during solo

workouts...having a workout buddy increases your chances of sticking with the program.

We were also interested in the sleeping habits of our interviewees. From our interviews,

we gained the strong impression that commuters do not get enough sleep. They regard their sleep

hygiene as tangled in a zero-sum game with the strains of commuting. Casey, a driving

commuter, said I dont even remember the last time that I got a full nights sleep. Hearing this,

we were immediately interested to know if commuters felt relaxed and able to recharge in spaces

like Stamp. When asked about physical comfort, interviewees stated that while chairs in Stamp

are comfortable, they often lack sliding desks. Alex, a driving commuter, said Its a huge strain

to have to work on your laptop when you are supporting it with your knees. Furthermore,
interviewees expressed that the high level of noise usually present in Stamp is discomforting.

Emily, a shuttle commuter, said I usually find myself fully concentrated on my chemistry

problem set, only to be disrupted by a loud conversation between two friends about their

weekend. Another deficiency commuters stressed to be existent was the lack of ample power

outlets in Stamp. Julie, a working commuter, said, Usually, the seats closest to a power outlet

are already taken. If I have no charge left, that means I have to temporarily put aside working on

the computer. Its frustrating. The grievances of these commuters are expected. In this regard,

discomfort is a sensitive indicator of the need for adjustments in environmental quality control.

(NRC).

Cognizant of the strains of coming to college everyday for commuters, we were eager to

know how connected they are to college itself. Specifically, we asked our interviewees about

their level of participation in student organizations. Unfortunately, we received very negative

responses. Our users conveyed that they are not able to be active members of most student

organizations because they are unable to attend their meetings. They expressed that most of these

meetings are held at night, during the time they have to commute back home. As a result, they

feel not only disconnected from the university community, but also isolated from social

interactions with peers. Josh, a driving commuter, said I dont even bother signing up for

student orgs anymore. Whats the use when Ill be absent at every meeting? Its terrible.

Furthermore, Erica, a working commuter, said I often feel left out since I am not active in any

organization. I obviously understand that its because of my commute, but after a while, having

no one to talk to takes a toll on you. As such, student involvement has long been studied as a

statistically significant positive contributor to desirable outcomes of the college student

experience (Aslin).
 After conducting our empathy research, a large question emerged. Primarily, we were

interested as to whether or not Stamp was uniformly an inhospitable environment to commuters.

Through carrying out additional interviews, we quickly got our answer. Users emphatically

stressed that the Stamps Student Involvement Suite was the one exception. They conveyed that

it contained all the physical, acoustic, and technical comforts and conveniences that other seating

areas in Stamp so profoundly lack.

However, commuters still had complaints about the Student Involvement Suite. These

were issues not with the space itself, but with its accessibility. First and foremost, while in the

SIS, users expressed that they felt officially unwelcome. Although any student can study in its

lobby area, the space is formally designated for student organizations. Nevertheless, our users

complained that there are too many limitations on the use of the space. Sam, a working

commuter, put it frankly, When I am in the SIS, I feel very comfortable. The chairs are great,

its pretty quiet, and my devices are plugged in to the table top power outlets. It's all perfect until

a SIS staff member informs me that I have to vacate my seat. A student organization has reserved

the table for the rest of the night, so I have to leave. Its nerve-wracking. Anna, a shuttle

commuter, said When I look at the SIS, I see so much potential wasted. There are at least a

dozen private carrels reserved for student organizations. They are almost always empty. The

carrels would be an awesome place to work on group projects with my friends. If only they

would let me. Furthermore, users expressed strong appreciation for certain design elements of

the SIS. At the top of their lists were the tables. The fact that the tables have top power outlets

were vitally important for our users. However, they expressed desire that there were more of

these tables. They believed that minor modifications such as the removal of circular wooden

benches and armchair type seating would allow for more tables in the SIS. With more seating
available, users expressed that they can continuously go to the SIS and not other parts of Stamp.

Ultimately, users expressed that they are able to feel the most relaxed in the SIS. As Chris, a

driving commuter, said, Its the closest thing a commuter has to a home on campus. Its the only

place I feel comfortable enough to put my head down and snooze.

of different types of commuters all converge once they are on campus.

indispensable design thinking tools such as stakeholder mapping and user empathy maps. These

allowed for the clear manifestation of the views, experiences, and needs of our stakeholders.

Below is an image of this tedious, but enriching step of the design process.

This is a user empathy map of important words/phrases/overlaps that we found in our

interviews.

We were able to synthesize our research by juxtaposing positive and negative features of

commuting. In this regard, we were able to identify salient drawbacks of the commuting life that

our POV statement could directly address. In essence, we quickly identified that commuters lack

vigor and optimism at the start of each school day. Also, during this process, we changed our

thinking. Specifically, we originally thought that the commute itself was a factor that we could

ameliorate. However, we soon realized that it is virtually impossible to circumvent variables such
as distances, traffic, and campus parking. Therefore, we focused exclusively on improving the

time students spend on campus.

Generating Ideas

Upon formulating our Point of View statement, we progressed through the ideation and

brainstorming process. The most salient insights we gained from our empathy research is that
there is much potential in improving the experience of commuters when they are on campus.

Specifically, we determined that fitness, greater connection to campus, and convenient spaces

were the most promising avenues of exploration.

We developed several How might we questions to guide our approach and generate

momentum in our brainstorming. Since we became cognizant that most commuters avoid the

university gym because of the long walk, we wanted to see how we might bring fitness

opportunities closer to them. Next, all users stressed that commuting disconnects them from the

campus community. In this regard, we wanted to see how we might provide opportunities for

these students to become integrated in campus activities with their peers that do not interfere

with their commutes. We also gained the strong insight that commuters spend most of their time

in Stamp. We wanted to explore how we might be able to make existing space in this building

more accommodating to commuters. Ultimately, our POV guided this process, ascertaining that

we focus on the goals of personal wellness and positivity in our approach.

Looking at our How might we questions, we generated several ideas that were

candidates for further development in prototyping. First, with regards to bringing fitness

opportunities to our users, we looked at holding group stationary cycling sessions in Stamp,

pickup soccer on the McKeldin mall, and group walks or jogs on campus trails. We quickly

eliminated the cycling sessions due to the costs of cycling equipement and lack of continuous

space for them in Stamp. Next, we eliminated soccer because of the unavoidable differences in

proficiencies that commuters would have playing together. The idea of group walks or jogs on

campus trails quickly appeared to be the most practical and efficient solution, providing quality,

individually challenging fitness for participants. Next, we thought of ways to promote commuter

interaction with one another in a student organization style setting. We thought of holding
commuter game nights, commuter breakfasts, commuter tailgates, and group fitness. We first

eliminated commuter game nights because of the difficulties of commuters attending night

events. Next, we eliminated commuter breakfasts because of the costs associated with holding

them limiting them to being held only on a periodical basis. Similarly, we eliminated tailgates

because they can only be held during football season, and usually on weekends when commuters

are at home. Again, group fitness appeared the offer the most capacity for convenient social

interaction on a continuous basis. Furthermore, cognizant of the high value of time for

commuters, group fitness couples both the need for physical activity and social communication.

Finally, when looking at how to make existing space in Stamp more accommodating, we looked

at several areas. First, we looked at the small study room across the hallway from Stamps main

reception desk. However, we omitted this option because of the relative lack of privacy in the

space. To access the study space, there are no doors and one is not isolated from the acoustical

nuisances of Stamp. Next, we considered the basement atrium lounge. Again, this lounge had no

privacy and tranquility, exposed to not only its surroundings on the basement floor but also all

subsequent floors above it due to the atrium nature of the ceiling. Finally, we decided to focus on

the Student Involvement Suite. Having already heard from interviewees about their ability to

benefit from the space, we were highly interested. Almost immediately, we were able to confirm

that that the space had considerable comfort, peace and quiet, and accommodative features.

Furthermore, having been recently renovated, the space lacks need for major renovations or

modifications.