With UConn’s Family Weekend in the rearview, it’s time to reflect on the issue of visiting—or not visiting—home. It’s an unspoken rule that when you go to college, you’re supposed to go home for the least amount possible. It is expected we stay on campus for the weekends and only go home for the holiday breaks. This rhetoric has led to people looking down on visiting home, but this is completely unnecessary. Sometimes, after a bad week or even just a bad day, it makes sense to want to return to a comfortable environment. I view visiting home as a little pick me up. There’s nothing better than taking a little trip to pet your dog or bake with your sister. Even a short day trip without spending the night could earn critiques from some of your peers.
A main argument people have against going home is that it will make it harder to adjust to college life. Unless you’re going home every single weekend, I find this to be false. People view weekends as important to college life because that’s when most social events and free time are. The first week of college is typically the most daunting, so if you make it past that point before spending the night at home, you’re in the clear.
If you’re at the point where you’re most looking forward to visiting home, the people who are ridiculing your decision are not going to entice you to stay. Especially in the early stages of freshman year, you should give your fellow students some grace. Framing your decision to go home as giving up can turn a break into a stressful situation.
The argument that going home is bad for adjusting purposes is probably the most valid. In comparison, the argument about it being a financial waste is the most frustrating. With the constantly increasing tuition, the price of school is an ever-looming issue. It’s important to remember that there is no way to get your money’s worth when everything costs too much, so bringing up how much people spend just to not be here every second is an exaggeration. Swiping your Husky One card one less time in the dining hall won’t be the biggest loss you face at UConn.
Also, let’s not pretend that people are leaving campus to go to another dormitory. They’re probably leaving to enjoy a nice shower—one that doesn’t require shoes to be worn—and air-conditioning or heat. Why risk your clothes not fully drying in the Connecticut Hall laundry room again? With the ongoing Wi-Fi issues at UConn this semester, I wouldn’t be surprised if people are yearning for the consistent connection they have at their houses.
This issue of debating whether it is a good idea to go home is an extra pertinent one at a school like UConn. Since UConn is a public school, and Connecticut’s flagship university, it is a very popular option for Connecticut residents. 69% of undergraduates on UConn’s Storrs campus are Connecticut residents. This means that UConn has more people closer to home than average universities, so it’s more likely for them to visit home. Students at UConn’s additional four regional campuses—Hartford, Avery Point, Stamford and Waterbury—can live at the Storrs campus and commute to classes. This privilege can give underclassmen access to their cars if they purchase a parking pass, meaning not just upperclassmen have the ability to drive home, but some first and second years as well. All these factors add to the number of people who can easily visit home.
Transforming the idea of going home into a negative connotation only hurts the people who want to go home. If you don’t want to go home but rather embrace the independence of college life, I think you should do just that. However, turning either of these options into something shameful or embarrassing is only harmful for both parties. There is no gain from judging students who have the access to go home and take advantage of it. Just because someone visits home more than you doesn’t mean you’re experiencing college life any better than they are, so there’s no point in looking down on them.