It seems like the stereotype of college students as disobedient, destructive and distracted has existed for centuries. Otherwise, you really have to wonder what made the founders of so many schools across the United States decide to put their campuses in the middle of nowhere. It's hard to get up to Hanover, and it's sometimes even harder to leave. We joke about being stuck in the middle of the woods, but our situation is far from unique. There are hundreds of institutions throughout the country that are described as "rural" campuses. And while some aspects of these colleges' cultures are similar, a variety of methods do exist for traveling to these obscure corners of higher education.
Westminster College is located in New Wilmingston, Penn., a small town whose population doesn't even break 2,500, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. For comparison, that's less than a quarter the size of Hanover.
"It's literally in the middle of Amish country," Lydia Moss, a freshman at Westminster, said. "I can see their farms from my window."
Most students at Westminster have cars because they live within driving distance of the school, according to Moss. Like at Dartmouth, they walk to and from class because the campus is small only about 1,600 students attend Westminster and people rarely go home over weekends because Greek life is so prominent.
Similarly, Caroline Rakes, a freshman who recently transferred to Wake Forest University from Furman University, located in Greenville, S.C., said that Greek life at Furman was "pretty dominating" because it was hard to travel to big cities notice a trend? While Furman is located in Greenville, the urban part of the city is about 15 minutes from campus, Rakes said. Although Hanover isn't exactly a bustling metropolis, it's hard to imagine not being able to walk into town for dinner once in a while.
"There's not a lot to do anywhere nearby," Rakes said. "You needed to have a car to go get ice cream or something."
While the majority of Furman students walk or ride their bikes to class, there are definitely exceptions, Rakes said.
"Athletes all had mopeds for some reason," she said. "I really don't know why."
Audrey Williams, a sophomore at Taylor University in Upland, Ind., said she has trouble actually getting to and from school.
"We joke around that we're in the middle of a cornfield, which is pretty true," Williams said. "There's a lot of farming communities around us. It's a lot like Mayberry from The Andy Griffith Show.' There's no stoplight in Upland. There's a gas station that students hang out at."
Getting to somewhere that is even more isolated than Hanover isn't always easy for students who don't live in bordering states. For those who come from farther away, the university has carpooling groups for getting home for breaks.
"It's a Taylor carpooling network," she said. "You'll receive texts or emails if someone is looking for a ride based on where you live."
As for moving around on campus itself, the majority of students at Taylor also walk or bike everywhere. Like in Hanover, driving "is never really that necessary," Williams said.
"You only do it if you just don't feel like walking somewhere," she added.
And of course, there are always the few students at every school who choose to use a means of transportation that just doesn't seem efficient. For example, Williams said there is a group of students that use longboards as their primary means of transportation around campus. There is just no way that is practical.
Regardless of how students in rural areas get to and around their schools, a consensus seems to exist that there is something about being in the middle of nowhere that brings a campus closer together. Because really, when you're quarantined from all forms of civilization, what else are you supposed to do?
