Even with the opening of the Plimpton dormitory in the late 60s, available student housing was still a point of contention. Commuter students were students who lived within a certain mile radius of Barnard’s campus, and thus were not permitted to stay in the dorms (unless there was space available at the end of the housing lottery, and even then, the options were limited). Commuter students lamented how isolated they felt from the rest of the student body, and cut off from the sorts of after-class activities and clubs that campused students could partake in. They risked traveling home alone at night if they did decide to stay late to participate in an organization or go to the library. Required general education courses were typically offered early in the morning, meaning the students had to get there early. The college suggested that commuters try and find apartments at the Hotel Paris on 97th at West End, but even that was still very much a commute and did not provide the same sense of community.
The 1970 issue of student publication, Reorientation, summed up many commuter complaints (commuters comprised ⅓ of the student body at this time): “Commuters who must travel a considerable distance to get to Barnard are not the only ones who suffer: those commuters who live within the city limits and have relatively short trips are not exempt. Rain, snow, transit strikes and mechanical failures cause frequent delays” (12). The author was none too pleased about Macintosh, the building that was constructed for commuters and residents to mingle, either: “Most of all, it seems terribly stupid to have built a two story building in the middle of New York City in 1969, where rent per square foot is the highest in the world, just to preserve the view of Milbank Hall, while half of the student body is commuting and in dire need of dorm space! In addition, the design of McIntosh is such that no future additions can be made to it. Why couldn’t McIntosh, like Ferris Booth Hall, have had a dorm built on top of it???” In short, “The commuter situation at Barnard goes beyond getting more cots and study rooms. It involves the college’s inability to figure out its relation to its students” (13).
The 1970 issue of student publication, Reorientation, summed up many commuter complaints (commuters comprised ⅓ of the student body at this time): “Commuters who must travel a considerable distance to get to Barnard are not the only ones who suffer: those commuters who live within the city limits and have relatively short trips are not exempt. Rain, snow, transit strikes and mechanical failures cause frequent delays” (12). The author was none too pleased about Macintosh, the building that was constructed for commuters and residents to mingle, either: “Most of all, it seems terribly stupid to have built a two story building in the middle of New York City in 1969, where rent per square foot is the highest in the world, just to preserve the view of Milbank Hall, while half of the student body is commuting and in dire need of dorm space! In addition, the design of McIntosh is such that no future additions can be made to it. Why couldn’t McIntosh, like Ferris Booth Hall, have had a dorm built on top of it???” In short, “The commuter situation at Barnard goes beyond getting more cots and study rooms. It involves the college’s inability to figure out its relation to its students” (13).