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Special to Tube City Almanac

"I hate having to make my own fun," says Maria Marroquin, one of about 150 residents living in McKeesport Hall at Penn State Greater Allegheny. Her daily routine can be described as "eat, sleep, homework and repeat."

Marroquin is a sophomore business marketing major from Washington, D.C., and after a long day of homework and studying, she --- like almost every other college student --- just wants to find something fun to do.

But the Penn State Greater Allegheny campus sits on the border between McKeesport and White Oak, and the surrounding area doesn't compare to downtown Pittsburgh, the South Side or even the Waterfront with all of their attractions, including movie theaters, retail stores and restaurants. The surrounding neighborhood can seem dull.

Fortunately, PSUGA does offer shuttle buses that can take students to other places.

Unfortunately, the shuttles only offer rides on the weekends --- and you have to go when the shuttle is ready to go, or it might leave without you.

"To get to interesting places, most students have to rely on people that have cars or rely on the shuttles with only a handful of places to go," said Ashley Lowenstein, a freshman bio-engineering major who hails from San Jose, Calif. "If there were more entertainment in the area, more students would stay on campus instead of going home on the weekends."

. . .

If that's the story for those who come from the opposite side of the country, what about international students who traveled to PSUGA from the opposite side of the world?

"Not having many attractions or places to visit definitely causes boredom," says Carrie Li, a sophomore business major who lives on campus but is originally from Singapore. Before moving here, she enjoyed karaoke and participating in an activity called "forest adventure," an obstacle course complete with a zip-line.

Li now enjoys, "Movies, shopping, restaurants, restaurants, and restaurants" (with an emphasis on the restaurants). Unfortunately, it's difficult for her to find the means of travel to get to all the restaurants she would like to visit.

"It's really frustrating being stuck on a campus this small all of the time," says Jaleel Dyson, another PSUGA resident.

. . .

One alternative to a lack of activities geared toward college students is getting extremely involved with campus clubs and organizations. Dyson chairs the Campus Activities Board (CAB), an organization in its first year consisting of students who work to advertise, organize, and execute events on campus.

"I just try to do my best with making events and activities on campus to try and make up for the lack of scenery change," Dyson says, "but I would still like to get out and about once in a while."

CAB is currently planning a "Glow Dance" for the students in April, as well as looking into entertainment to bring to campus for Spring Fling week.

. . .

Sheritta Wilkerson, PSUGA coordinator of residence life and student activities, oversees the campus activities board and more importantly works directly with residence assistants. The residence assistants (RAs) are students who live on campus and help plan events for other students who live at PSUGA.

"RAs are the direct connection to the residential students," Wilkerson says. "They live with them, they hear and see their problems, wants and needs firsthand and as such are able to gauge with activities the residential students would most likely want to participate in."

The campus brings in entertainment and activities for students, Wilkerson says, but this still leaves the issue of cabin fever after being stuck on the campus for months at a time.

. . .

McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko understands why students might be bored and has a few suggestions.

"The students have an open-door policy here in City Hall and my staff and I will be a cooperative force with any venture the students would like to take on," Cherepko says.

He says his slogan, "Working Together for a Better McKeesport," includes the students of Penn State Greater Allegheny and the community of McKeesport working together to create more events, activities and opportunities for individuals, whether or not they live on the PSUGA campus.

"We are always looking for volunteers for several of our community programs and activities that we offer," Cherepko says. "I would like to hear and see any and all ideas or projects the students have to become involved in our community."

Residential students can find places to go and activities from local community sources such as the Daily News, the McKeesport newspaper; InMcKeesport, the community magazine; and the City of McKeesport's website, Cherepko says.

. . .

Those are good ideas, Wilkerson says. "In my own opinion, it can never hurt to have a variety of activities available in any given area," she says. "I think the students would appreciate having more local options when looking for things to do."

"I definitely do believe that local community involvement will help benefit the students," Dyson says. "I think it would also attract more students to the campus and vice versa if we could see what we had to offer one another."

. . .

Jacqueline Dell is a student at Penn State University Greater Allegheny majoring in corporate communications. A resident of Pittsburgh's South Hills, she has worked on the campus newspaper, The Collegian, since 2012. Dell serves as one of the university's Lion Ambassadors and is a member of the Penn State Student Government Association.

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