Students flock to dorm communities

If your living situation doesn’t complement your interests or provide you with a community, then living-learning centers might be your answer.

Residential Programs and Services offers several themed communities on campus that are tailored to student interests. Two of the most well-known LLCs include Collins Living-Learning Center and the Global Village Living-Learning Center, although other communities, such as media, fi tness and outdoor interests are also available.

Sara Ivey-Lucas , assistant director of housing assignments, said LLCs can be either student or faculty initiated. For example, beginning in fall 2009, the business community that is currently offered by RPS will be transformed into the Kelley Living-Learning Center due to the increased involvement of faculty members of IU’s Kelley School of Business.
Ivey-Lucas also notes freshmen living in the centers generally return in higher numbers for their sophomore year than students who did not live in an LLC during their freshman year.

Sophomore Leah Myhre lives at the Global Village and considers the “real sense of community” as one of the best factors of the Village. She returned to the Global Village this year not only because she enjoyed living in the Village during her first year, but also to live with friends she made her freshman year.

Sophomore Alexandra Curtis lives in Collins LLC and also cites her friendships as a major reason she returned to Collins for a second year. But, she also returned due to the programming and the Collins activities in which she is involved.

In the Global Village, where the focus is based on international languages and cultures, the residents enjoy a variety of events pertaining to world cultures.

Each year, the residents take a weekend trip to Chicago to tour ethnic neighborhoods and museums. At IU, they also enjoy celebrations of global holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day and Oktoberfest.

Student involvement in planning these activities is also encouraged.

Yara Clüver , associate director of academics, publications and art at Collins, said students have a lot of options in the type of programming that occurs at the centers. Freshman Evan Voss, a Collins resident, said he agrees that students are “listened to” when expressing their opinions.

At Collins, students can be involved in the Board of Educational Programming – which selects and approves seminars that Collins offers each semester – EForce, an environmental group; or several artistic opportunities, such as a literary magazine.

The Global Village also offers specialized interest groups in arts, politics, film, public service and the environment. In addition, they offer language clusters to provide a group environment for students to learn languages.

However, residing in a living-learning center is not all fun and games. All residents are required to take Q199, which introduces them to their respective centers and culminates in some sort of project that contributes to the theme of their community. Collins residents are required to take a “Collins seminar” each year.

Living-learning center residents also pay a $100 fee in addition to the room and board rate each semester, which contributes to the programming in each community.

Despite these requirements, most students agree residing in a living-learning center poses few disadvantages.

Lauren Caldarera, assistant director of the Global Village, said she feels the Village “makes IU a smaller place,” a sentiment with which freshman and Collins resident Ella Hartley agrees.
Collins offers an “active support system,” she said.