Beginning this semester, upperclass students living on campus will have the opportunity to create their own Living Learning Communities (LLCs).
Matt Forrest, president of the Resident Hall Association (RHA) and Associated Student Government (ASG) secretary for on-campus affairs, said the stipulation that sophomores live on campus next year was "one of the driving forces" behind the program.
Mike O'Neal, director of second year programming, helped pave the way for the new programs.
"All you need is an idea," O'Neal said. "This is going to be run completely by the students. You fill out an application and turn it in to my office, then prepare to present it to a committee."
To apply, students must give a description of the program they wish to implement, estimate the funds needed for their program, find a faculty adviser and designate one student as community coordinator and one as community treasurer.
"There are two purposes behind this program," O'Neal added. "The first is for students to be creative and take responsibility for what they want their homes to be like. Then, they will be able to develop what they want and receive the funding to have programs within their homes."
While sophomores may have been the impetus behind the creation of the program, O'Neal said all upperclass students are welcome to participate in it.
"We want to add to the existing options, but not take away from them," O'Neal said. "This program will have no effect on existing LLCs or on fraternities and sororities."
Forrest and the RHA also helped push the idea forward.
"This is a great option to take student creativity to the next level, for students to get funding and back their ideas up," Forrest said. "For example, microbiology students could integrate their community into what they're doing in class. They could visit labs, museums and really make it a community building experience."
O'Neal said upperclassmen do not need to worry that there will be less on-campus housing for them when this program begins.
"This has already been taken into account, ever since the university decided to make it a requirement for sophomores to live on campus," O'Neal said.
Students who wish to participate in this new program must fulfill several requirements. They must first choose whether the LLC will be co-ed or single gender and must have between 10 and 16 members in their group.
If accepted by the committee, the student groups can choose to live together in the following residence halls: Hepburn, Flower, Hahne, Ogden, Porter, Scott or Swing.
"The groups can be based around anything," said O'Neal when asked what sort of communities he expected to see. "They might be academic related, they might be based around an athletic team, or an intramural team, or around spirituality. Anything is possible as long as there's a learning aspect."
Applications are being sent to all first-years to promote the program. Any other students interested in the creation of an LLC can pick up an application in 217 Warfield Hall. The deadline for the application is 4:30 p.m. Feb. 13. When asked what they thought of the program, several students seemed open to the idea.
"This is really cool, and I'd definitely be interested in it," said first-year chemistry student Janessa Dannenfaulser. "I would love to do something like a fitness-based program, and I'll definitely consider applying for it."
First-year Corry Holliday also said he was interested in the program.
"If I found enough people with the same interests as me, I'd look into applying for a hall," Holliday said.
First-year Christian Adams said the program is an interesting idea, although he was unsure as to how effective it might be in really influencing the living environment of students.
"It might be a good idea, although I'm already in the Honors and Scholars LLC and it hasn't had a huge impact on my environment," Adams said. "You could make this into a good opportunity if you wanted to."
