Michelle Abacherli/The Mirror
As emails from the Housing office at Fairfield flood mailboxes campus wide, many sophomores are left reflecting on this year’s residential experiences with the Living and Learning Communities.
The question resonates- We’re living, but are we really learning?
“I think the living and learning communities stand for good causes, but I don’t think everybody that lives in them takes it seriously,” says Allie Cavalea ’13, resident of the Ignatian Residential College at Loyola Hall. “A lot of sophomores just think of it as just a way to be guaranteed housing.”
What It’s All About
Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Development, Joe Defeo, along with a team of Area Coordinators and personnel from Residence Life took a chance by developing the Living and Learning communities to cater to sophomore housing.
“We’ve learned a lot from this year and have made changes to better inform first year students about their options and the commitment required,” says DeFeo. “Next year we will have the same five residential colleges.”
The five communities, Creative Life, Environmental, Ignatian, Leadership, and Service for Justice communities, feature retreats, monthly meetings, and weekly events in an effort to foster a community dynamic.
According to DeFeo, they were designed to “provide opportunities for students to expand their horizons, deepen their intellectual abilities, and reflect meaningfully on their hopes for living authentically.”
Yet sophomores are conflicted as to whether the Living and Learning Communities truly do achieve what they set out to do.
What We Like
Students from Bellarmine Hall rave about living in what some consider to be the nicest dorm on campus.
“The dorm is beautiful,” says Tyler Haviland ’13 of his residence at Bellarmine, which is home to the Creative Life community.
“Fairfield did a great job, not only with the rooms, but with the study lounges and common areas. Everything is really new and really nice. I recommend anyone who is interested in living here to come check it out,” he said.
Another perk of the Living and Learning communities is the multiple programs that are hosted weekly, which provide students with food, beverages and place to socialize.
“There’s a lot of extra amenities like free food, free drinks, a huge common room with games and books and stuff,” explains Cavalea ’13.
What We Don’t Like
No matter how much free food and extra square footage these communities may offer, many students have expressed that they feel as though they aren’t getting what they bargained for.
“I feel part of a community only due to the fact that I’m living with my friends- not so much in reference to the building as a whole,” says Jogues resident Connor Leahey.
This is a common complaint among residents of Bellarmine, the Suites and Jogues alike.
“I do not feel as though the money allotted to our community was used effectively,” Leahey continues. “I’m sure most students feel the same way. The Jogues events are never attended and overall fiscally irresponsible in every sense.”
Other students who have grievances with the Living and Learning communities almost unanimously agree that their living situations felt as though they’d been imposed or forced upon them.
“The way that the Living and Learning communities are set up now is such that if you don’t apply to one, you’re pretty much screwed on housing as a sophomore,” says Bellarmine resident, Brady Dow.
Students Versus Staff
“I feel a part of my community,” says Haviland. “I am not sure if it is really because of the residential college though. I feel the friendships I had coming in to the building developed into new ones with other friends.”
Tara Rupp, Area Coordinator of Bellarmine, attests that the sophomores in the Creative Life Community seem to be reacting well to new program.
“Based on the Quality of Life surveys, informal feedback I’ve received from residents and what I’ve seen in the building, there is a good sense of community within 42 Bellarmine,” she says. “Many students have told me that being within a smaller community that has lots of great common spaces and programs makes it easier to get to know people.”
Area Coordinators from Jogues and the Suites were contacted but did not respond to interviews.
The communication gap between what students think and what administrators understand is apparent through the words of students themselves.
“The administrators must realize that not everyone wants to be placed into a forced living environment where everyone has differentiated view points on the community as a whole,” Leahey says. “Additionally, if this ‘community’ idea continues again for next year, they must really commit towards the idea. At this point, it feels half hearted and terribly disorganized.”
Moving Forward
“If students choose not to take advantage of these opportunities, or choose not to get involved in the life of their community they are doing themselves a disservice and missing the point of an authentic Jesuit and Catholic education at Fairfield University,” said Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Development Joe Defeo.
DeFeo and his team are working to inform Freshmen about the communities in an attempt to avoid the rampant discontent that many sophomores are addressing currently.
“I feel that Joe DeFeo flies under the radar for the work and effort he puts into all the communities, not just Bellarmine,” says Haviland ’13. “However, forcing students to live in Jogues if they choose not to participate will lead to students applying, and being accepted, but not participating at all.”
Some rising sophomores say that they’re beginning to feel forced into the Living and Learning Communities much like the current class did.
“I applied to the environmental residential college in Kostka for next year because I hoped applying it would give me a better chance of getting into the dorm than the lottery would,” says Freshman Amanda Dellot.
“I felt obligated to apply because everyone made it seem like without it, it would be a really hard time getting into a dorm you wanted- especially considering there are only two other options.”
In the meantime, sophomores look to offer their feedback.
“I think they should be either lower tuition or allocating funds to more things the students want, like a new RecPlex and bettering Barone,” suggests Bryan Shea of Bellarmine. “Not on forcing us to go on retreats or to ‘community’ events. It’s completely unnecessary that we are paying so much to go to this school and most students do not want to be a part of these communities that we’re forced into.”
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