New residential colleges are being created by the Living and Learning Center for sophomores next academic year. Photo Illustration by Meghan Schelzi.
It’s that dreaded time of the year again — the quickly approaching housing lottery for all students. Rising seniors attempt to get approval to live off campus in the anticipated beach houses, rising juniors clamor to round up enough friends to fill a townhouse, and rising sophomores debate vying for housing in the usual lottery process or applying to live in a residential college.
The sophomore housing debate has just gotten more interesting this year — the office of Living and Learning has introduced three new residential college options, in addition to the two colleges that already exist. The living and learning communities focus on a variety of themes: Creative Life, Environmental Life, Leadership in the Ignatian Tradition, Service for Justice, and the Ignatian Residential College.
Residential colleges provide students unique opportunities to create communities within their homes on campus.
“They all look at the question of vocation — that’s the overarching theme that holds everything together,” explained Joe Defeo, the director of Living and Learning at Fairfield.
Yet the residential colleges being introduced this year all focus on different themes, adding new levels of interest to the concept of living in an alternative community setting.
The Living and Learning Office Web site explains the components of residential colleges, defining the residential aspect as “an intentional living/learning community in an intentionally designed building … that fosters friendships of quality and depth, encourages learning from one another and celebrates the diversity of its members.”
It goes on to explain the college component, which provides “a unique educational experience on the Fairfield campus where students, faculty and staff engage in common pursuit of the meaning and purpose of our lives and of all of reality, sharing that conversation with the greater university community.”
“I feel that I have built a much more close-knit and meaningful community by living in a residential college than I would have in a traditional dorm,” said Courtney Monaghan ‘12, a current resident in the Service for Justice Residential College. “I got to meet people and have experiences that you don’t anywhere except at a residential college. I think it’s a great way for sophomores to discover new passions and to come together with a community who shares similar goals.”
Each residential college is led by an organizational team, including a faculty chair, the building area coordinator, an on and off-campus resource figure, and Defeo.
Eventually, the University hopes to have all sophomore students participate in Living and Learning communities. Yet for now, participation is voluntary.
“Students can choose to participate or not, and the idea behind that was ‘let’s build a program and let the students participate in building these programs’,” said Defeo. “That’s really where the identity is going to come from. All we’re doing is providing a shell of structure and opportunities for students to engage … each year, the identity and the interests of the students form the community.”
Though the thought of living in a residential college can seem intimidating to some, Defeo reinforced the reality of being involved.
“It’s not going to rule their lives,” he noted. “Sometimes students think it’s going to be so much of a commitment …there’s plenty of time for those students to be athletes, to be a nursing student, to be in the business school, to be in the Glee Club, to do all the things they love to do and still have a meaningful community experience.”
The Living & Learning Web site explains that each residential college includes “specialized courses, integrative seminars, mentor programs, retreats [and] related events” in order to bring college members closer together to form a community. Each community is guided by three main questions that are specific to the theme of the college, like the Ignatian Residential College’s “Who am I? Whose am I? Who am I called to be?”
Each residential college has its benefits, and the new themes are tailored to fit the interests of many students in the rising sophomore class.
The Creative Life Residential College will be located in St. Ignatius House in four-person suites, a location that can hold about 130 students. The St. Ignatius House, also known as the old Jesuit Residence, has been remodeled in order to better accommodate the new community that will soon be moving in. The new community will help individuals to exercise their creativity at school, and encourages participation from students who may have never considered their creativity before.
Students in the Environmental Life Residential College will be housed in Kostka Hall in four-person suites. According to the Living & Learning Residential College Web site, students in the Environmental Life college will “explore important current environmental issues as well as their deeper links to the natural world, to other people, and to future generations.”
The Ignatian Residential College will remain in Loyola Hall on the quad, and the Service for Justice Residential College will still be in Jogues Hall. The Ignatian Residential College is now in its eighth year, and will continue to concentrate on employing “the Ignatian model of reflection to discover the intellectual, social and spiritual truths” for both students on campus and in the greater community and world, the Web site explains. The Service for Justice Residential College focuses on an understanding of service and diversity, communication about causes and differences, and a willingness to help change injustices and issues that permeate society.
Defeo also emphasized the openness of each community despite their specific-sounding names.
“It’s important to realize that we …want students from all aspects of the University to be in each community,” he said.
Just because a student applies to live in the Creative Life Residential College doesn’t mean they cannot also be a leader like those in the Leadership in the Ignatian Tradition Residential College, and students in the LIT Residential College should also have some elements of creativity. The residential colleges do not aim to limit the talents, interests and abilities of the residents to fit the specific community themes — they aim to examine each quality through the lens of the theme.
“You form a sense of community, a sense of meaning, and there’s something important happening,” Defeo said. “Give the power to the students …that’s where you get the best experience for all involved.”
Information sessions will be held in the coming weeks so students can speak to other individuals who have lived in residential colleges and can talk about their experiences. Additional information and further explanations of the application process will also be available.
“At the very least, we want them to have fun,” Defeo said. “And [we want them to] network some meaningful friendships and get a deeper sense of community than they’ve had before.”
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