In the 2015-16 school year, Elizabethtown College’s Residence Life will expand its on-campus housing options for students through the development of two new Living Learning Communities (LLCs). The current Honors LLC will be expanded to include students of all years, and the new Nest LLC will provide a substance-free housing option for upperclassmen.
Dr. Kyle Kopko, assistant professor of political science and director of the Honors Program supports the movement to consolidate Honors students. “By opening the LLC to non-first-year students, we hope to connect students across class years and help strengthen bonds within the Honors Program,” Kopko said.
During his enrollment at Elizabethtown, Kopko found it helpful to live among his peers in the Honors Program. “When I was a student in the Honors Program, one of the greatest academic benefits the program provided was the ability to collaborate and talk about ideas with students, no matter what their class year,” Kopko said.
As the Honors LLC expands to include upperclassmen, Kopko hopes that current and future Honors students can engage in activities outside of the classroom together. “Students will also have the ability to take a leading role in shaping the LLCs activities throughout the year,” Kopko said. “This should certainly make for an engaging and fun experience.”
The enlarged Honors presence in Schlosser will fill both the first and second floors. Currently, the Honors Program fills the second floor with first-year students with some female overflow onto the third floor. Kristen Vieldhouse, assistant director of residence life, is using the Honors LLC to promote different residence experiences on campus. “[Honors students] really like the space they are in and feel that it fits their needs well with the study spaces that are available to them there,” Vieldhouse said.
Another way Vieldhouse is looking to change the experience of living on campus is through the introduction of the Nest, a brand new LLC option for rising sophomore, junior and senior students. The Nest will be a substance-free floor: no drinking or smoking will be permitted. This LLC resulted from the positive feedback of a survey Vieldhouse sent students. “We got an overwhelming response [in favor of a substance-free floor],” Vieldhouse said. “No alcohol and no smoking, even if you’re of age.” This LLC encourages living a healthy, active lifestyle free of any potentially negative influences.
The Nest is not only for students who wish to live on a substance-free floor; it is also a place for students who wish to connect more with nature. “We’re hoping to kind of focus on Wellness Programs and outdoor activities; [there will be] activities on weekends to provide an alternate activity for students who aren’t interested in partying or going out on campus to do things,” Vieldhouse said. The Nest LLC will be located in Founders. “Founders has 32 people per floor. Once we fill that, we will then recheck interest in this new LLC,” Vieldhouse said.
Right now, a total of 1,353 students live on campus. The traditional residence halls house the majority of that population. One hundred and twelve students currently live in Brinser, 323 students in Founders, 140 students in Myer, 226 students in Ober, 127 students in Royer and 212 students in Schlosser.
One hundred and twenty-four upperclassmen live in the Quads, 184 upperclassmen live in the Hackman Apartments and 45 upperclassmen live in the Student-Directed Learning Communities. Residence Life never plans on requiring upperclassmen to move off-campus. When it is time to select housing, the options all depend on the lottery system and selection times.
Residence Life’s main goal is to help students feel at home on campus and to make students’ lives a bit easier, eliminating the discomfort frequently associated with living at college. “We are always looking at ways we can add more activities, programs or ways that we can make the residential experience better for students,” Vieldhouse said. “At this point, there are no plans for a new residence hall,” she said. Instead, the development of these two LLCs will add an immediate, noticeable variety to life on campus.
Residence Life has a strong team of employees: from the office managers to the area coordinators and the residence assistants, the Residence Life staff cares about student comfort. “Hopefully students know we are here to be a support to them and help make their residential experience positive,” Vieldhouse said. She said she feels that it is important for students to know that Residence Life is here to help them enjoy dorm life. This is why programs such as the LLCs are important to the campus and to residence life as a whole. LLCs are an easy way for the students living in these communities to connect with the faculty and staff on campus.
Students have many ideas that could help better life in dorms for everyone. Residence Life is always open to hearing new ideas from members of the campus community. “We welcome student feedback and suggestions on how we can do better at serving the students and working with them and making it a good experience for them on their own campus,” Vieldhouse said. Etown’s campus is subject to constant growth and improvement.
Residence Life encourages students to share their thoughts and opinions to help them develop better living and learning opportunities. Comments and questions can be can be directed toward the Residence Life office at RESLIFE@ETOWN.EDU or (717) 361-1197.
