Graphic by Penelope Taylor '20
BY MERYL PHAIR ’21
In an email sent out to the student body on Feb. 1, Rachel Aldis, assistant Dean of Students and director of Residential Life, announced that three new Living Learning Communities (LLC) will be added to Mount Holyoke housing at the start of the 2018 fall term: the Mi Gente LLC, for students who are of Latinx descent, the Interfaith LLC and the Outdoor Adventure LLC. Proposals for these LLCs were submitted by Nov. 10.
Current LLCs on campus include Arts, First Year Experience, Livin’ Free, Mary Woolley, Mosaic, Shirley Chisholm and the Language Communities of Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish. With the addition of the three new communities, Mount Holyoke’s LLCs now number at 14.
“The Eliot House has been trying to get an Interfaith LLC off the ground for a few years now, and they never had a large group of students who were interested,” said Emily Carle ’21. “This year when a poll went out to everyone on the Eliot House email list, there was an overwhelming number of people who responded that they would be interested in an Interfaith LLC.”
“LLCs bring students together based on a unifying theme. The events that one can plan for these communities involves active participation from the residents on the floor, which helps make the events more enjoyable,” said Gargi Mishra ’17. Mishra is the community advisor of Livin’ Free LLC in Torrey Hall, a substance-free community.
Mishra is pleased with her experience living in the tight-knit community that she found on the Livin’ Free floor. She says that it has made her work highly enjoyable, rewarding and a great learning opportunity.
Chloe Hart ’19 is excited about the possibility of living in the new Outdoor Adventure LLC next semester. “I like outdoor fun and meeting new people,” said Hart.
The Mi Gente community will move into Rockefeller Hall. To accommodate this, the Mosaic Living Learning Community will be relocated to Mead Hall. The Interfaith LLC will be located in Buckland Hall and Outdoor Adventure in Ham.
Along with the new LLC floors, Aldis confirmed additional changes to housing. Francis Perkins Scholars will be moving into the non-residential apartments on 3 Park Street, 17 Morgan Street and 57 College Street next year. Dickinson Hall, where Francis Perkins Scholars were previously housed, will return to traditional housing and be available during the housing lottery.
Applications to join the new living learning communities opened on Feb. 2 and can be accessed through the Residence website. Applications are due by Feb. 23, 2018.