Photo by Owen Riss

Because of the intensity of the Block Plan, CC students are said to eat, sleep, and drink whatever subject they are studying. The Partnership for Civic Engagement has catapulted this “common knowledge” into an innovative and dynamic approach to academics and residential life by developing a pilot Living Learning Community.

Beginning this September, 16 sophomores will live together in a renovated space in Mathias Hall while taking a year-long extended-format course, In Our Own Backyard: Social Justice in the Southwest. The course will explore the relationship between social, environmental, and political issues in the Southwest by investigating the choices we make as an institution and as individuals. Students and faculty will cook, eat, and travel together to see the connections between global change and local choices. The course will conclude with a symposium about justice and personal choices for all students living in Mathias Hall.

Living Learning students will be encouraged to reflect on the ethics and integrity of their actions, and to adjust their lifestyles to meet their ideals. Unlike other residents of Mathias Hall, they will be self-governed: their living space is a stage on which these students will work through what it means to be a good community member. They will also engage in mutually beneficial community-based learning projects, providing a service to a local community group while linking academic theory to practice.

“	We want to equip our students with the skill sets and the civic competencies they need to be active participants in whatever communities they ultimately live in after graduation.”
	– Eric Popkin

Professor Eric Popkin, director of the Partnership for Civic Engagement, explains, “We want to equip our students with the skill sets and the civic competencies they need to be active participants in whatever communities they ultimately live in after graduation.” As part of the program, students will complete workshops to foster skills such as persuasion, group facilitation, and conflict resolution. Through their community projects, students will apply these skills in real-world situations.

The Living Learning Community was designed for sophomore students to combat a phenomenon known as “the sophomore slump.” While first-year students are vigorously supported by First-year Experience programming, and juniors and seniors are tightly integrated in the department of their major, some sophomores feel that they are drifting. The Living Learning Community will help its members integrate into the college community as well as their local and regional communities, while giving them the sense of purpose and accomplishment they need to thrive.

Kerri Kuhn is interim outreach programs coordinator.