New themes in housing next year
USU’s themed housing will be seeing some changes this coming school year, offering a political science floor in the Living Learning Community and expanding the engineering and outdoor adventure themed housing. Other changes include the cancellation of the American Sign Language and healthy living themes.
Director of Residence Life, Whitney Milligan, said the political science theme will be on the second floor of building F in the LLC. She said there is a lot of interest in political science and that she is looking forward to offering this opportunity to students.
“One we are adding that we are really excited about is political science,” Milligan said.
Because of high interest in engineering, she said they will be expanding that theme to the second and third floors of Moen Hall.
Shannon Jolley, theme housing coordinator, said healthy living, one of five freshman interest groups offered as themes, will be replaced by a second floor of outdoor adventure, which is also a freshman interest group.
Jolley said the sign language and healthy living themes were canceled because there hasn’t been enough interest.
Milligan said USU’s ASL program experienced a lot of transfers a couple of years ago and has not been able to generate interest since those losses.
“It was a huge hit and it hasn’t seemed to be able to recover,” she said. “We’re really sad to let that go, but realistically there is not enough interest there.”
Jolley said themes remain for a couple of years before they are eliminated, giving them the opportunity to get off the ground or to rebound after a slump in interest.
Other themes offered include English, business, pre-health and leadership housing. The other freshman interest groups are science and society, art and elementary education.
Jolley said there has been themed housing at USU since 2000 and is a growing trend nationally.
On USU’s campus, she said the number of participants fluctuate between fall and spring but said there are usually 250 to 300 students living in a theme.
Milligan and Jolley agreed the benefits of living in themed housing are immense. Each theme is placed in the most convenient location, placing each theme close to related buildings. There is also a sense of community within themes that is beneficial academically and socially, the two said.
Jolley said themed housing is a great opportunity to make the most of one’s college experience.
“It’s a good way to create instant community,” she said. “There are natural study groups. There is a natural mentoring.”
Jolley also said each theme has activities with its respective college, giving students the opportunity to become more familiar with the field, other students and faculty members.
“It creates a strong relationship with different academic departments,” she said. “They can see professors and meet in an informal environment and say ‘Wow. You’re a human being too.'”
Milligan said themed housing has been beneficial to the university as a whole as well.
She said, “The program has really generated some widespread interest in Utah State.”
However, the greatest part, Milligan said, is the opportunity for mentoring and growth for students.
She said, “That’s what we exist for, to help students succeed.”
-arie.k@aggiemail.usu.edu