Loving Living and Learning

As the Columbia housing saga continues, many students find themselves gazing longingly at the spacious, suite-style options of Hartley and Wallach Halls. The halls comprise the University’s Living and Learning Center, and residents of the LLC are accommodated in enviable housing in return for their promise to comply with certain rules and obligations. Students should heed these commitments and participate in the social, academic, and professional opportunities the LLC community offers.

The LLC is Columbia’s only housing option that accommodates Columbia students of all years who bring diverse experiences to the center. LLC residents are encouraged to attend subsidized on- and off-campus events and trips. Indeed, some of these events can stem from residents’ independent goals. The LLC also prompts students to pursue networking and academic opportunities through dinners with Columbia alumni and faculty. In return, residents agree to attend weekly suite- or floor-wide study breaks, design one activity each semester with their suitemates, and participate in one building-wide program each month. However, these rules are not uniformly enforced, and residents face no repercussions for not following them. As a result, many residents see these rules as a chance simply to hang out with preexisting friends without an enforced requirement to participate actively in the LLC.

Students should recognize that the LLC is more than just an opportune housing option and instead view it as a community in which one can and should do his or her part to enjoy the benefits it offers. LLC residents should pursue the academic benefits of the LLC by attending more faculty and alumni programs. During faculty dinners, students can get to know their professors outside of the classroom, in addition to discussing research findings or even current events with other distinguished faculty. Furthermore, by attending alumni dinners and events, students can start exploring the internship and career opportunities such gatherings may initiate. True, these dinner may, at times, occur while students are in class, but there are too many opportunities for this always to be the case. Students should also pursue the social aspect of the LLC by attending study breaks and planning events with their suites, floors, and the LLC as a whole. Finally, they should get to know their suitemates and floormates better, and build collaborative relationships by learning from each other’s experience and knowledge.

The LLC offers diverse programs through which students can discover disciplines and social interactions outside those with which they are already familiar. By complying with the LLC’s aims, students can help the center live up to its name by truly becoming a community in which students and faculty can not only live but also learn together.