Special Interest Living Communities

 

 Special Interest Living Communities (SILC) at Montclair State University provide resident students with intentional opportunities for personal, social, and academic growth in their residence hall.  There is a wide variety of SILCs to choose from to facilitate an all encompassing university experience, six SILCs offered for the 2009-2010 academic year are: 

• Arts Interdisciplinary Living Community (AILC)
• The College of Science and Mathematics Living Community (CSAM)
• Emerging Leaders Living Community (ELLC)
• First Year Connections Living Community (FYC)
• Honors Living Community (HLC)
• International Living Community (ILC)
• Webster Women’s Special Interest Living Community  (WWC)
• Gender Blind Special Interest Living Community
• Men of Excellence (ME) Special Interest Living Community
• Sophomore Success Special Interest Living Community (SSLC)

Arts Interdisciplinary Living Community (AILC)
For more information about the AILC, please contact Linda Davidson, Assistant Dean, College of the Arts, at davidsonl@mail.montclair.edu

Comprised of students majoring in art & design, music, theatre, dance, broadcasting and/or communication studies, the AILC occupies a floor in the Freeman Residence Hall on the south end of the campus - just across from the Cali School of Music and a few minutes walk from all of the college's visual arts and performance facilities. But AILC is not just about convenience. It is about students with creative and multidisciplinary interests living together, sharing their passions and challenges, and discovering their common ground.

If you would like to apply to this learning community, please click here for more information and the application form.

College of Science and Math Living Community (CSAM)
For more information about living in the CSAM, please contact Jinan Jaber, Associate Dean for Administrative Affairs, College of Science and Mathematics at jaberlinsa1@mail.montclair.edu

Any student majoring in any of the disciplines in the department of Biology/Molecular Biology, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Earth and Environmental Studies, Computer Science or Mathematics/Physics are eligible to apply to be a part of this community housed in Blanton Hall. This SILC is committed to creating an environment for residents that is conducive to learning and promoting personal, intellectual, social and academic growth. The goals of the CSAM floor area: academic success, development of community, and teamwork through social and educational activities. There will be meals with CSAM faculty, opportunities to speak with guests, visiting lecturers, and field trips.

Emerging Leaders Living Community (ELLC)
For more information about living in the ELLC, please contact Rick Brown, Coordinator of Student Leadership Programs at brownri@mail.montclair.edu

Any first year student with a background in high school and/or community leadership activities and/or interest in learning more about leadership development is encouraged to apply. Working closely with the Director of Student Leadership Programs, and other staff from the Division of Student Development and Campus Life, residents in this program live in Blanton Hall together and take four classes in the fall semester of their first year, including Psychology of Leadership, College Writing, Fundamentals of Speech, and New Student Seminar. Residents also participate in a weekly service learning component tied to the Psychology to Leadership class and leadership seminars and conferences throughout the academic year. Interested first year students can sign up for this option during their Pre-Orientation and Placement test session. Please note, ELLC is not open to returning students other than those already involved in the program that are selected by the program coordinators.

First Year Connections Living Community (FYC)
For more information about living in the FYC, please contact the Office of Residential Education at resed@mail.montclair.edu.

First year students residing in the First Year Connections Living Community (FYC) in Bohn Hall will have the opportunity to share their first year of college with over 600 of their peers in a highly intentional living environment.  Residents of FYC will be provided opportunities to make new connections and will learn the skills needed to communicate, develop interpersonal relationships, and live cooperatively with other first year students.  Significant support for academic success, overall wellness, residential leadership development, and purposeful introductions to the campus community will also be provided as cornerstones of this experience.  Being a member of the FYC will help first year students navigate their first year of college while making connections that will last a lifetime.

Bohn Hall will also house the new Academic Resource Center (ARC). Its mission is to help first year students to study more effectively and ease their transition into Montclair State University.  The ARC provides free tutoring, study skills and time management workshops, writing supports, and de-stress programs.

Honors Living Community (HLC)
For more information about living in the HLC, please contact Greg Waters, Coordinator of the Honors Living Community and Professor of English at watersg@mail.montclair.edu

Any student who is an active member of the University's Honors Program is eligible. The HLC is designed to provide the advantages of a small liberal arts college within the larger dynamic university community. The HLC provides a core curriculum of seminars and elective courses that fulfill general education requirements, while working to establish a lively and creative community for its students and faculty. Freeman Hall, where HLC is housed, provides an environment that is intended to be conducive to learning and to promoting personal, intellectual, social and academic growth. The goals of this residential community are to promote academic success along with a sense of collaboration, discovery and teamwork through a number of social and educational activities. There will be special opportunities for residential students to meet individually with Honors faculty, take part in special seminars, dinners and lunches, and participate in off-campus concerts, lectures and field trips.

International Living Community (ILC)
For more information about living in the ILC, please contact Beth Calamia Scheckel with the Global Education Center at calamiascheb@mail.montclair.edu

The International Living Community (ILC) is a residential community of International and American students at MSU. Any student with at least 50 credits, who is interested in learning about the traditions and customs of students from a variety of countries, should think about applying to be a part of this living community in The Village at Little Falls. American students in this program will be expected to assist in the transitional issues faced by international students (i.e. orientation to campus life, Montclair, and its surrounding communities). In exchange, the international students will be expected to share with the American students the customs and culture from their native lands. Consideration will be given to American students who express interest in living with an international student of a specific culture or who speaks a foreign language. Faculty/staff advisors to the ILC will be represented by the Office of International Services, Counseling and Psychological Services, Foreign Language faculty and other relevant faculty and advisors possessing intercultural living skill.

For more information about any of the following living communities contact: resed@mail.montclair.edu

Webster Women’s Special Interest Living Community  (WWC)
Open to all first year and returning female residents, the women of the Webster Women’s Community will have the unique opportunity to live in an intentional all-women’s living environment housed in Webster Hall. Residents of the Webster Women’s Community will engage in a community focused on the positive roles of women in the greater society.  Residents will have the freedom to be themselves in a safe and diverse environment where they can communicate experiences cross-culturally, creating a global sisterhood.  Through student programs, staff and faculty workshops, and discussion groups, the women of the Webster Women’s Community will develop a greater understanding of “herstory.” u

Gender Blind Special Interest Living Community
Students who have completed 50 or more credits are welcome to consider the Gender Blind community.  Students residing in the Gender Blind Community have the opportunity to enjoy an inclusive and comfortable living experience, where residents are placed without consideration of gender or gender expression.  This community seeks to connect students interested in supporting and educating their community on gender blind issues.

Men of Excellence (ME) Special Interest Living Community
First year male students residing on the Men of Excellence (ME) floor, which is a part of the First Year Connections Living Community (FYC) in Bohn Hall, will have the opportunity to explore, experience, define, and interpret their male identity while building and fostering a vibrant living community.  Students of the this floor will be provided with opportunities to build relationships and connections with peers within their community by engaging in meaningful conversations, programs, and workshops related to respect, diversity, academics, the college experience, leadership, sex, identity, religion/spirituality, civic engagement, and gender.  While the community is supported by the First Year Connections Living Community’s academic and connection focus, this particular community will additionally focus on character development, community building, and brotherhood.

Sophomore Success Special Interest Living Community (SSLC)
Created for sophomore students with 24-36 or more credits, the Sophomore Success Living Community (SSLC) will allow students to share their sophomore year with peers in a highly intentional living environment. Residents will participate in an environment that fosters exploration of autonomy and self-significance as well as promoting growth and self-discovery.  Residents will have the opportunity to serve as mentors to the first year residents.  Topics such as career exploration, campus involvement, and leadership development will be the foundation of this community.