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		A New Approach to Thematic Living: Student Services Theme Floors By Jennifer Roy, Coordinator of Programming and Leadership Development, University Housing and Food Service, California State University, Chico At California State University, Chico the University Housing and Food Service office has always had a strong academic thematic living-learning program. Our Konkow living community is made up of academic department theme “houses” where thirteen students with similar academic interests and strengths live together and work closely with the specific academic department that co-sponsors the house with University Housing and Food Service. The students who live in Konkow must indicate an interest in either the Business Resource Center house, the Project MATH house, the Engineering Honors house, the MESA (Math, Engineering, Science, Achievement) Honors house, or our other two Honors houses as well as meet the particular qualifications to be a part of each theme house. In addition to our Konkow thematic living program, which serves about 80 students, we also have an Engineering theme program at our off-campus apartment community, University Village, which serves about 50 students. These programs are popular with our resident student population and we realize the value of working cooperatively and collaboratively with academic departments on campus to provide living-learning communities for our resident student population. However, we also felt the need to develop another type of thematic living in our largest building, Whitney Hall, which has over 500 students living in the building. Previously we have done theme floors in Whitney (performing arts, fitness/wellness, alcohol-free, multicultural) but over the last few years they faded away due to lack of student interest and lack of staff commitment to upholding the actual theme of the floor. Instead of expanding our academic theme living offerings, we decided to work with those student services offices on campus that have indicated the most desire to tap into our first year student resident population. Each office that we approached displayed a value in having access to the first year population in order to "recruit" them to their office services and activities here at Chico. So last year we offered up a co-ed floor that would accommodate up to 62 resident students to each of the four most active and interested student service offices. All four offices jumped at the opportunity and we spent all of last year fleshing out the details, designing marketing tools, figuring out how assignments would work, and formalizing expectations, both on the University Housing end as well as the particular theme floor office’s end. So, for this 2002-2003 academic year, our Whitney Hall Theme Floor living program consists of: A community service floor organized by CAVE (Community Action Volunteers in Education) A outdoor adventure floor organized by Adventure Outings A leadership floor organized by both Student Activities and the Associated Students A recreational sports floor organized by Recreational Sports Each office developed a description of their vision for the floor this year and a joint brochure. The brochure, which described all four-theme floors to our incoming resident student population, was mailed to potential resident students this summer. Floor descriptions and brochure copy follows: CAVE Community Service Theme Floor: Come live with a community of students who think volunteering and making a difference is a fun and rewarding experience! As a resident on the community service theme floor you will: Learn the value of community service for personal growth and academic enhancement. Discover the wide array of service opportunities available on our campus and in the community. Network with other students, staff, and faculty who share your desire to make a difference Participate in a variety of service events/activities of your choice. Have fun! Chico State is home to one of the premiere student-run community service programs in the CSU system, Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE). In conjunction with CAVE, the University Housing and Food Service Office and your resident advisors have developed a year-long program to promote and support your education and participation in community service activities. Monthly events/activities or presentations are provided which support the philosophy that learning through service is an integral part of university life. Fun, food, friends, service AND learning are a winning combination – not to mention the satisfaction of knowing that your contribution truly makes a difference. We invite you to join our community of students who learn to serve and serve to learn. For more information look up: www.csuchico.edu/as/cave/programs/theme.html Adventure Outings Theme Floor: Join the Adventure Outings Theme Floor for a year of exciting outdoor oriented adventures. Each month will include out-of-hall trips such as backpacking, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, and rafting. Residents of this floor will experience dynamic adventures that will test their emotional and physical resources in new and exciting ways. Friendships formed though this process are long lasting and will provide a support network back on campus. No experience is necessary. All activities are designed for beginners. Residents on the floor can expect the following: Active participation in the wilds of Northern California. Develop leadership and facilitation skills. Develop life-long recreational skills and habits. Develop coping mechanisms for the stresses of student life. Gain technical outdoor skills in a variety of activities. Improve self-esteem and interpersonal effectiveness. Learn about healthy alternatives and activities in the Chico area. Have fun! If you enjoy the out of doors, making new friends, having fun, and learning about yourself, then consider becoming a resident on the Adventure Outings Theme Floor. In-house activities are free while field trip costs are minimal and shared by all participants to cover direct expenses. For more information look up: www.csuchico.edu/as/adventure/whitney_hall.html Leadership Theme Floor: California State University, Chico has long established itself as a campus that nurtures and produces student leaders, many who have also become leaders within their respective communities. For the first time, we will offer an opportunity for students to live in a residential environment that focuses on leadership. The Leadership Floor will serve as a community of students interested in the exploration of the topic of leadership and in developing their own leadership skills and philosophy. Students do not have to be already established leaders to participate. Opportunities will be provided that will: Expose students to leadership opportunities present on the Chico State campus. Assist students in the discovery of their own leadership potential. Expose students to personal management issues, such as time management, problem solving, and effective communication. Facilitate the development of a sense of community, on the floor and throughout the larger campus. Expose students to leadership topics, and campus, community, and societal leaders. For more information look up: www.csuchico.edu/sac/leadtheme.html Recreational Sports Theme Floor: On average, 50 percent of all CSU, Chico students annually participate in at least one of Recreational Sports’ four major program areas: intramural sports, sport club teams, open recreational fitness, and special events. Choosing to live in a residential community with students who share an enjoyment for sports, fitness, and recreation will provide you unique opportunities to: Participate in special sports tournaments, fitness programs, and special recreational events programmed just for your floor. Play on intramural sports teams in leagues ranging from flag football, volleyball, and 5-on-5 basketball to indoor soccer, softball, and bowling. Enjoy special events including Night Golf, Climbing Wall Tie & Try, Ballroom Dance, and more. Further your personal and academic interests in the areas of fitness and recreation by networking with students, faculty, and staff who share your same interests. Discover employment and internship opportunities in fitness and recreation. Studies have shown that students that consistently participate in extracurricular activities get better grades. Similarly studies have also shown higher grades for those students that exercise at least three times per week. With that in mind, Recreational Sports, in conjunction with the University Housing and Food Service Office, has designed a first year thematic program to support both students’ personal and academic recreation needs. Monthly activities and events will provide students with the opportunity to exercise, compete, socialize, and relax. For more information look up: www.csuchico.edu/recsports/residence_halls.html Student Interest: In May, we mailed out an informational brochure to all potential resident students promoting this new theme floor program and providing the students with contact information of each office sponsoring the particular theme. We also mailed out our housing preference form with all four theme floors listed and instructed our potential resident students to mark one theme floor only if they were interested in living on a particular theme floor. By June, we received preference forms from 480 interested students to live on one of our four theme floors in Whitney Hall. Of these 480, 392 of the theme floor preferences were to either live on the Adventure Outings or the Recreational Sports theme floor. Our numbers of potential residents indicating a desire to live on a particular theme floor were: CAVE = 39 Adventure Outings (AO)= 155 Leadership = 49 Rec. Sports = 237 Since each floor can accommodate 62 residents we were able to completely fill the Adventure Outings and Rec. Sports theme floors! We were also able to completely fill our women’s side wing on the CAVE and Leadership floors. These numbers were fantastic for the first year of this program considering we were not able to do much promotion except for our brochure mailer. University Housing and Food Service Programmatic Expectations: University Housing and Food Service is still ultimately responsible for the theme floors and its staff (RAs) but a majority of the programming efforts are based out of the particular student service office that co-sponsors the floor. The two floor resident advisors work closely with the office as well as with the Whitney Hall resident director. The resident director also makes sure the thematic programming expectations are met on each floor. Minimum expectations for the student services office’s involvement include… one out-of-hall active program per month (an outdoor trip, a community service opportunity, a tournament, a leadership development opportunity) one in-hall program per month (an adventure movie/slide show, community service project, intramural contest, a leadership workshop/forum) one passive (bulletin) board per month highlighting the office and its programs monthly planning meetings with the RAs of the floor as well as a regular monthly update with the resident director a semester report that outlines how successful the theme floor is, what has been done for programs with the floor, strategies to improve the program, and level of office involvement Other things include… Playing a role in the promotion of the thematic floor Involvement in selection of the RAs for the floor Funding assistance with some programming for the floor The theme floors will be evaluated yearly to determine if the program will continue on a year-to-year basis. Renewal will be based on the ability to meet the minimum programmatic expectations, assignments and interest of students, facilities, and office interest and involvement. RA Theme Floor Program Requirements: Theme floor RAs will work as a floor team for a majority of their programming. All promotion and marketing of theme related programming will be done for the entire floor (not the wing). Monthly requirements will be combined so the theme floor RA floor pair must do: Four active programs per month: Two of these will be theme-related active programs: -one out-of-hall and one in-hall program with theme office Two of the four actives must relate to the programming model. The two theme-related programs CAN also relate to the model. If this occurs, the other two active programs can be focused freely on anything else. Two passive programs per month: One passive board must relate to the theme floor and the theme office and the monthly programs being offered. One passive board must relate to the programming model. Where We Are Today: Our Whitney Theme Floor program has now been in existence for about two months. So far most of our residents are excited to be on the floors, some themes are also very involved in the entire hall in addition to the floor, and residents especially like the active programs. It is the success of these active programs that make the residents feel that they are part of a theme floor. We are continuing to build stronger programming on these floors as well as stronger ties between these theme floor residents and the campus offices. We are also already planning for next year and how recruitment and assignments will look a little different. We are thrilled with our success so far and see developing thematic living opportunities with student service campus offices as the wave of the future, especially in better meeting the needs of our first year resident students. About the Author Jennifer Roy is the Coordinator of Programming and Leadership Development for University Housing and Food Service at California State University, Chico. Jen received her M. S. in Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) from Colorado State University in 1999 and her B. A. from the University of Puget Sound in 1993. Jen has worked in student affairs for ten years in the areas of residence life, student activities, orientation, and recreational sports. Jen is an avid sprint triathlete and snowboarder and loves to find time to travel.