Re: Service-Learning Residence Halls

Renee,

The following programs descriptions come from emails that I have come across in
response to questions like yours.  There is also a literature citation at the
end of this email that may be helpful to you.

1) Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University has two residential community service programs.
The ICE (Inter-Community Experience) Program has three main components: a
seminar course on urban issues, enrichment programs for neighborhood youth, and
a house in the neighborhood accommodating 4 students in the program.   The house
was built by SMU students in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity and serves as
the centerpiece for this program.

The second program is the SMU Service House, a cooperative living theme house
for 28 student volunteers in a former fraternity house on campus. Residents,
under the guidance of a hall director, coordinate everything from kitchen duty
to service projects.  Mike Kern is one of the founders of the program and can
share some of the challenges and rewards of establishing such a program.  He is
now the Program Coordinator for Service Learning at the University of Texas, San
Antonio, phone: (210) 458-4160; email: mkern@utsa.edu

You can also find more information under the Center for Community Involvement
website at http://www.smu.edu/~vols or contact Bruce Levy, Director of the ICE
Program at blevy@mail.smu.edu  or Rebecca Bergstresser, Director of Community
Involvement at
rbergstr@mail.smu.edu For the student perspective, Katie Knox has been a
resident in both programs kknox@post.cis.smu.edu.


2) Elon College, NC
The Service Learning Community at Elon College in North Carolina has a group of
40 students live together on the same floor of a residence hall.  The community
is made up of approximately 35 freshmen with 5 upperclassmen who are the
"Service Learning Leaders", having lived on the floor as freshmen themselves.
Students do complete an application to be selected for the floor. They take a
Global Studies class together, participate in monthly reflections and various
service projects throughout the year.  The group is broken into three
committees: service, learning, and community with each group responsible for
planning different activities.  The students arrive on campus a few days before
other incoming freshmen for a pre-orientation experience with activities such as
the ropes course, service projects and reflections.  The Community has been a
great success, and students who live there often comment on what a great
experience it is for them. Contact Kathy Manning, Director of Service Learning,
for more information at (336) 584-2102 or Kathy.Manning@elon.edu

3) Title: Democratic Education in an Age of Difference: Redefining Citizenship
in Higher Education
Authors: Richard Guarasci; Grant H Cornwell
Date Published: 1997
Number of Pages: 180
Where to Obtain this Resource: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome St, San
Francisco CA 9410; Phone: 800-956-7739; EMAIL: webperson@jbp.com; URL:
http://www.jbp.com/jbsearch.html
Abstract: This book describes some of the programs that attempt to increase
undergraduates’ understanding of social differences while in a campus community.
Written from the position of building an educational paradigm of social
inclusion and citizenship education, the book details some campus experiments
such as learning communities, residential communities, and public service, in an
attempt to reveal how each approach fosters the development of democratic
sensibility, citizenship skills and multicultural fluency. The authors address
the need for colleges and universities to design educational experiences that
promote the objectives of a free society while recognizing and embracing
difference. Included is a discussion of successful programs and an analysis of
exemplary programs that can be models that are adaptable to the wide variety of
campus environments.


I hope this is helpful.

Andrea Roufs
Information Specialist
Learn and Serve America
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse
1-800-808-7378
http://umn.edu/~serve


renee sterk wrote:

> Dear Colleagues,
>
> San Diego State University is interested in learning more about
> collaborative relationships that may exist between service learning and
> residence life offices in an effort to create a campus community living
> situation with an emphasis on service.  For example, does anyone have an
> established "floor" or "house" where there is a pre-requisite that residents
> participate in service and/or discussion about service, citizenship, social
> justice, etc.?  Are there any "best practices" that people would be willing
> to share on this topic?
>
> Thank you for your time,
>
> Renee H. Sterk
> San Diego State University
> Center for Community Based Service Learning
> rsterk@mail.sdsu.edu
> _________________________________________________________________
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