Theme Living

Themed Halls

INTERESTED IN LIVING IN A THEME COMMUNITY? CLICK HERE! (must log in using Obie ID and password)

As part of Residential Education and Dining Services' effort to provide unique and individual housing experiences, nine Theme Communities are arranged across campus and cover a variety of interests. Three communities are specifically geared towards non-First-Year students and include a Sustainability Hall, The Student Experiment in Ecological Design (SEED House), and the Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Transgendered Students (ELC). One of our communities is geared specifically toward First Year Students and Sustainability initiatives (Robert L. Kahn Hall). The remaining six communities are geared toward students with similar interests or backgrounds.  They are Classics Floor, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Floor, Quiet Floor, Science Fiction/Fantasy Floor (Sci-Fi), Transfer Wing, Substance-Free Hall and World Cultures Wing. More information about some of these communities is listed in the links below.

Individual students interested in living in approved Theme Living Communities need to fill out an application (must log in using Obie ID and password)

How to Create a New Theme Living Community

Residential Education and Dining Services offers students a housing opportunity called Theme Living.

Space is allocated on a floor or in a section of a residence hall for groups of students who would like to form a living arrangement based on, but not limited to, broadly conceived interdisciplinary intellectual interests beyond the classroom in the arts and sciences; local or national community service; and/or social or political interests of a wide variety (including international affairs, gender, or sexuality issues).

Groups are required to have an Oberlin College Faculty and/or Staff member as an official advisor. The advisor is expected to:

  • Meet with entire group at least twice a semester.
  • Assist the group if conflict arises between the group and the larger campus community.
  • Meet with the Assistant Dean in charge of the area at least once per semester to assure that college policy and the groups theme are congruent.
  • Aid in the Theme Living evaluation and renewal process.
  • Help the group identify resources for programming, training, and reflection.

The group is also encouraged to involve faculty, staff, local organizations and/or townspeople, as appropriate, as resources in developing and administering the theme. If the theme living proposal is accepted the group will meet with the Resident Director for the area in which the theme living group is housed. The responsibilities of the Resident Director will be to:

  • Evaluate the theme living group's end of the semester program review in which all of the group members must participate.
  • Work with the theme living group to set goals for the following semester.
  • Recommend whether the group is approved for reapplication to the Housing and Dining Committee in December.
  • Participate in the renewal application process.

Groups should submit the New Theme Proposal Application to the Residential Education office by 5:00 p.m. on February 10, 2012. Approval of the proposal will be determined by the Housing and Dining Committee in consultation with the Office of Residential Education and Dining Services. Approval will be for the next academic year only.

 

Individual students interested in living in approved Theme Living need to fill out an application.

Renewing Theme Living

Each year all theme living themes are required to complete a Renewal Theme Living Application with the Office of Residential Education and Dining Services. The core of the renewal application shall consist of a self-study conducted by the theme living group. The structure of the self-study is included in the Renewal Application.

After receiving the self-study, the Housing and Dining Committee may invite representatives of the theme living group to meet with the Committee to ask additional questions that may have been raised in the self-study. Members of the theme living group will be allowed to present further information of their case, if needed.

It is the intention of the Office of Residential Education and Dining Services that this process for renewal be part of an on-going dialogue across our living areas and one that will engage other members of the Oberlin College community. In this procedure, each theme living group is encouraged to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to the community, while at the same time looking honestly at ways they can improve themselves and the quality of education and community development at the college.

This process of self-study should be understood as a constructive one. It is an opportunity for theme housing participants to share with others outside the group the excellence of the theme. It is also a time for open and honest assessment of areas needing special attention for growth and development. How you go about this self-study is as important as the final report. Hopefully this endeavor will bring your membership closer together as it deliberates upon this study. It is for this reason that we encourage you to involve as many of your group members as possible, as well as non-member residents of the building and your advisor(s).

There are a number of different ingredients that contribute to creating and maintaining a successful theme living residence. The Office of Residential Education and Dining Services believes that the contributions you make to the intellectual, cultural, and social well being of the general campus community are of greatest importance. We believe that a group's use of college housing is a privilege and that groups that have been awarded such space, must use that space, within limits, to hold intellectual, cultural and social activities that benefit the greater campus community. We therefore ask that you put most of your energy into considering your successes and possibilities for improvement in this area.

You will note that the questions are worded rather vaguely. Our idea is to provide you with freedom in deciding how to respond. We ask that you complete all of the questions in this Renewal Theme Living Application. You should certainly feel free to include any additional information that you wish to have the Committee consider.

Requests for renewal must be received by 5:00 p.m., February 10th, 2012 in the Office of Residential Education and Dining Services.

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