By Briana Berg Staff Writer
It is true - there really is no place like Loyola housing. Whether you started your housing journey in Campion, Flannery O'Connor or Butler Hall, and ended in Newman Towers or Gardens, students at Loyola University have some bragging rights when it comes having the best housing in the country; Princeton Review ranked Loyola's dorms number two in the country calling them "dorms like palaces." With rumors of a housing shortage for the class of 2012, more and more students are looking for places to go off campus or finding alternative ways to stay on campus. Before students go to the extreme and move off of Loyola's beautiful campus, students should think about alternative housing. The Office of Student Life is offering two new programs for the 2010-2011 school year, in addition to the two that already exist. Mission House and Empowerment house will be joining the Ad-Infinitum Living-Learning Community and Wellness House at Loyola, creating a many different atmospheres for students to live in. Mission House is a community that strives to live out the core values of our Jesuit education. The students who live in this community will participate in "activities that will strengthen their commitment to service and spirituality. By going out into the Baltimore community each month, the students in the house will try to live out one of the values in Loyola's mission statement. Lauren Janniello, the leader at Mission House, noted that the house is a way for students "to experience the Jesuit Spirit as St. Ignatius intended." The house as a whole will "promote these values on campus," and by "participating in service activate and social justice events that relate to living out the Jesuit values." Students who should participate in Mission House are those who want to be apart of a community that will "connect to Loyola on a deeper level" and want to be challenged "to live out their college experiences fully and authentically," Janniello said. The application process for Mission House consists of filling out a short application by February 15 and participating in a mandatory interview. Once students are notified of their acceptance via email, they will immediately be taken out of the housing lottery. If the spots in the house do not fill up by February 15, then applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Students may enter into the house as a one, two, three, four or six persons. Empowerment House, the second newest addition to Loyola housing, is a house that encourages students to live a life that incorporates all aspects of service and justice work with living. The program, living in Seton Court, sponsors monthly programs that help students to learn more about themselves, and their environment, through exploring issues of social justice and diversity through film, media. An interesting aspect to the community is the chance to work with the StrengthsQuest program. StrengthsQuest is a program for college-aged students that gives [them] the opportunity to develop based on [their] strengths rather than [their] weaknesses. Each month a topic from this program will be discussed in the community and at a retreat at the beginning of the year. Jennifer McCary, one of the Assistant Directors of Student Life, designed the Empowerment House. "Jennifer shares a passion for service and justice with many of our students," said Michael Puma, one of the Associate Directors of Student Life. Students in the house will be required to attend a special Orientation meeting, complete a StrengthsQuest assessment, attend a special retreat with member of Mission House, attend meetings each month designed around social justice issues, plan special events throughout the year with students from their floor and then participate in three of the events each semester. The application process for this house is exactly the same as the application for the Mission House. Wellness House, a house that strives to create healthy decisions and alternatives for alcohol, and Ad Infinitum, a sophomore living community that helps sophomore navigate through their sophomore year, also have February 15 deadlines to apply for the 2010-2011 school year. One of the major benefits to these programs is that if accepted, students are taken out of the housing lottery and will be given housing in their specific house. They will not have to worry about whether or not they are guaranteed housing or not. Special interest housing is also beneficial for students because "each community exists not only as a place to live, but a place where people can learn from each other," Puma said. If any student is still interested in any of these programs they should contact the Office of Student Life or get their applications into The Office of Student Life by February 15.
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