Sustainability

What this community is

The Sustainability living-learning community is a themed floor or wing in Cooperative Hall, for students of any major with a strong interest in environmental and sustainability work.

What's different from a standard floor

Access to the shared community garden plot, participation in the residence-hall energy-use challenge, and a composting and reduced-waste system for the floor. Rent is the same as a standard room in the same hall — the community adds programming and structure, not cost.

Faculty and staff partner

Each community has a staff partner from the Office of Sustainability rather than a single academic department, who holds regular office hours on the floor and is the community's point of contact for both programming and the occasional roommate or academic concern.

Signature programming

The floor organizes and judges the annual residence-hall energy challenge each winter, on top of the regular hall-council events every floor gets.

How to get in and how long it lasts

Rank this community as a preference on the housing application and complete any short supplemental question; placement is by contract date and space, so apply early. Continues into the second year for students who choose to stay. You can leave a community at any time through the standard room-change process if it turns out not to be the right fit.

Common questions

Do I have to be in this exact major to join? No — this community is open regardless of major.

What if I want to switch majors after joining? Nothing about your housing changes automatically; talk to your resident assistant if the community no longer fits and you want to explore the standard room-change process.

Is this the same as an academic minor or program? No — a living-learning community is a housing and programming structure, not a credit-bearing requirement, though some communities link to specific course sections.