SJU Residential Life Mission and Philosophy

Residential Life Philosophy

To provide a living, learning environment that enhances individual growth and development intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.

Residential Life Discipline

In our endeavor to provide a safe and productive learning environment that encourages interpersonal growth and intellectual development, it is necessary to impose certain standards for conduct and behavior.

Residential Life Programming

In the residence hall, the formal manner by which instruction and life are merged is through leisure time programs that blend common interests of individuals into shared experiences leading to new opportunities of self-discovery. Programming should be educational, fun and entertaining. Every activity should promote a sense of community, provide a healthy release of emotion and involve students in their own learning process.

Residential Life Maintenance

Residential facilities that are clean, safe and well maintained create and environment that is conducive to the success of the resident, socially, and academically.

Residential Life Security

The responsibility of security depends on every member of the campus community. It is important to remember that misplaced keys or unlocked doors are invitations to a thief or someone who might cause physical harm.

Residential Staff Development

To provide students with a clean, safe, respectable living environment, it is important that we have a well-informed, well-trained staff dedicated to serving the needs of the students.

The RA is a Residential Staff member who has the major responsibility for overall operation of residential floors or buildings. RA’s help students utilize the facilities, aid students in adjusting to college life and act as advisor and counselors within the residential hall.

To provide our students with a well trained, well informed staff of RA’s our training will include enhancing the skills of RA’s to create unity among the staff as well as a family atmosphere.

Goals of Residential Life

1. To support the developmental needs of students as articulated in specific student development theories, as assessed with individuals and communities with whom we live, and inspired by our Catholic, Benedictine values.
2. To facilitate student learning through programs, intervention, and confrontations and community norms which reflect an attitude of development and education.

Much of what we do as a staff enhances and facilitates the growth of students and their ability to learn in our academic community. By being aware of the student’s needs through theory and by observation, we are able to strengthen our ability to promote balanced living without reinforcing attitudes and behaviors that may enable inappropriate activity and development.

Objectives of Residential Life

1. To discover within our community the elements of balance and support that are necessary for growth. For instance, structure on a first-year floor is “support based” whereas on an upper class floor structure might be seen more as “challenge based”.
2. To become sensitive to the intensity of support and challenge. Develop an understanding that too much support or too much challenge may hinder development.
3. To be aware that students are dealing with developmental concerns of identity, competence, autonomy, emotions, relationships, purpose and integrity. That the way in which they organize their thoughts is changing and being challenged. To develop an understanding that students are moving from a sense of dualism to a commitment in relativism. That they are developing and integrating their values and faith into "forming" identities.