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Programming
Boyer's Principles
Ernest L. Boyer, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching until he passed away in 1995, designed a model for the principles of a successful college community. Summarized in six statements, these principles form the core of our programmatic model in the residential aspect of the Sophomore Year Experience program:
Purposeful
A college of university is, above all, a purposeful community, a place where the intellectual life is central and where faculty and students work together to strengthen teaching and learning on the campus.
Just
A college or university is a just community, a place where the dignity of all individuals is affirmed and where equality of opportunity is vigorously pursued.
Open
A college or university, at its best, is an open , honest community, a place where freedom of expression is uncompromisingly protected and where civility is powerfully affirmed.
Disciplined
A college or university is, necessarily, a disciplined community, a place where individuals accept their obligations to the group and where well-defined governance procedures guide behavior for the common good.
Caring
A college or university is a caring community, a place where the well-being of each member is sensitively supported and where service to others in encouraged.
Celebrative
A college or university is a celebrative community, a place where the heritage of the institution is remembered and where rituals affirming tradition and change are shared.
These principles are put into action through a variety of means. Within the Office of Residential and Community Development and the Sophomore Year Experience program, our student staff present a variety of educational and social programs each year to help fulfill the principles above. Organizing these events are an aspect of their job description and the full time Residence Directors work with these staff to provide a diverse choice of activities throughout the year.
Educational Programs
Our staff focuses on diversity, involvement, and openness in the community. Across the entire SYE area, our residents will be exposed to a variety of programs highlighting the differences between each other, both visible and invisible, and the strengths that can be harnessed from learning about each other.
Community Development Activities
In addition to these educational programs, the student staff constantly organize "community development activities" for the floors. These are the fun, social, activities that help form a group of residents into a community. Whether it is watching a movie late at night in the lounge, eating lunch in the dining hall as an entire floor, or attending a campus play, these events are inevitably the foundations of floor connections and a sense of group identity.
Since most residents have already formed strong relationships with their floormates from the First Year Experience, many of these events are initiated by the residents themselves, with the floor approaching the staff for help with advertising or funding support. Many student athletes, theater performers, dancers, or musicians have been able to count on their fellow floor mates coming out to events to support them.
