Simmons College

Apply by April 1st to be able to live in any Theme or Special Interest Community! Theme and Special Interest Community Selection is April 2nd 6:15pm-7:00pm

 

Simmons provides housing for many of our students, including undergraduate, Dix Scholars, graduate, and students with special needs. In addition, we provide a variety of supportive interest and theme communities each year that focus on events related to the floor theme. If you have any questions about our communities or have a suggestion for a future theme, feel free to contact us

For the 2012-2013 year, Simmons College will be offering several special interest and theme communities!

Theme communities:

• Sports Floor (Simmons Hall, 3rd Floor, Brookline)
• Foodie Floor (Mesick Hall, 4th Floor)
• Arts & Crafts (Morse Hall, 4th Floor)

Special Interest Communities:

• Wellness Community (South Hall, 1st-3rd)
• Women-only Floor (Simmons 1st floor, Pilgrim Rd)
• Substance Free Floor (Simmons 4th Floor, Pilgrim Rd.)
• Substance Free Floor (Mesick 3rd Floor)
• Transfer Support (Morse 3rd floor)
• Mesick Hall 1st year Honors (50 spaces throughout building)

Read on to find out more about these communities. If you would like to apply to be in our of the communities, be sure to fill out the Special Interest Housing Supplement on the Housing Application page. (Students applying to live on a theme floor must also fill out a standard Housing Application before they attend their room selection night.) There are no "right" answers, but we encourage everyone to be intentional about their decision to join the community. The Special Interest Form must be completed electronically by Sunday, Apirl 1, 2012. Once we have received your Interest Form you can participate in the Special Interest Housing Selection in Alumnae Hall on April 2nd!

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Theme Communities

Sports Pride Floor

Location: Simmons Hall, 3rd floor, Brookline side
Imagine living on a floor where you are surrounded by sports enthusiast like yourself. Next year, you'll walk down to Fenway Park and enjoy the crowds together on Opening Day. Picture yourself creating a March Madness bracket with friends on your floor, and shouting at the TV with fellow football fans. Imagine cheering on Simmons sports teams with your floor all year long. As a resident on the Sports Pride Floor, you'll get to help run, plan, and enjoy a Tailgate Party before a Simmons sporting event. This is just one of the many awesome benefits and programs catered specifically to you, as a Sports Pride Floor resident. When sports fans get together there is bound to be a whole lot of fun!

Sports Floor Benefits:

• As a resident on the Sports Pride Floor, you'll get to help run, plan, and enjoy a Tailgate Party before a major Simmons sporting event
• Co-sponsor and run a pep rally for the entire Simmons community
• Participate together in intramural sports teams
• Watch games together with your floor mates in the common room
• Be entered into a raffle to be first in line to purchase Simmons Red Sox tickets
• 5 FREE passes to tour Fenway Park (will be raffled off)
• 20% off one item at the Yawkey Way store
• Programming around your favorite activity: SPORTS
• And much MUCH more!

Foodie Floor

Location: Mesick Hall, 4th Floor
Are you a self-proclaimed "foodie?" Do you live, sleep, and breath good food? Is your TV permanently stuck on the Food Network? Are you passionate about nutritious recipes and healthy cooking? Then the Foodie Floor is for you! Imagine living on a floor with other food lovers like yourself. Imagine having floor outings to local restaurants each semester and enjoying the diverse food options that Boston Restaurant Week has to offer every spring. Imagine having cooking parties in your hall with your floor mates. As a resident on the Foodie Floor you'll learn all about nutrition, eating healthy, and you'll get to hold your own "Top Chef" cook-off contests. These are just some of the many special benefits and programming about all things food-related you'll get on this floor!

Foodie Floor Benefits:

• Cooking parties in the newly renovated Mesick kitchen
• Monthly healthy eating and nutrition programming, run by Eat @ Simmons
• Recipe contest for a student-created recipe to featured during a meal at Bartol
• "Top Chef" Cook-off contest between residents
• Special programming around food and healthy eating
• Programming around your favorite activity: Food!
• And much MUCH more!

Arts and Crafts Floor

Location: Morse Hall
Do you consider yourself "crafty?" Are you always finding ways to repurpose things for new room decor? Do you enjoy making your own jewelry? Do you find yourself wandering the aisles of craft stores? If any of these things describe you, then you belong on the Arts & Crafts Floor! This new Theme Community for 2011-2012 will be full of students that enjoy nothing more than using their skills to create crafts, art projects, decorations and more. Residents can look forward to getting involved in regular craft nights, shopping trips to area craft stores, learning new crafting techniques, and more!

As a resident of the Arts & Crafts floor you'll get to help plan what types of crafts will be featured for the floor as well as what types of craft projects should be planned for the rest of the residence community. When craft lovers get together there are bound to be many fun times and creative outcomes!

Arts and Crafts Floor Benefits:

• Special guests brought to campus to help residents learn new craft techniques, such as scrapbooking, knitting, and more
• Special access to craft supplies and craft programs for floor residents only
• Frequent craft outings to events like the Bizarre Bazaar, local craft stores, and more
• Jewelry making lessons and supplies
• Planning of a campus craft fair to showcase projects made by Arts & Crafts Floor residents
• Knitting/crafting for charity around the holidays

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Special Interest Communities

Quiet Floor

Location: Located in South Hall, 4th floor
The quiet floor is designed for students who prefer a quiet atmosphere, this floor generally maintains quiet for sixteen hours per day. Floor members decide the specific hours.

Substance-Free Floor

Location: Mesick Hall, 3rd Floor
Due to strong interest we have created a second substance-free community, in addition to the South Hall community. Students will commit to a smoking-less, drug-free, and alcohol-free lifestyle.

Women-Only Floor

Location: Simmons Hall, First Floor Pilgrim Side - 4 double rooms available
This community is for students who prefer the privacy of not having male overnight guests or male guests using their bathroom. Students will commit to creating a comfortable environment for their neighbors by being respectful of the frequency of male guests. This community would accommodate the needs of religiously observant women (for example, observant Christian, Muslim, and Jewish women) as well as welcome all other women who are interested!

Transfer Support

Location: Morse 3rd floor
During the summer we will be assigning all transfer students to the residence campus rooms. While the whole of Morse 3rd floor will not be filled with transfers, we do try to assign a larger grouping of sophomore transfers to the same floor so that they can connect and support one another. We welcome returning sophomores to choose this floor during housing selection (no application needed) to meet these new students and welcome them to campus.

First-year Honors

Location: 50 spaces throughout building
The Office of Residence Life, in coordination with the honors program will be placing the first year cohort of honors students in Mesick Hall. They will not necessarily be assigned together as roommates, or on the same floor, but will be mixed throughout the community.

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Wellness Community

South Hall is a community that supports and promotes a healthy, balanced lifestyle, an ongoing process that is different for each individual. If you are interested in living in South Hall, please fill out a Theme & Special Interest Housing Form.

Curious about Wellness living? Hear how South Hall residents describe "wellness."

• "Maintaining your own type of happiness: physically, emotionally, mentally"
• "Getting enough sleep, eating right, exercising regularly, having balance in your life."
• "Being in a healthy state of mind and being substance free!"
• "Wellness is the embodiment of physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental wellness. They have to be balanced in a way you, as an individual, feel comfortable and happy with."
• "Wellness is a mind, body, and soul that is centered and a person who has a healthy relationship with others and herself."
• "Wellness to me means living a balanced life and caring for both your physical health and your mental and spiritual health, both of which are different to each individual."
• "Lots and lots and lots of sleep!"

How can I sign up for the Wellness Community?

Students wishing to live in South Hall for the upcoming academic year should attend the Special Interest housing selection on Monday, April 4, 2011 in Alumnae Hall. All students who desire to live in South Hall must fill out a Wellness Community Housing Form. This form must be submitted by March 23, 2011. There are no "right" answers to these questions, but we encourage everyone to be intentional about their decision to join the community. Each member of the South Hall community will be asked to respect the Wellness Community's substance-free atmosphere.

FAQ: South Hall/Wellness Community

I want to live in South Hall next year. When is housing selection for South?

The room selection process for all Theme Housing, including the Wellness Community will take place, April 4, 2011, in Alumnae Hall.

I don't currently live in South, but I am interested in living there next year. Should I come to selection on April 4, 2011?

Yes. The Special Interest Housing Selection process is for anyone interested in living in South next year, not just those who currently live here. Students will select rooms based on their lottery numbers.

Is South the only place I can choose to live in a triple?

No. We have already assigned triples throughout Simmons and Mesick. While we know that most sophomore students will choose to live in doubles, they can also choose any of these triples during room selection night! There are sophomores who live in triples in these buildings now, as they chose this option in the housing lottery last year.

I want to see if I can get a room in another hall, such as Arnold or Dix, but I am also interested in living in South. What should I do?

You should go to the general housing lottery for your class/status. But know that it is possible that that there will be no more spaces available in South after Special Interest housing.

So what does it really mean to live in the Wellness Community?

South Hall is a substance-free environment, where individuals embrace different concepts of wellness. Residents are expected to attend hall events and actively participate in the community.

I heard that since South Hall residents no longer have to sign a contract, the policies in South have been relaxed. Is this true?

It is true that South Hall residents are no longer required to sign a contract. However, by choosing to live in South, students agree to uphold the principles that were stated in this contract. They agree to respect the substance-free environment (even if they are over the age of 21), by not using substances in the hall or entering the hall under the influence of substances. Furthermore, this year students must complete a questionnaire, Wellness Application Form, before they are eligible for special interest housing like South Hall.

But isn't South just like any other hall in terms of its policies? What will really happen if I break them?

In terms of behavior policy, South Hall rules are very similar to other halls - all halls are substance free in the sense that alcohol consumption is illegal under 21. However, the culture is also different in South Hall. Not only does this behavior go against the college policy, it also goes against the values of our community. The Office of Residence Life reserves the right to relocate students who do not respect the standards of the Wellness Community to other halls.

Is there a cap on how many returning students can live in South?

Yes. Due to South's popularity we will need to cap returning students at 60%. This will leave 40% of the spaces for incoming 1st years. Hopefully the answers to these questions will help you make an informed decision about whether South is the right hall for you.

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• Graduate and Dix Scholar Housing
• Special Needs Housing