Civitas is a Living Learning Community unlike any other on campus. It is an organized yearlong program (meeting on a weekly basis) that aims to assist first-year students with a healthy and successful transition to life at New College. Civitas helps new students orient themselves and connect with campus resources through workshops with different campus offices. As a member of Civitas, you will be provided opportunities to explore and connect meaningfully with community both on-campus and in the greater Sarasota area.

Students will be encouraged to get involved in a variety of ways including student government, clubs, and volunteer opportunities. The workshops and activities you participate in as a member of Civitas will shape your natural leadership skills and strengths and help you apply them in ways that benefit you and your community. The goal of Civitas is to provide experiences and lessons that will reach beyond the realm of your life at New College while also helping you navigate your first year here. Open to incoming first year students.

Meetings and Activities:

• Team & community building 
• Strengths identification and goal setting
• Campus resource workshops
• Group activities and programs to enhance skills in resilience, self-efficacy and emotional intelligence
• Financial Literacy workshop
• Career-related community engagement opportunities and programs
• Sarasota Excursions
• Program Completion Celebration

Location: Pei 3rd Court, First Year Community

Students living in this LLC should be excited to live with LGBTQIA+ people as well as learning about and celebrating LGBTQIA+ history and culture. Residents are placed without requirements of gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation. Programming in this LLC will be focused on solidifying those connections and opportunities to explore through historical and contemporary experiences of LGBTQIA+ people. Open to all students.

Goals:

• Develop and create a safe and comfortable space allowing for members to share in the exploration of identity.
• Create an environment and community connecting for students and guests who want to explore, learn, and grow, and creating the space for support and education within the LLC, which will hopefully spread to peers, and the NCF community.

Learning Outcomes:

• To foster a respectful and strong community
• Develop knowledge of LGBTQIA+ culture, identities, histories and politics
• Increase exposure and involvement in social justice through organizing and participating in service.
• Students will be able to identify the resources on and off campus for members of the LGBTQ community.

Activities and Events:

• Faculty programming.
• Professional development and expectations.
• Guest lecturers.
• Identity affirmation and discussions.
• Campus inclusive social and educational activities and events.

Location: Please be advised that placement is based on the number of applicants. The letter dorms are NOT a guaranteed placement.

In the Sustainability LLC, members will be encouraged to learn about and live their most sustainable lives. The Sustainability LLC will provide regular educational programs as well as the opportunity to engage with peers who are similarly seeking to reduce their impact on the Earth. There will be no prerequisites to apply for the Sustainability LLC, besides a willingness to strive for a more sustainable lifestyle. Most importantly, participation will not be a competition, but a means of inspiration. Sustainability LLC will also partner with the Council of Green Affairs and RAW (Resources Aren’t Waste) club to help in planning and volunteering for events. Open to all students.

Goals:

• Develop a knowledge base for good health and well-being.
• Educate community members on sustainability issues and good practices.
• Increase the number of outdoor edible gardens on campus.
• Reduce the amount of non-renewable energy on campus.
• Reduce the amount of waste and garbage in our dining halls and residential community.

Learning Outcomes:

• Assist students in identifying campus and community resource to assist in successful personal and academic growth.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge and the practical application of on and off campus resources.
• Students will maintain or enhance their personal knowledge of sustainability resources.

Activities and Events:

• Contributing to a communal garden.
• Foraging wild edible foods and herbs in the Food Forest and the surrounding area.
• Creating habits to reduce waste.
• Participating in and encouraging the composting program.
• Using sustainable materials.
• Participation in community service and field trips.

Location: Please be advised that placement is based on the number of applicants. The letter dorms are NOT a guaranteed placement.

If you love writing, reading and imagining, then this may be the hall on campus for you. With an in-house, communal library; brainstorming whiteboard and jumbo-sticky area; and tables and couches for joint writing sessions, this LLC is home to writers experimenting with all genres and divisions. Fantasy, suspense, romance, action and more conveyed through poetry, playwriting, essays, and short-stories -– You name it, we’ve got it. Scholarly writing, too, in short or long form like the thesis project, is a treasured craft here. Open to all students.

Goals:

• Create an inclusive community for students who enjoy writing and reading
• Support student development of positive writing habits through weekly writing groups
• Facilitate student friendships with like-minded peers

Learning Outcomes:

• Students will enhance their knowledge of and confidence in writing
• Students will develop writing habits to support the achievement of personal and academic writing goals
• Students will identify and utilize multiple on campus resources to develop their own writing practices

Activities and Events:

• Writing retreats on campus
• Special tutorials for students in the Writing LLC only
• Movie nights, hot cocoa talks, common room Mad Libs, late night breakfasts, and more are scheduled year-round.
• Field trips to Selby Library creative writing workshops, visiting writer readings, and off-site coffee-shop writing sessions

The Writing LLC will be partnered with the Writing Resource Center (WRC). Apply today!

Location: Please be advised that placement is based on the number of applicants. The letter dorms are NOT a guaranteed placement.

The Outdoor Adventure LLC aims to foster a community of individuals who enjoy camping, hiking, spending time in the outdoors and the preservation of our natural resources for future generations to enjoy. The LLC is welcome to outdoor enthusiasts of any level, whether you have grown up camping or are just starting to take an interest. Members will work together to plan excursions to Florida’s many beautiful public parks and forests while following the principles of Leave No Trace, plan activities such as kayaking and rock climbing, and will be able to take part in on-campus workshops on various aspects of camping and hiking safety. Open to all students.

Goals:

• Educate community members on different opportunities for outdoor adventure and fitness activities.
• Provide multiple events and opportunities for education centered on the development of outdoor fitness and survival.
• Collaborate with faculty, staff and community members in developing programs that merge academic interests with outdoor fitness, appreciation, sustainability and lifelong learning.

Learning Outcomes:

• Assist students in identifying campus and community resource to assist in successful personal and academic growth.
• Students will demonstrate knowledge and the practical application of campus resources.
• Students will maintain or enhance their personal knowledge of outdoor fitness, survival and sustainability.

Activities and Events:

• Take part in our planned day trips as well as longer weekend excursions.
• Lend your knowledge to help educate others learn methods for safe camping and hiking, and learn from those with different experiences than yourself.
• Take an active role in the upkeep and preservation of the public lands in Florida to ensure that future generations will have the same opportunities to enjoy nature.

Location: Please be advised that placement is based on the number of applicants. The letter dorms are NOT a guaranteed placement.

The New College Health and Wellness living learning community is based on holistic wellness. The Departments of Intramurals and Recreation, Health, Dining Services and Housing have partnered together in developing this community. Open to all students.

Goals:

• Create a community of support and accountability toward living a holistic, healthy life.
• Enhance innovative opportunities for student social and academic learning.
• Establish a network of students, faculty, and staff working toward and supporting one another’s well-being through regularly scheduled events, such as meditation groups, workout groups, meal preparation events, regularly held study sessions, workshops on healthy relationships, self-care, stress-management, and more.
• Collaborate with members and staff toward creating individualized wellness models.

Learning Outcomes:

• Students will gain a knowledge of how to live a balanced, healthy life in college and beyond, and create and work toward their own individualized wellness model.
• Students will gain a holistic perspective from each category they incorporate in their wellness model, for example, considering the mental and emotional implications, and not just the physical implications of healthy eating and exercise/movement.
• Students will gain individual skill sets and tools and apply them to their own process of well-being.
• Students will be familiar and connected with campus and community resources to assist in successful personal and academic growth.

Activities and Events:

• Self-care and stress-management workshops and events.
• Weekly group meal preparations and planning.
• Regularly scheduled exercise and movement groups.
• Interpersonal development and relationship workshops and discussions.
• Alcohol/drug awareness programs.
• Mental health awareness and advocacy workshops and opportunities.
• Regularly held meditation, yoga, and mindfulness groups.

Location: Please be advised that placement is based on the number of applicants. The letter dorms are NOT a guaranteed placement.