And I work for them...

So now that I'm settled in and back into school-year mode, I apologize for the long respite between posts. As many of you may or may not have heard, I now work as a Deans' Intern for GW Housing Programs (formerly CLLC). They use me for projects that need, and/or can benefit from having, input from students who have worked "on the ground" for Housing. They reward me with a standard paycheck and a free dorm room in City Hall. For this I am most grateful.

I think you all know what's coming here, so let me start off by saying that the changes CLLC has made are, for the most part, significant improvements over the last system. Especially when Housing Selection time comes around again, I think that the new system they roll out will be met with cautious applause rather than thunderous hisses of disapproval. The people there also, for the most part, go far and beyond their job descriptions in doing what they believe is the right thing to do.

That said, GW Housing has placed emphasis on operating more like a business (something that has been university-wide). I am not wholly against this, but I find at least one of the programs in which they are engaging this year to be contradictory to this new philosophy.

What I'm talking about is the implementation of Living and Learning Cohorts. LLCs provide students an opportunity to form their own themed communities with their friends, so that they can all be placed on the same floor or section of a building and supposedly "learn and grow together." I cannot fault this policy at all - it allows students to be happier with their surroundings, thus reducing overall work for the department by staving off potential reasons for complaint. My problem is financial in nature. Using my friend's LLC as an example, I will show you how absurd the LLC programs have gotten.

She, and her group of friends, receive an budget of more than $2,000. The theme of their Cohort? Multicultural Food and Festivals. They receive more than $2,000 to go out to eat at international restaurants together. Now, I certainly do not fault her or any of her friends for taking this money; if GW offered me $2,000 back, especially in food form, I would take it graciously and certainly not think twice. But, being one of the many students who has to pay into this, I am outraged that any of my money is going towards something that is so far removed from anything related to a college education.

Not only that, but at least two good friends of mine from the former CLLC were denied jobs over the summer because there wasn't enough funding for them. So instead of paying qualified employees to do necessary work, they provide money for that LLC to eat international cuisine. They cut their own ability to serve the students, but continued to provide essentially pocket money for small groups of students. This, and crap like it, is why people hated CLLC, and why people will continue to hate GW Housing Programs.

The LLC system itself is beneficial to students. Giving them thousands of dollars to do things completely unrelated to education is not beneficial, and irritates me to no end. Building communities is, to an extent, the most vital part of any Housing department. Allowing people to live together based on a common interest is a great idea, and a great way to have students participate in a community voluntarily. MUCH better than trying to make juniors and seniors form a "community" in their dorms after they've already had two or three years to join some other sort of community. It is simply staggering, though, that GW Housing Programs will support programs like my friend's (of which there are dozens), where they are essentially paying students in pocket money.