How Elmira College in Elmira, NY Promotes Community

Elmira College, located in Elmira, NY takes a great sense of pride in their efforts to promote community on their campus. Elmira College uses both classes and housing to encourage family like bonding among the students there. All of this beginning your freshman year, some aspects continuing until you graduate.

One thing that stands out in the community about Elmira College are the freshman traditions. First of all, during your freshman orientation you are required to wear a purple and gold (the school colors) beanie. You will look silly and feel uncomfortable but the great thing about Elmira College is that all freshman do this together. You may feel embarrassed at first but once you look around you will see that everyone is in the same situation as you are.

After orientation, all students who enter Elmira College as a freshman are required to take a Saturday morning class their first semester. Most people complain for the first couple of weeks but you really do get used to it and no one says you can't go back to sleep afterwords. You will have a writing class at 8:00am or 9:00am with the purpose of keeping freshman on campus, discouraging them from going home every weekend when they are homesick. Through this class you will also meet with your teacher one on one once a week to insure that you are on the right path and help with the transition into your college career.

Although Elmira College only requires this Saturday morning class your first semester of freshman year, they do require everyone to live on campus unless you are living with your legal guardian within sixty miles of the campus. Again, this is to encourage a close knit community atmosphere among the students at Elmira College. There are several different dorms available for the students, ranging from single rooms to suites that hold five people, to actual houses for high academic achievers.

Not only does Elmira College take pride in their community on campus, they take pride in helping the outside community which is why all students are required to complete a minimum of sixty hours of community service. When you attend freshman orientation you will have the opportunity to learn about different organizations to work with and are expected to finish the sixty hours during your first year at Elmira College. Although the sixty hours are required, many students continue for the rest of their years at Elmira after gaining such a great experience from the work they'd done.

These are all great efforts that the administration at Elmira College make in order to have a sense of community on their campus and although it takes a little adjustment when you start, by the time you leave Elmira College you will be calling it home because that is the feeling these programs create.