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Student Life
The mission of the staff of Student Life is to provide educational and extra-curricular activities and experiences that encourage students to have well-rounded and positive college years. Staff seek to encourage students to look forward to being responsible and socially conscious adults, productive citizens of the world, and proud St. Lawrence alumni. Working to help students achieve their personal and professional goals, the staff models by their professionalism, words and deeds, examples of integrity, good citizenship, intelligence, patience and compassion. The Student Life team values learning, intellectual curiosity, and academic, athletic and social achievement; they value a campus community that encourages free expression of ideas and allows for appropriate expressions of dissent. They work within the ethos of a residential community that provides comfort and security to all residents, and a residential culture that fosters learning, good study habits and respect for the lives and rights of others to live in a peaceful environment.

The Division of Student Life has 28 professional staff members organized in the offices of Career Services, Residence Life, Health and Counseling, Multicultural Affairs, Security and Safety, Student Activities and Leadership, and Advocates Program. These staff members work with students individually, and through over 100 clubs and organizations.

St. Lawrence is known for leadership building. Leadership is in the culture. Any student with an idea has the freedom, and often the funding, to pursue it. Students find encouragement, and mentoring, to run for office, volunteer, form a club, organize a campus event, and follow their passions.

With over 100 clubs and activities, all students find friends with shared interests. Each club and program, of course, is special to those who participate. We speak of the St. Lawrence community as if it’s a single entity but it’s really many entities that combine to be larger than the sum of the parts. And students, alumni, faculty and staff attest—it’s remarkably easy for any one individual to move from one entity to another.

Those new to St. Lawrence, whether students, staff, faculty or presidents, will quickly learn that Java is the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights; Java is a student-run performance venue that’s received national renown. The campus eagerly looks forward to the annual Peak Weekend, when the Outing Club (one of the first of its kind in the nation) sponsors hikes that attempt to place Laurentians at the summit of every Adirondack high peak during the same three-day period. Java and Outing Club are two organizations with long histories at St. Lawrence, so perhaps it’s no surprise that they enjoy continued success, though one would discover newer clubs such as Oxfam and Amnesty International sponsoring events and programs that have wide appeal. The Greek system offers opportunities for leadership development, service and friendship, through four sororities and one fraternity, with a second fraternity planned for recolonization in 2009.

The Residential Campus
St. Lawrence University requires all undergraduate students to reside on campus for the whole of their University experience. This requirement is predicated upon the belief that over the course of four years, students benefit progressively from a residential curriculum in a number of ways. They learn to live with a diversity of students and to value the unique contributions of community members. Students develop and utilize leadership skills, allowing them to have a positive impact on their residential communities. They also develop skills that will benefit them throughout their lives — including communication, assertiveness, prioritization and time management skills.

First-year students are housed in traditional residence halls, where they participate in their selected First-Year Program (FYP) communities. Faculty and staff work in teams to ensure students a seamless educational experience, where academic and residential programs are integrated. In the first year, students gain requisite knowledge of themselves and of St. Lawrence to choose among the many residential options, which include traditional residence hall rooms, suites with lounge areas, theme cottages, Greek houses and the senior townhouses. Many upperclass students elect to live in one of the 16 residential theme communities or two learning communities to pursue an interest collaboratively with their peers.