Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Residential Commons: Campus homes for holidays, finals
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Residential Commons, home to more than 2,000 students, faculty, and staff, created a community that embraced the holidays.
By Nancy George
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ News
DALLAS (Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ) – For college students, the holiday season is a time of contrasts as celebrations take place just before students fill the libraries preparing for finals.
In Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Residential Commons, home to more than 2,000 first-year and sophomore students, faculty, staff and student leaders help create a community that encourages students to embrace the holiday season and successfully prepare for finals.
Follow #HilltopHolidays on Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ website for regular updates on holiday activities and finals relief in Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Residential Commons. Read more. . .
Scenes from the Commons |
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| Armstrong Commons |
Boaz Commons |
| Crum Commons |
Loyd Commons |
| Mary Hay - Peyton - Shuttles Commons |
McElvaney Commons |
| Kathy Crow Commons |
Cockrell-McIntosh Commons |
| Morrison - McGinnis Commons |
Virginia - Snider Commons |
| Ware |
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With the help of student leadership, each Commons celebrates the holidays as a community, with activities and events ranging from door-decorating contests, to attending a performance in Dallas' Arts District, to collecting toys for the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. Faculty members who live in the Commons open their kitchens for holiday baking and dress their pets in holiday wear for photos. Ugly sweater contests, international feasts, holiday movie marathons, cookie decorating and ornament-making are part of the celebrations, along with some unique events. Students in one Commons are decorating gingerbread houses, with a socioeconomic twist. Others are using Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ's Deason Innovation Design Gym to laser cut special decorations.
The holiday spirit extends to one of the most stressful times of university life – finals. Beginning with the first day of finals, Dec. 8, Commons leaders enforce 24-hour quiet hours and provide snacks for study breaks. Pancake-suppers, pet therapy with residence kittens and dogs, hot chocolate send-offs to exams and even massages are planned to help reduce finals stress.
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ introduced the Residential Commons model in August 2014 to 11 residence halls, integrating the academic, residential and social aspects of university life. Live-in faculty and staff members, resident assistants and other student leaders work together to create communities of support.
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