Previous LLCs
The following is a list of Living & Learning Communities that students have participated in during previous academic years. Students can create a new community or revive a past LLC. If you have questions about any of these communities or if you would like more information, please contact us.
Advocates for Sports
Our focus is on the awareness of the benefits of athletics and the worthwhile lessons and personality traits developed from participating in sports. The athlete stereotype can often have negative connotations, however being involved in athletics teaches individuals far more than one can imagine. Our goal is to emphasize the traits developed through athletics, and encourage the community to get involved.
Artbox
The purpose of our Living & Learning Community is to bring awareness to the importance of creation and art in the lives of children and adults. The arts have impacted us all and have played an important role in our education. The issue we are directly addressing is the defunding of arts programs in schools, which we consider equally important to all other subject areas that are taught. However, art programs tend to be first to lose funding after budget cuts in schools. Our learning goals are to learn more about art and crafts techniques, discover how to best share our art and the process of creation with the community, and to learn how we can best help support art programs in schools. Our members wish to gain more knowledge of art techniques and to get the chance to express themselves with art regularly. We all hope to gain insight on how we can help the community see the importance of arts that we recognize. This experience will help us further grow and become more active citizens with a focus on a topic we all enjoy- the arts.
Baseball
Our societal issue is the health of youth in the community. We hope to get kids active and also teach them important life skills through the sport of baseball.
Birds and the Bees
The ultimate ambition of our community is to endorse and encourage sexual safety, awareness and responsibility among both our peers and high school students in the community. We believe that through the presentation of both educational programming and a system of peer support, we will work toward assisting in differentiating between sexually healthy and unhealthy behaviors and attitudes. Issues that will be addressed include STIs, sexual and relationship abuse, date/acquaintance rape, effects of drugs and alcohol, contraceptives and sexual orientation.
Building an Understanding of Spirituality
Our community's purpose is to encourage spiritual conversations and decrease sensitivity in discussing beliefs and faith. We would like to explore techniques that will help others to fell comfortable expressing their views on spirituality and connect with others through investigation and knowledge of different beliefs. We will learn about how spirituality affects everyday living, and whether a set religion or beliefs effect the values and meanings of life. Our hope is to spread knowledge and acceptance of diverse beliefs and faiths, as well as encourage the openness of spiritual practices in everyday life.
Cornell Advocates for Safety CASH
Cornell Advocates for Safety and Health is a group of students passionate about facilitating personal health and well-being through the promotion of drug safety, safer sex, and mental health. This group educates and supports a community that fosters personal growth and fulfillment, both on and off campus. Group members participate actively through weekly meetings and monthly events, allowing for our goals to be met, and for health and safety to be encouraged throughout the community.
Community Service
A community of students who share the passion for service both within the Cornell community and its surrounding neighbors.
Environmental Community Outreach (ECO)
The lifestyle of the average Western citizen is consumption-centric, highly delocalized, and resource-intensive. Though many people are realizing the inherent instability of this high-impact status quo, they are unsure how to move beyond it; Sustainable Living, the founding principle of the Environmental Community Outreach (ECO) House, endeavors to bridge that gap. The ECO house hopes to become a force for transformation within the Cornell and Mount Vernon communities, providing material resources, knowledge, laughter, and inspiration for those seeking to live lightly and joyfully through the essential changes ahead.
Exercising Healthy Habits
As food becomes less natural and more convenience based, 68% of America is now overweight. Community members will make healthier choices they can use the rest of their lives. Also, we hope to help teach the Cornell community ways to live healthier lifestyles.
Fit and Active
The goal of our community is to educate ourselves and others about being active and healthy. We aim to become leaders within the larger communities of Cornell and Mt. Vernon in order to spread our messages about starting and/or maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Personal and communal improvement is the overall focus of our group and was influential in the development of our goals and projects.
Impressionists
The purpose of our community is to present art as a type of service to the students of Cornell, the Mount Vernon community, and to the flood-stricken homes of Cedar Rapids, IA. Through our three main goals - Flood relief, local education and campus education - we will be using art as a way to serve those in need. We will be doing many projects, including art-gifting programs for floor-affected families, giving free art lessons to students in the Mount Vernon Community School District, holding fair trade sales and beautifying campus with possible public art displays around the hilltop.
Knights of Cornell
The Knights of Cornell is a group based on creating relationships between Cornell College and the Mount Vernon community. We will create this bond by reaching out to the student of Mount Vernon Elementary School by providing leadership, mentoring and diverse activities to foster a sense of community among all.
Lacrosse
Athletes and enthusiasts will find roommates who challenge and support each other all for the love of the game.
Languages
The goal of this community is to foster improvement in the learning of foreign languages. Group members will aid each other in improving their language of interest while also learning about other members' languages of interest. Outside of the building, the group will be teaching the basics of their language to students in the Mount Vernon school system or providing tutoring to older students. Within Cornell's community, the group will seek to bring awareness of other languages and cultures.
Lifelong Health & Wellness
In the college setting, students are given the opportunity to make independent decisions regarding their health. But, when presented the choice, many students are not choosing to lead healthy lifestyles, which attributes to the country’s increased rates of obesity and heart disease. We, as an LLC, hope to convince our fellow students, and selves, to make healthier long-term life choices, by promoting proper nutritional choices, routine exercise, and mental health awareness.
Mythos
Mythos stands for religions and spiritual research, cultural immersion and passionate education to better comprehend and understand mythology and the cultures of the world (post and current). Furthermore, we intend to share all of what we learn with others to promote tolerance and understanding through education to positively impact the community we live in.
NOMS
NOMS is a community devoted to preparing and sharing food. On a monthly basis the NOMS community will explore and learn about a variety of recipes. This community endeavors to pool the skills and resources of it's participants to facilitate the development of cost-effective and healthy meals, as well as functional, self-regulated living arrangements. NOMS will interact with the rest of the Cornell community by hosting events designed to educate other students.
Octave
Octave is a music community. We are dedicated to the musical education of ourselves and the community. To accomplish this edification, we teach weekly lessons to underprivileged youth in Cedar Rapids, and have a monthly radio show and newsletter. As a community we also provide lessons to students on Cornell College campus, perform at least one concert a year, and put together small ensembles for events on and off campus.
One Book
The One Book community was conceived to enhance the current program. The purpose of One Book is to coordinate and facilitate activities and programs for the One Book program. We will work with campus organizations, community groups and staff and faculty. The goal is to provide a sustainable and stable structure for an oversight committee that can be adapted to each year's book and subsequent topic.
Safe Space
In a joint effort to respond to the mental health needs of students Cornell’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), and [alliance] seek to establish a safe space with all hours access to mental health first aid. We seek to provide a safe space for students in need of mental health assistance by trained members who live in a space that can accommodate overnight stays of non-resident students.
Theater and Dance
The Theater and Dance LLC is dedicated to increasing community outreach within Cornell College and the greater Mount Vernon Community through theatrical engagement. Through organization and facilitation of workshops, pre-show and post-show discussions, and transportation to performances on and off campus, we will work to make theater more accessible for all members of our community.
Third Wave Resource Group
Third Wave Resource Group (TWRG) is a student rights and resource group centered in The Cottage, a safe, comfortable environment for community members which provides information, equality and empowerment informed by feminism. Resources we provide include: Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Advocacy, Access to Safe Room, Emergency Transportation, Library, Kitchen, Sewing Room, Safe Zone, Confidentiality.
Vision
The purpose of this community is to create healthy outlets, foster creative growth and help broaden understanding of health and social issues faced by female students at Mount Vernon Middle School. Issues to be explored include (but aren't limited to) psychological and physiological development of adolescent females, benefits of physical activity, impact of risky behaviors, analysis of traditional gender roles, issues and diversity and the importance of further education.
Wellness Through Athletics
Our issue is helping kids that are privileged and underprivileged to gain leadership, communication skills with each other, and also staying away from bad influence through sports. Our community members will gain from this experience many useful tools for the future. For example, we will gain communication skills, more leadership roles, and a sense of awareness of other people.
Youth Advocates
Through this community we plan to gain knowledge of issues facing children today on a local, national and international scale. With our new understanding of these topics we will educate the Cornell community on our findings. We also plan to work directly with children and strive to be good role models for them.