Residential Life Residential Life exists to promote the optimal experience for each Westfield State University resident, contributing to the educational mission of the University through the provision of a supportive, secure, and developmental living environment. Since students spend 90% of their time at the University outside of the classroom, we have designed our residential services, programs, and amenities to: • Be an integral part of residents’ educational experiences; • Promote students’ educational, personal, and social development; and • Serve as a vital resource to increase students’ awareness, persistence, satisfaction, and graduation. Residence hall life is characterized by diversity, spontaneity, activity, and self-discovery. Through experiences within the residential environment, students are able to grow not only intellectually, but culturally, spiritually and emotionally. Each resident has the right to expect, and the obligation to contribute to, a climate of mutual respect, trust, support and interdependence. To encourage and facilitate such growth the CLEAR Community Plan was developed. CLEAR focuses on helping students build a community within their Residence Hall. Success has been seen in the decrease of damages over the past
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two years and the increase in students supporting one another and caring for their surroundings. Residence Education develops and implements diverse programming in the residence halls and allows students to track participation in out-of-classroom activities through their co-curricular record. Each Resident Assistant is required to host three programs a month and one faculty program a semester as a way to further educational efforts in the residence halls. The OWL Advantage program is an institution-wide, out-of-classroom programming effort, developed to encourage students to attend the many programs hosted on campus. By attending targeted, educationally-focused programs, students can earn rewards for participation such as gift certificates, flex dollars and other prizes. Featured events for 2012-13 have included: • The annual Haunted House and Fun Stop (October) for area children, which also serves as a fund-raiser for local charities • Several sexual assault awareness, prevention & risk reduction programs focused on first-year students • Over 80 events featuring faculty and administrators in the residence halls • An ‘Ok-SOBER-Fest’ week of programs focused on ways to have fun at college without alcohol (October) • Habitat for Humanity ‘Alternative Spring Break’ build (March)