Living and Learning Communities

Living-Learning Communities{linespace:2. 0}
By Diana
         Many colleges and universities are creating living and learning communities that allow students to create groups and live together. This is a perfect example of an idea that looks great on paper, but when put into practice it is a fail. This idea would be great if every student was rid of all negative human qualities, but then they would not be humans, now would they? Sure, the image of a group of students from all walks of life living together and studying together is the goal. However, if the average person learned anything in high school: it is that student groups are often exclusive to race, gender, ethnicity, everything and anything a student or an adult is.
         The living and learning communities are inadequate in many ways. These communities can cause segregation between races, make exclusive cliques, and hinder students ability to see others perspective. Personally, I would not join a living and learning community because it is important to meet new people and new perspectives. When students like myself are given the opportunity to make a group we reach for our friends, not strangers. Students like me make groups out of friends because their beliefs and ethics are the same. Now, apart from beliefs and ethics take into consideration students race and ethnicities. From my experience, most cliques including mine are my color and have similar ethnicities. In short, living and learning communities are disastrous because they can have multiple negative consequences: self-segregation, rivalry, racism, isolation, and inability to understand others. For living and learning communities to be effective changes need to be made to the idea.
         From a learning perspective schools should create communities based on classes students are taking. Within those classes, professors should assign groups and rotate them ever so often. This would allow students to not only study but get to know others and be exposed to other forms of thinking. Until these changes are made learning and living communities are a potential threat to society after all the Nazi's started off as a political group.