Building Community on the New Campus
For Adam Morton [BA 2016], the student council president of the University College, the new Bayview campus holds both challenges and exciting opportunities. “We are a Ballyconnor-sized student body in a Bayview-sized campus,” he says. The Student Council has formed its mission around strengthening community at the new campus. “We want to build the same kind of community that we had at the Ballyconnor campus, but now here at Bayview. We want to create the same sense that it’s okay to sit down at a table and talk to people you don’t know.”
Determining how to best utilize the larger physical space and facilities at Bayview has been a major priority this year, and it will continue to be so. “We’re figuring out what works and what doesn’t,” Adam says. The Alumni Hall, for example, is a great place for musical performances because of the stage and open floor plan. The Student Commons, with its comfortable couches and patio, is better suited for smaller, social gatherings.
He encourages students to spend time in the lower levels to keep the sense of community they enjoyed at Ballyconnor. “Form study groups, hang out and make new friends,” Adam says.
Adam and the Student Council have planned several on-campus events for this year. Earlier in the fall semester, they held a coffee house to showcase students’ artistic expressions. They also plan to provide opportunities to serve by teaming up with local and global outreach groups.
“We want to stay true to previous traditions but also create something new,” says Adam. “We have big ideas.”