The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 2 - 89

Residence Hall Living:
Four Notions About
Community
The Journal of College and
University Student Housing
Vol. 4, No. 1 (1974)
MARVIN BEAMER
University of Northern Colorado,
Greeley

College and university residence halls can be characterized as
ranging from "adolescent ghettos" to splendidly organized livinglearning centers. Somewhere in between lies the modal type of
living accommodation and place for personal interaction-a location that may be thought of by the student as his own "castle" or
merely a place to "hang his hat."
Ideally, the professional, student, maintenance, and kitchen
staffs will form a combined group that causes students to feel that
their hall is a warm, friendly community. Professional and student
staff members are usually given formal instruction as to their role
in facilitating positive feelings about the hall environment, but the
other staff members are no less important. The only contact some
students have with the administration may be the cold soup at
lunch or the trash chute that never seems to be open-with negative feelings elicited that dehumanize the environment.
The concept of community in a campus residential setting suggests that attention must be paid to the gestalt, the totality of experiences and awareness in the life space. It is suggested by Maslow's
hierarchy of needs that before the need to know (quest for knowledge) may be considered, physiological, self-esteem, and affiliative
requirements must be met. The affiliative need is that which is here
under discussion.

The concept of
community in a
campus residential
setting suggests
that attention
must be paid
to the gestalt,
the totality of
experiences and
awareness in the
life space.

Affiliation and community allude to a sense of responsibility
for the well-being of one's self in a context of living with others
(group living). Before a person can concern himself with others,
though, he must see to it that he is "together" as a person (identity);
that he is in the process of formulating an adequate philosophy of
life (value system), and that his physical and psychological growth
is developmentally harmonious with social norms {developmental
socialization). In this paper, these four priorities are not necessarily
singularly completed before moving on to the next, but each are
given at least cursory appraisal.

GROUP LIVING
Riker, in reporting the effects caused by burgeoning college enrollments, shines light on the problems "size" has brought to campus:
International RA Symposium
Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

Sheer numbers of students . . . have produced feelings of
impersonality, indifference and the bigness of the institution
V O L U M E 4 6 , NO. 2 * 2 0 2 0

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 2

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