Talking Stick - November/December 2009 - 9

A New CommuNity Goes hi-teCh At LehiGh SeTh BlumenThal, luTIS ReSIdenT T he decision to return to the residence hall of their freshman year rather than transitioning to a house is easy for many sophomores, but losing the benefits of their learning community is not. Seth Blumenthal, a sophomore at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, offered students an option this year that is the best of both worlds. Dissatisfied with the available housing options, Blumenthal gathered together a group of friends that shared his interest in technology, and they formed the Lehigh University Technology in Society (LUTIS) house, also known as the Tech House. “The only options seemed to be living in a residence hall again, or going Greek,” says Blumenthal. “We wanted to have a community that we could all be a part of without pledging to the hill or trying to shoot lucky in the housing lottery.” The residents of LUTIS on Lehigh University’s campus founded their community on their interest in technology. Their house became their first project together when they created an air conditioning unit for it that cost only $30. The LUTIS house, which opened in August 2009 in the former Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity house, is part of a larger university program called “Live Lehigh!” which provides residential learning communities for upperclass students. The other community themes, based in either a house or a residence hall, include the Green House, Healthy Living, Musical Enrichment, CHOICE Substance Free, and Global Citizenship. The LUTIS community currently houses 38 second-year students but hopes to expand its numbers and open its doors to all upperclass students in the future. However, applicants to the house need to be an active member of LUTIS before they are provided residency. There are plenty of opportunities for prospective residents to get involved with the house. Blumenthal and other student leaders of LUTIS have provided residents with a number of projects related to the goals of the program. For the first project of the year, the residents actually built an air conditioning unit for the house out of a small fan, some tubing, and a water chamber unit for only $30. As a social activity, the students recently took part in a Geocaching event, which is an outdoor interactive activity that allows people worldwide to use a GPS system to find containers hidden by other players. “That was a great deal of fun and a good way to mix technology and culture,” Blumenthal comments. In the coming weeks, the house is also holding a series of discussions on music copyright and will have a music remixing workshop. Holding theme-based events like these is required by all of the Live Lehigh! communities, which are mostly student-run. Residence Life Coordinator Tyrone Russell believes that allowing upperclass students to take the lead in developing these programs has been a great success: “It teaches them initiative. They see the community come to life, and they really have a chance to make their housing experience worthwhile.” For more information on Live Lehigh! and the LUTIS house, visit www3.lehigh.edu/ studentlife/housing/livelehigh.asp. november + December 2009

http://www3.lehigh.edu/studentlife/housing/livelehigh.asp http://www3.lehigh.edu/studentlife/housing/livelehigh.asp

Talking Stick - November/December 2009

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