Our residence halls and townhouses are where you’ll lay your head at night, but it’s the lifelong friendships you’ll build and the experiences you’ll share in our vibrant and engaging community that will make SUNY Oswego truly feel like home. At SUNY Oswego, the experience of living on campus offers students a variety of opportunities to connect and become actively involved within their residence hall community. Take advantage of our free social and educational programming. With 100+ student organizations on campus, two community councils, and hundreds of campus events each year, there is something for everyone to get involved in. We post many upcoming events that are happening in the residence halls and on campus on our Instagram page.
Getting Involved
Community Building Activities
The Resident Assistants constantly organize “community building activities” for the residence hall floors. These are the fun, social, activities that help form a group of residents into a community. Whether it is watching a movie late at night in the lounge, eating lunch in the dining hall as an entire floor, or attending a campus sporting game together, these events are inevitably the foundations for building connections between residents and a sense of shared community. These events can even be initiated by the residents themselves, with the floor approaching the RA staff with their ideas. Many student athletes, theater performers, dancers, or musicians have been able to count on their fellow floor mates coming out to events to support them.
Educational Opportunities
SUNY Oswego’s Residence Life and Housing department prioritizes creating an environment within our halls that encourages learning and personal growth just as much as we help to connect residents with each other socially. To that end, we use several different strategies from bulletin boards to intentional conversations to ensure students have opportunities to explore and develop their knowledge and skills connected to five learning goals:
- Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
- Well-Being
- Self-Efficacy
- Leadership Development
- Community Engagement
Special Events
The largest social programs of the year are centered around bringing the entire residential student population together for some fun activities!
LakerFest: Residence Life and Housing welcomes all our students to campus with this annual carnival-like event that occurs the first Saturday of the fall semester. Staple activities include numerous inflatables, a zipline, food trucks, a live DJ, build-a-buddies, a mechanical bull, and fun photo booth opportunities so you can take pictures with your new friends!
WinterFest: This annual event occurs on the first Saturday of the spring semester and serves as an opportunity for students to get together and reconnect after the long winter break! Activities are typically winter themed and feature free open skating, a hot chocolate bar, build-a-buddies, an escape room, snow-globe making and more!
LakerNight Series: All of our individual residence halls take turns facilitating their largest social program of the year! All residential students are invited no matter which hall you live in and these events occur on a Friday or Saturday night. The themes of the programs vary from year to year and in the past have included casino nights, fall fests, Halloween proms, and a trip back to the 60’s. Make sure to show your hall pride and lookout for details on when your community’s LakerNight is set to be in full swing!
Community Council
Community Council is a student-run organization dedicated to advocating for the interests and needs of residence hall students while also providing fun opportunities for connection. Community Council is committed to:
- developing leadership
- creating connections
- stimulating engagement and involvement
Community Council meets regularly throughout the academic year to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas. The Council represents the residential student population to SA (Student Association) and SUNY Oswego administration. Each Community Council is advised by a Graduate Assistant for Residential Education and receives a budget to implement activities as well as hall improvements.
Our Mission Statement
We, the student leaders and members of Community Council, share a common goal: to improve the quality of life for all students living in SUNY Oswego residence halls. We hope to strengthen communication between the Community Council and the residents whom we represent. We provide a voice for all residents to the administration and the greater SUNY Oswego community.
Our Goals
- To foster community within and across residence halls at SUNY Oswego.
- To enhance the residential experience at SUNY Oswego.
- To support and provide students with leadership development opportunities.
- To advocate on behalf of residents to the SUNY Oswego administration.
- To create meaningful programmatic opportunities for students to connect with one another.
- To instill a sense of belonging and pride in the residential community and SUNY Oswego.
Benefits of Joining
Community Council is a great way to get connected to other residents and make a difference in your community! Students who actively participate get to plan fun events for their peers, voice ideas for creating a better community and develop important leadership skills. Community Council is also a great resume-building experience. It helps students get involved early on in a SUNY Oswego leadership role that can help prepare them for other advanced opportunities. Students participating attend weekly or bi-weekly Community Council meetings and can expect to spend approximately 1-2 hours per week on Community Council.
To Get Involved
You can run for a number of Executive Board positions or volunteer to be a residence hall representative. Email [email protected] with questions, or speak with your Resident Hall Director. All new and returning residents are welcome to get involved and make a difference in their community!
Positions
President (Elected by Community residents)
- Schedules, plans, and conducts Community Council meetings
- Establishes agenda with input from the council, hall, and advisor
- Develops goals and objectives for the academic year with input from the council, hall, and advisor
- Delegates and clarifies responsibilities to appropriate members of the executive board
- Maintains knowledge of university policies and procedures
- Insures all council events and decisions are within university policies
Vice President (Elected by Community residents)
- Serves as Community Council representative to Student Association
- Reports to Community Council all Student Association discussions and activities relating to the residence halls and campus
- Seeks concerns of the Community Council to relay to Student Association and represents the Community’s views on issues
- Assumes responsibilities of the President if the President is absent
Treasurer (Elected by Community residents)
- Manages the Community Council budget and keeps financial records
- Insures purchases fall within university guidelines and are fiscally responsible
- Approves funding requests in a timely manner
Secretary (Elected by Community residents)
- Records minutes and notes during Community Council meetings
- Shares meeting minutes to council members
- Records and keeps a permanent file of all meeting information
- Keeps attendance records
Residence Hall Representative(s) (Open to all residents, no election required)
- Solicits feedback from Hall/Floor residents
- Provides ideas and support for Community Council events and initiatives
- Communicates information about events to Hall/Floor residents
West Campus Community Council
- The Village
- Oneida Hall
- Onondaga Hall
- Cayuga Hall
- Seneca Hall
East Campus Community Council
- Funnelle Hall
- Hart Hall
- Scales Hall
- Waterbury Hall
- Riggs Hall
- Johnson Hall
