Residential Life

Kalamazoo College is a residential campus, so all students, through winter quarter of their junior year, are required to live in the residential system. Students will live in one of the six residence halls or possibly one of the Living Learning Housing Units. All students living on campus eat at the central cafeteria in Hicks Center and are required to carry a meal plan through Sodexo Dining Services with the exception of those individuals living in the Living Learning Housing Units, or one of the residential apartments. Students are offered both first-year and upperclass communities. In the first year halls, the focus is on assisting students in their transition to the College and making those important connections. The upper class halls assist students in creating their own communities and continuing those connections.

Each bedroom in the residence halls has its own phone line, cable TV connection,and computer connection unit. All residence halls provide wireless access as well. Students are responsible for furnishing their own telephone to use in their room.

All residence hall laundry rooms are equipped with large capacity front-loading washers and dryers. The machines are operated on a card system. Click here to learn more about the laundry card system and laundry plan options available for purchase. Laundry plans allow students to reduce the cost and the cards never expire so students can use them year to year.

Each residence hall is staffed by Resident Assistants and a Senior Resident Assistant. The student paraprofessional staff members report to two full-time professional staff members, Area Coordinators, who also reside in the residence system. In conjunction with residents from their building, the student staff members work together to plan a variety of programs for students living in the residence halls. Some of the many programs include movie marathons, guest speakers, dances, craft nights, group discussions, community service projects, and international food parties.

The students who reside in the Living Learning Houses appoint a group member as a liaison to work with the Office of Residential Life on issues in the houses, as well as programming. Students living in a Living Learning Housing Unit pay an additional fee to sponsor programs for the residents of the house and members of the campus community. Programming efforts in the houses include such things as panel discussions, festivals focusing on culture or political issues, poetry nights, dinners, and dances.