ALEX KUETER / ASST. OPINION EDITOR

USD’s Living Learning Communities, or LLCs are a unique and iconic part of first-year living where students are sorted into six groups, or communities, correlating with their residential  areas. Students attend a class throughout the entirety of the semester with members of their LLC. During their second semester, students are placed in another LLC class with different students from the same living area. This program aims to connect students to each other and to the greater USD community, to facilitate learning and an easy transition into college life. 

While the goal of this program  is   to build community, I think that it can be sorely lacking. Many people find  great  joy  and  friendship  in the  program, but  that  can  often be  based  on  factors such as the level of participation of your advisor. 

Some advisors may try to foster a well connected group, while others focus more on the class material. Those without an exuberant leader may not meet or connect with their classmates at all, besides at the required LLC showcase. The showcase is a huge event that  allows  students  to  display what   they   have  learned in their  two  first-year  LLC classes that connects to wider goals. 

I think changes need to be made to the  program — in a way that  makes  people  spend  more  quality  time together, and connects  them  with  San  Diego as a whole.  This  can  be initiated by incorporating volunteer hours as a part of the program. 

In addition to the regular class hours that all classes must meet, LLC classes require an additional hour allotted per week  to  use for the LLC program. This is sometimes used for official program activities, but can also be used by the LLC professor for study purposes. 

The   LLC   hours  as  a whole are  used to facilitate connections between students and the USD community according to Gabriella Rangrej and Amanda Petersen, the Learning Communities co-directors.

“LLC and TLC Hours are weekly built-in community time,” Peterson and Rangrej said. “These are set blocks in new students’ class schedule reserved just for Learning Communities activities — a chance to connect, grow, and make the most of their USD experience.” 

Additionally, while there are some scheduled events, the program   intentionally  leaves the block of time open for students. 

“LLC and TLC Hour events do not take place every week, and that’s intentional! On weeks without scheduled programming, we encourage students to use this time to form study  groups, catch up with other people in their LLC/TLC theme, explore campus resources, or have a moment to take a break.”

This did not happen for me and I don’t think that my two LLC classes helped to grow community. 

This   hour,  in  my  experience, was rarely used until  the spring showcase where you complete a  group project  with  classmates  at the  end of  the spring  semester. Otherwise, this block becomes free,   and   I  think  it  could be best  utilized for volunteer hours. If each LLC class had a required amount of volunteer hours, they could accomplish them as a group throughout the year. 

Nothing brings people together like going through a difficult or taxing experience. 

While giving back to the community can be both physically and mentally challenging in productive ways — ways that are much more productive  than  wasting  an  hour a week your first year of college. 

Some of my closest friendships were formed or strengthened while working at my local humane society or gardening for senior citizens. These were volunteer opportunities that I sought out for myself, but imagine what USD  could  do  for  the community if this was a mandated event. 

According to an article by the Mayo Clinic, a non-profit medical center and research group, volunteering helps to both bring people together and strengthen friendships.  

“Volunteering increases social interaction and helps build a support system based on common interests,” Mayo stated. “One of the best ways to make new friends and strengthen  existing relationships is to participate  in a shared activity.” 

This   could   also help students establish themselves in the San Diego  community. Many   of  us need volunteer hours anyways, whether it be for greek life, academic organization or even just random clubs that we might join. Having an idea of organizations that we can work at and  connections will be a huge help in the future.

USD students have a lot of privilege. We can’t ever forget how lucky we are to be able to attend higher education, especially in such a nice and expensive city. Tuition is no joke, and being in this incredible city has the downside of sometimes breeding entitlement or carelessness for our less fortunate community. Requiring volunteering would help ground people and remind them  how  important  it   is   to   give back  when  and if they are able. 

There are some valid oppositions to this idea, students  famously  don’t have a  lot  of  spare  time  lying  around, and adding a requirement like this could put a lot of strain on those working jobs or who have other commitments. This is absolutely true, but the hours don’t have to be in the hundreds, even requiring five hours a semester would benefit Toreros. Especially if they were completed early in the semester before classes and tests become too busy. 

Another counterpoint is that transportation could be a struggle, but there are many  non-profits within a half mile of USD, and 10 more within a mile or two. Toreros could walk, The USD trams or other public transit can be utilized. 

Some volunteer opportunities that already exist on campus include the Torero food pantry, and other visiting organizations that need assistance. The idea for volunteering is not a new one, in fact,  the  LLC   program had at one point considered adding them. 

“Our team has previously explored the idea of creating volunteer opportunities in the LLC/TLC experience in collaboration with the Changemaker Hub and Mulvaney Center,” Peterson and Rangrej said. “However, for a variety of factors and best practices it was decided it was not best to pursue them further … Our current  strategic direction is to allow each LLC/TLC class to determine what types of activities are best for them  to  build  community  rather   than   have  a fixed  model.” 

I think it is worth  revisiting volunteering as a requirement for the program. Volunteering is  a  huge benefit for people, and there are few other years that Toreros have built in time to  do  it  with  friends  and  peers. 

By   requiring  Toreros  to  build   one  with  work   and service, they  will be   all  the better  for  it. The   logistics  behind the volunteer requirement would admittedly be a challenge  at first, but I think if USD committed to partnering with organizations and   rotating  LLC’s and students through, we would  all be  better  for  it. We all need to give  back   to the  community that supports us,  and  by  requiring first years to participate we would help make  San Diego a better home for them, and for everyone  else who lives here too. 

First-year Toreros are met with many new things when they first get to campus, one of the most prevalent being the LLC. Photo courtesy of  @Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash