RISD : Rhode Island School of Design : CAMPUS LIFE

ORIENTATION: Campus Life

>> For complete information download the orientation booklet.

ATHLETICS
RISD students play several teams sports — hockey (the Nads), basketball (the Balls) and soccer rock climbing, paintball, ski and snowboarding and volleyball — all of which occur at off-campus facilities.

GATHERING PLACES
There are a number of informal places on the RISD campus — indoors and out — where students gather, among them:

Carr Haus: This café, located in historic Carr House, offers a relaxed setting to meet friends, faculty or staff between classes and in the early evening. The menu includes a wide variety of bagels, sandwiches, juices, coffee, teas and pastries at reasonable prices. It’s a great place to take a break and tune into an eclectic range of music from pop to Beethoven. Carr Haus also allows the RISD community the opportunity to enjoy student artwork on display in a comfortable atmosphere. Art shows, organized by the student gallery board, vary from an individual�s work or class collaboration to an open show involving the entire student community. Also located in this space are two computers with web and e-mail access. Catanzaro Student Center: The Center encompasses several multifunctional meeting spaces, an athletic center and lounge.

Catanzaro Student Center: The Center encompasses several dance studios, an athletic center and lounge.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The Office of Student Life (OSL) considers community participation and social responsibility essential to the educational experience at RISD. OSL supports RISD students by providing opportunities to increase community involvement and strengthen their leadership skills through direct service, connecting community - based work with academic study, and building meaningful relationships with community members and agencies. Opportunities are available to use your art and design talents in working with a variety of populations throughout Providence and surrounding communities from local non-profits, hospitals, and nursing homes. OSL also works with Residence Life to organize projects for the RISD Reach, a service learning project that connects first year students with various nonprofit organizations throughout Providence and Rhode Island. A carefully planned project may be proposed for an independent study credit. A meeting with a faculty member in your department is necessary to finalize a project for credit. OSL also works in conjunction with the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown, whose services are also available to all RISD students. OSL will help define a project or locate a place to volunteer. For more information, visit the community service page of the RISD intranet or call 401 454-6602.

GALLERIES
Students, faculty and area art lovers get together at festive openings held at various departmental and interdisciplinary art galleries on campus. Woods-Gerry Gallery, where most seniors have an opportunity to show their work, and the Sol Koffler, Case and Market House Galleries (all graduate student galleries) come alive for Thursday evening openings. The Red Eye Gallery offers an exhibition space for photographers, while the ISB Gallery does the same for illustrators. Student and faculty work from the various architecture departments is shown in the BEB Gallery, next door to the ID Gallery, which shows student, alumni and faculty work in industrial design. From time to time, student, faculty and alumni work is on view in various galleries at The RISD Museum. Unique to the RISD campus is the student-run Carr Haus Gallery, which encourages under and upper classmen alike to exhibit in a multi-disciplinary setting. Follow this link to see what’s on view now.

The student gallery board meets weekly through the office of student life. Throughout the academic year members of this board curate student art shows in a variety of spaces on and off campus. For more information on student gallery board call 401 454-6610.

ID CARDS
Carry your RISD photo-identification card with you at all times, since you may need to present it at the request of any college official. Your card has several purposes: to access your pre-paid Dining Option, for use at risd:store for those students with charge privileges, vending, campus laundry and copy machines. There are machines in the library, risd:store and The Met to deposit funds for vending, laundry and copy use. You will also use your card for library privileges and for access to most campus buildings. Your ID card comes with a printed set of instructions and rules for care and use and remains the property of the college when you graduate or withdraw.

JOBS
Although freshmen and other first-year students generally don�t have time to devote to a work-study job, you may want to work limited hours. If you are interested, follow this link to learn more about student employment at RISD.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP + ORGANIZATIONS

Leadership: Student Alliance is a pyramidal structure with a multi-level exchange of information and critical decision-making. The Executive Committee is comprised of a student elected President, Vice President, Treasurer, Corresponding and Recording Secretaries and Sergeants at Arms. It is the function of the Executive Committee to represent the student body to the college administration, faculty and trustees. Departmental alliance representatives come from each of the eighteen majors plus representatives from Foundation Studies (the freshman class). Each of the Departmental Alliance legislative bodies includes a minimum of one — preferably two — students per grade (sophomore, junior and senior), per department. The sole purpose of the Departmental Student Alliance is to work in conjunction with respective departments on curricular and educational ventures, opportunities and concerns. The Student Alliance Association meets bi-weekly to communicate successes and issues raised by the Departmental Student Alliance Representatives; issues pertaining to the entire campus; decisions surrounding the budget, etc. Overall, the Student Alliance provides a vehicle for consistent idea formation and information exchange for the collective student population. The Executive Committee is elected from those students who have served as Departmental Student Alliance Representatives. Thus students there is a progression of leadership development. For more information, call the OSL at 401 454-6602.

Student Organizations: If you are interested in forming a new organization (or reviving an old one), discuss your proposal with a member of the OSL staff, who will offer advice and explain the procedure. Virtually all student organizations are self-governing, allowing maximum freedom to those involved. Among the many groups recently active are: the Anime Club, The Asian Cultural Society, RISD DJs, the Christian Fellowship, the Film Society, Straight and Gay Alliance, Sex Club and the Snow Club. Click here for more more information on RISD student organizations.

COUNSELING SERVICES
Emotional well being is essential to personal development and integral to the creative process. Counseling provides a space to address issues that may be interfering with your life and work; seeing a counselor helps you respond to a situation before it escalates. RISD offers assistance with a range of concerns at no charge to students. Short-term therapy is available to help you work through issues. If longer term therapy is desired or if the assistance you need is not available at RISD, the counselor can provide referrals to resources in the area. If you need medication or are on medication, we can provide referrals to nearby practitioners. To schedule an appointment, e-mail counserv@risd.edu or call 401 454-6637. Click here for complete information about counseling at RISD.

LEGAL ADVICE
The Student Alliance sponsors legal advice from a Rhode Island attorney who is on campus one day per week. This advice is offered to currently enrolled students and is completely confidential and free. You may schedule appointments through the OSL at 401 454-6602.