Latin Images
Bishop Quad, College Avenue Campus
Latin Images Living-Learning Community seeks to enhance students’ knowledge of the diverse lived experiences of Latinx and other peoples of Latin American and Caribbean descent in the United States. Established in 1977 as the Latin Images Special Interest Section, the program was a result of efforts by the Latinx community at Rutgers College to provide an environment for learning of and about Latinx culture and history for Latinx students and non-Latinx students and to celebrate Latinx culture and heritage. The community has evolved into a living-learning community for those individuals interested in acquiring knowledge of Latin culture through educational, cultural, and social events.
Students and mentors will live on the College Avenue Campus, adjacent to downtown New Brunswick theaters, restaurants, student-friendly shopping, and the NJ Transit train station for easy access to NYC and Philadelphia. Leupp and Wessels Halls are in the heart of the College Avenue Campus in the scenic Bishop Quad area.
- Building a network of faculty and staff members who are willing to support your personal and professional development
- Exclusive seminar course: Latinidades: Identities and Images, a 1.5 credit LLC seminar for both fall and spring semesters. Courses will count towards a Certificate in Multicultural Competence. This is a 9-credit certificate and with one year of participation in this program, you will have completed 3 of 9 credits required for the certificate. Visit the Department of Latino and Caribbean Studies for a list of courses.
- Individualized attention from residence life staff
- Cultural immersion and enrichment
- Programming in the past has included:
- Cultural dinners
- Guest speakers
- Visual and performing arts workshops
- Field trips to special tristate area events (Museo del Barrio, Nuyorican Poets Café, concerts, etc.)
- Leadership development
- Community service opportunities
- Connections to other LLCs such as Paul Robeson (African diaspora), Asian American Identities and Images, and French Language and Culture
- Exposure and connection to Center for Latino Arts and Culture programming
- Faculty mentorship opportunities
Students do not need to identify as Latinx in order to participate in the community. In order to participate in an LLC, you must live in the building in which the LLC is located. Open to students affiliated within all undergraduate schools of all class years, including transfer students, in good academic and judicial standing.
Incoming first-year students must place into 01:355:101 Expository Writing/College Writing or 01:333:104 College Writing Extended or higher for English testing.
LLC Orientation
Make Rutgers home! We’d like you to begin to connect with students, faculty, and staff even before the start of classes. We intend to have an LLC orientation in late August or early September. Students who have been accepted to the community will be provided further information on the LLC orientation date and time.
- All students entering this living-learning community for the first time will be enrolled in an exclusive 1.5 LLC Seminar: Latinidades: Images and Identities. This course will be taken both fall and spring semesters and the theme of the course will change every semester. Courses will count towards a Certificate in Multicultural Competence. This is a 9-credit certificate and with one year participation in this program, participants will have completed 3 of 9 credits required for the certificate. The seminar course will meet weekly on Fridays.
- Live-In residence
- Attending community sponsored events and mentoring conversations
- Download a sample syllabus for this community. Please note: Syllabi change over time, so this may not be the exact course content that you will take as a future participant.
Student Testimonials
- “My Peer Mentor mentioned clubs and organizations that I would be interested in and was always there to help when I needed it.”
- “I have learned the importance of community and the comfortability of having the same culture around. Furthermore, the importance of being surrounded by people who have different identities has expanded my knowledge of self-identity.”
- “One way my participation in the LLC has expanded my knowledge and understanding of my identities was by actually hearing other people's stories about their own lives and how their family dynamic has shaped who they are today, which is something I related to because I wanted to look deeper into my family's history.”
Ambassador Program
Students who have participated in the Latin Images Living-Learning Community, and taken the seminar, may come back to the community the following year, and participate in the Community Ambassador Program (CAP). Rather than taking the seminar again, CAP members are encouraged to continue their cultural and personal growth by actively participating in the following activities:
- 1-2 service projects/academic year created in collaboration with the community;
- Attend events hosted by the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, Center for Latino Arts and Culture, and the Asian American Cultural Center;
- Participate in 2 of 3 workshops per semester, engage in conversation and activities with the facilitator and campus partners present at each workshop.
