House Council
A great way to become more involved in your first-year residential community is to join your House Council. Each first-year House Council works to provide programs and leadership opportunities for residents in the house. The types of activities and initiatives that House Councils undertake are as varied as our house communities. Some plan haunted houses, others take the lead on community service initiatives, but all help new students to connect with their neighbors and the CMU community.
Student Dormitory Council
The Carnegie Mellon Student Dormitory Council (SDC) has one main goal: to improve the lives of students who are currently residing in campus housing. How do we strive to accomplish this goal?
Programming & Events
Our various committees provide ways for students to get involved on campus whether it be through our Events committee or participating in Spring Carnival with our Booth and Buggy committees. SDC hosts a myriad of events throughout the academic year in addition to the events that we fund.
We also aid students who wish to participate in the CMU tradition of Spring Carnival. Building your own booth or starting a new Buggy team can be expensive, time consuming, and difficult. Our committees provide the resources to students who are not involved in organizations who already participate in Spring Carnival and allow them to engage in the best of the Carnival festivities.
Funding
All students living in campus housing pay a $15 dorm fee which is then allocated to SDC. We in turn give a portion of the funding to houses for their own budget, and keep the remainder in order to fund events for residents in campus housing that are both organized by residents and by SDC.
Residents who wish to bring an event or program to their communities can either motion for funding directly from SDC or coordinate with their RAs to use the house budget provided by SDC. In this way, we make it easier for dormitory residents and staff to bring programs and events to the campus community.
Representation
On top of all the resources we provide to campus residents, SDC acts as a liaison between the university administration and students. We provide students with the resources and ability to give feedback to the university, and are also the first place to go to find out what’s happening around campus.
Many university departments, such as Dining Services, Housing Services, Residential Education and Student Affairs, work closely with SDC in order to provide the best service possible to residents and make sure that students’ opinions are heard. You can represent your community by filling out the petition available on TartanConnect and attending SDC meetings.