Georgetown students have long demonstrated a concern for social justice, by performing community service, lobbying on the Hill or joining organizations like the Peace Corp or Teach for America after graduation.

And starting next year, they will be able to live in a community with others who share their commitment to social change.

Next fall 36 students will live in the Justice in Action Living and Learning Community, a new addition to the university’s Special Interest Housing Program, which will be located on the third floor of McCarthy Hall next year.

The Justice in Action Living and Learning Community was established to bring together students of all backgrounds and perspectives who share a commitment to justice, service and social change. Students were accepted into the program based on an essay detailing their views on a social justice or human rights issue of local, national and global concern, and how they would act to address this issue if a member of the Justice in Action Living and Learning Community.

According to Pamela Galligan-Stierle, director of chaplains-in-residence in Campus Ministry, 24 students have confirmed their acceptance into this community, and the remaining 12 spaces have been reserved for incoming first-year or transfer students next year.

Kristan Cilente, the coordinator of Leadership and Transition Programs in the Center for Student Programs, said that the students living in the JALLC will be working with the Center for Social Justice, the Georgetown Office of Leadership Development, and a Faculty-in-Residence, as well as various other campus and community resources, to pursue social issues of the students’ choosing.

“The design of the floor is intentional and purposely links the community to the many resources available in the area with the goal of bringing learning to life,” Cilente said.

Cilente said that Marilyn McMorrow, RSCJ, agreed to be the faculty-in-residence serving the Justice in Action Living and Learning Community. McMorrow teaches classes in international relations, ethics and human rights, topics which coincide with issues including homelessness and immigration that Cilente said students wrote about in their application essays to the community.

Cilente said that the idea for the Justice in Action Living and Learning Community came from a collaborative effort of the First Year Experience Working Group.

Building Bridges, a subcommittee of this group composed of faculty, staff and students who seek to connect the academic realm with the co-curricular life, first conceptualized an interest-living floor for students in a residence hall two years ago, and this idea came into realization with the formation of the Culture and Performance Living Community in Reynolds Hall this year.

Inspired by the positive student response to the CPLLC, Cilente said the committee met again this year and explored options and themes for similar living and learning communities, and, the theme of social justice in action emerged.

“[The JALLC’s] connection to the Jesuit ideals of the university as well as its mission to make a difference will enhance the already vibrant campus community,” Cilente said.

Amanda Gant (SFS ’07) was accepted to the Justice in Action Living and Learning Community and said that, in her application, she highlighted her involvement in the Georgetown chapter of UNICEF, and her interest and commitment to issues concerning child survival.

Gant also said that she felt that living in the community would be a good way to stay connected with other like-minded student leaders on campus, in sharing and supporting each others’ endeavors.

“Whenever you feel that nobody cares or you can’t do anything, you’ll have people to talk to give you new ideas.”

For Yi Sun (SFS ’07) the community is a way to reconnect with a professor whose class piqued her interest in justice-related issues.

Sun, who moved to the United States from China two years ago, said that she studied human rights issues for the first time when taking an SFS Proseminar with McMorrow last fall. She said that although she had always been interested in social justice and equality issues, McMorrow’s class had encouraged her to further explore these issues.

“I hope I can learn more from her and from other students,” she said.

Sun also said that she liked the community’s emphasis on action for social change.

“This is called Justice in Action, so I hope we don’t stay in talking. A lot of times we just talk in class, but I really hope we can do something,” she said. “I believe we can bring some change.”