Themed Living Communities

TLCs are intended to create strong links between students by providing educational programming around a shared interest or identity. While students interested in our TLCs do not have to specifically identify with the particular theme of the community, it is expected that students will support and uplift the spirit and values each community espouses.

No additional fee is required to live in and participate in our TLC programs. Our TLCs are located across campus within residence halls and two houses that are owned by Occidental College. 

All residential communities include:

• smoke-free environment
• all-inclusive laundry facilities (no charge to use) 
• meeting/gathering space

2024-2025 Themed Communities for first year and new transfer students

Baldwin House (Guest House, 1480 Campus Rd.)
Baldwin House is a welcoming and affirming residential community that celebrates and empowers first-year Queer and/or Trans Students of Color. Named to honor James Baldwin, a Black Queer, novelist, poet, and activist -  Baldwin House aims to celebrate Queerness in all its expressions, cultivate a sense of self, and honor the origins of Pride. Baldwin House residents will have the opportunity to engage in programming, experience the rich, Queer LA community, and develop meaningful relationships. The framework of intersectionality informs the ways in which Baldwin House residents work to deconstruct heteronormative and patriarchal systems.

Women's Scholars (Bell-Young)
A first year TLC for students who identify as womxn. 
 

2024-2025 Themed Communities for both first year, transfer, and upper division students

Multicultural (Berkus House, 1601 Campus Rd)
Berkus House is a residential community that supports both first-year and upper-division students, and is home to the Multicultural Themed Living Community (TLC). The Multicultural TLC celebrates students from all cultural backgrounds and experiences. 

2024-2025 Themed Communities for returning upper division students

Black Soul Collective  (Berkus Hall)
The Black Soul Collective (BSC) was created to celebrate Black students throughout the African Diaspora. We aim to create spaces where Blackness– culture, language, expression– can be cherished, celebrated and shared freely. The BSC is a communal space dedicated to supporting the wellness of Black students as we foster relationships whilst navigating the landscape of a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). We also hope to affirm the intersections and experiences that span across the Diaspora as extensions of the greater Los Angeles community.

APIDA Themed Community ( Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi-American)  (Berkus Hall)
The Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi-American (APIDA) Hall strives to cultivate an intentional space of community and care where residents feel their experiences are validated and celebrated as members and allies of the APIDA diaspora. Our community recognizes the multiplicity of cultures, histories, and languages from which our members come from and hope to establish solidarity and trust amongst one another. In tandem with the diversity within our community, APIDA Hall acknowledges the social positions of the APIDA diaspora in a highly racialized world. Involvement within APIDA Hall is intended to provide members with ao foundations of belonging and self affirmation that they can take into the world beyond Occidental.

Latinx Culture Collective  (Berkus Hall)
The Latinx Culture Collective (LCC) is a space to honor the historical and affirm the contemporary experiences of the rich diversity of Latinx/a/o people in order to cultivate and celebrate systems of care, culture and community. While recognizing and working to dismantle racial and colonial structure the LCC will center on supporting and exploring Latinx identities and expressions throughout the Occidental and greater Los Angeles communities.

Rivera & Johnson (Haines Annex):
Honoring Sylvia Rivera and Martha P. Johnson, this community centers the experiences of students within the LGBTQIA+ communities.

Food Justice House (4863 Stratford Rd.)
A house for students focused on rebuilding relationships with land and food. The housemates tend a garden and engage in an environmentally and socially aware lifestyle. 

Substance-Free Hall (Wylie Hall)
The Substance Free Community is designed to provide upperclass students with a living environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle and is free of the use of alcohol, tobacco or tobacco products (cigars, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, e-cigs, vapes, etc.), and other drugs which are prohibited by state law and/or Occidental College policy. The environment is also intended to support residents who want to adopt such a lifestyle. Students who live in this community will need to complete an addendum to confirm their commitment to a substance-free lifestyle.

Other Special Interest Housing Options

Gender-Inclusive Housing
Gender-Inclusive housing is an environment where student housing is not restricted to traditional limitations of the gender binary. This housing option is ideal for students whose gender identification and/or gender expression varies from the binary paradigm and for students who believe that their gender should not factor into the decision of whom to live with.

Housing Accommodations

If you require a specific housing accommodation, you will need to register your request with the Disability Services Office. Get more information on how to register your request. Residential Education and Housing Services does not make any decisions on these matters.