Though recruiting students to the University is important, providing the tools to help them succeed is essential.To help incoming mass communication students better adjust to college life, the Manship School of Mass Communication and Residential Life are planning to create a mass communication residential college.”We are working with Residential Life to get one of the Pentagon buildings,” said Associate Dean of Mass Communication David Kurpius. “We are looking to have 98 to 120 students total.”A committee of Manship faculty and students is meeting to plan what the residential college will entail. “The two faculty members [Andrea Miller and Danny Shipka] have a strong interest in student development,” Kurpius said. “They both bring different skill sets to the committee.”The students were selected as representatives because of their time living in the residence halls and because of their involvement on campus.The mass communication residential college is expected to open in fall 2010. With a year to finish putting the program together, committee members are enthusiastic about its success, said Danny Shipka, co-rector of the Manship Residential College Program.The residential college, which will target freshmen and sophomores, aims to provide students with a sense of community by having students live with fellow students in the same major.Officials have not decided what residence hall will house the mass communication residential college.”A lot of the concern of incoming students is the size of LSU,” said Joe Coussan, Manship Council president and committee member. “The residential college breaks it up into a smaller community.”In addition to providing students with a sense of community, the people behind the mass communication residential college are planning special programming with guest speakers to better acclimate students to both the University and the Manship school. Students will also be able to network and interact with faculty. Sections of certain mass communication classes, undecided at the moment, will be reserved only for students living in the residential college, Kurpius said.”It really showcases the Manship school takes seriously its commitment to educating future   communicators and providing a conducive environment for that,” Shipka said. “These students will be working with each other throughout their college careers.”Kurpius said an additional cost — standard for residential colleges —  will be applied to the Manship residential college. Students in the mass communication residential college will be in a two-person bedroom sharing a hall bathroom. According to the Residential Life housing price list, the additional cost to live in the residential college is $275.–Contact Alice Womble at [email protected]