ABOUT THE SHEA HOUSE

I.  House Overview:

On October 3, 2003, the Board of Visitors approved naming the Monroe Lane Language House after A. Vincent Shea, former vice president for business and finance in the "1970s". The Shea House provides approximately 75 students at the University of Virginia the unique opportunity to live for an academic year in an environment of total language immersion in Arabic, Urdu, or Persian. Modeled after similar houses for other languages, the Shea House serves as the cultural and linguistic center at U.Va. for Italian and for six of the richest and most widely spoken languages of Asia and the Middle East. Each year there will be a number of cultural events put on at the Shea House in collaboration with faculty from the Departments of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures (MESALC), East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (DEALLC), and Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Whether joking with friends, sharing meals, keeping a journal, discussing films, or discussing politics, students living at the Shea House will have one of the finest opportunities available at a North American university to deepen their experience of these vital languages and cultures.

II.  House Location:

The Shea House is located at the corner of Jefferson Park Avenue and Monroe Lane, across from the Student Health Center. Along with the already existing Casa Bolívar and La Maison Française, the Shea House is one of the foundations of the Language Precinct at U.Va., and it is a convenient five-minute walk from Central Grounds and The Lawn.

III.  Special Features of the House:

The Housing Division of the University of Virginia spent over three and a half million dollars on this building. It consists of six residential blocks, one each for Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Italian, Japanese, and Persian.   It owns the House Constitution http://www.web.virginia.edu/mllh/govt.html and the house committees are selected among the residents each year.   Each block houses a native- or near-native-speaking Language Assistant who helps organize a weekly language table as well as other cultural events.  Entry to the building is on the first floor, and there is an elevator for the students' convenience.  There are both double-occupancy rooms and a limited number of single-occupancy rooms, and the cost per bed is similar to that for other focused-housing on Grounds: about $3000/year for single occupancy, and about $2500/year for double occupancy.  Satellite dishes are being considered in order to provide direct access to the relevant languages' TV programming.  Students living in the Shea House are provided with full laundry facilities, central heating and air conditioning, high-speed Ethernet connections in each room, and spacious common areas.  Food is provided by ARAMARK and is available through one of the University's meal plans.  The Shea House also provides cuisine from all the cultures represented there, and there is an in-house kitchen for students to occasionally cook for themselves and for the house's other residents.

IV.  MESALC Admission Procedures:

The Shea House is open to any full-time student at the University of Virginia who can demonstrate at least a first-year competency in one of the relevant languages by the time they move into the house.  The priority is given to students who:

1. Are (or will) major or minor in the language;
2. Are currently enrolled in a relevant language course and who will  take the next level courses the following semester;
3. Are sincere about improving their ability in the target language;
4. Are prepared to contribute to the house activities, such as weekly language corner, nightly dinner, movie night, etc.
5. Are recommended by the current Language Assistant (applicable only to returning residents).

The house is also open to international students and to heritage students who can demonstrate the necessary linguistic proficiency and also have strong interests in helping peer residents improve their language competency.

Acceptance to Shea House is based on an application form completed by the student and evaluated by each language coordinator in consultation with faculty members of each language group, the current Language Assistant, and the Departmental Chair.  An acknowledgment of receipt of the application form and a notification of the application result will be e-mailed by MESALC (or the department of SIP for Italian) in due time.  The selection procedure typically takes 2-3 weeks from the deadline. Housing usually gives one week to accept or refuse the contract.  General inquiries about the admission procedures should be directed to the MESALC coordinator of  Shea House (Ahmad Obiedat).

The number of single rooms is limited. It is therefore a privilege to live in a single room in Shea House.  Returning and 4th year students, IF POSSIBLE, will be given a higher priority. After signing the contract, interested students may also ask to be included in a single room waiting list.  Please, contact Housing for details.

Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis.  To inquire about vacancies or to send an application after the deadline, please contact the MESALC coordinator for Shea House (Ahmad Obiedat).

V.   Residents Policy:

Although the default inter-floor language is English, students are expected to carry on their daily activities in the language of the block they are living in. They are also expected to participate in the house activities such as dinner, weekly language corner and other cultural events throughout the year.

All residents are required to sign up for the “H” course (i.e. Arabic 301H or Persian 302H) while they live in house.  “H” course is a one-credit-course and each resident can receive credit for this course a maximum of 2 times.  The credit is granted by the language coordinator, after consulting with the respective Language Assistant, to those residents who have actively participated in the house activities mentioned above.

Once the lease is signed, the residents are committed to live in the Shea House for one academic year.  If someone wishes to be released from the contract (i.e to study abroad, to move to another residence, etc.), it is the resident's responsibility to find a replacement.

IV.   Parking:

Six free parking spots (‘first come, first serve') are available on Monroe Lane, in front of the main entrance of the Shea House.  However, it is strongly recommended that students who have a car purchase a permit from UVA's Office of Parking & Transportation.