NIU students interested in living with people of similar lifestyles or academic goals should consider one of the residence hall system’s special interest floors.

Jack Felver, associate housing director, said the university offers a wide variety of living options in the residence halls ranging from alcohol-free lifestyle to all-transfer student floors.

The special-interest floor options are divided into two categories, academic interests and lifestyle interests, Felver said. Students interested in foreign language, computer science, military science or music have the option of living on a floor with people of similar interests.

Other academic options include floors for those interested in the health professions, political science, the honors program, and law students.

Some lifestyle-related options include quiet floors, over-21 floors and personal wellness floors, which offer a program of personal assessment and growth. Many floors also have co-ed and different visitation options, Felver said.

“These floors are not an in-name only thing. We don’t put all 18th-century English majors on a floor just so we can say we have one. Other schools do that,” Felver said.

Students sign a contract to live on a special-interest floor voluntarily and are expected to meet certain requirements.

For example, students living on a foreign language floor are required to speak only their second language (German, French, Russian, or Spanish) at dinner and attend weekly presentations and workshops.

Felver said the foreign language program is the most involved, but added each option has its own requirements. Despite the extra work involved, special-interest floors offer benefits not found on regular floors, he said.