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Lottery decides who stays on-campus
Students are learning to live with uncertainty this spring as they await the results of a lottery, Residential Life's newest addition to the housing selection process that determines who will and will not be living on campus next fall.
Of the 2950 spaces available for students in the residence halls, 900 are reserved for returning students while the remaining rooms are kept for incoming freshmen and transfer students. Based on previous residence hall demands, 55 percent of the slots of the 900 are reserved are for female students.
"We have always had 900 spaces available," Mike Hayman director of residential life said. "It wasn't until last year when we almost went over our limit that we realized we had to come up with a way to limit the number of students allowed to return."
Residential Life's answer to the anticipated housing overflow is a lottery system. In the first step of the lottery system, students were required to submit a room selection intent form to the Peach Room in Garvey by Tuesday. If more than 900 intent forms were received, a random drawing would be done to determine who is allowed to return to the residence halls in the fall.
"There were a variety of ways we could have done it," Nathan Church, vice president of Student Life and Development said. "We could have done it based on year, or class or credits or how long you lived in the residence all. But we feel that this is the most fair way."
Ursula Arnold, junior and returning student, disagrees.
"I have been a student here for three years, and I have lived here the whole time," Arnold said. "I think it is really unfair to kick out students who are intent on graduating here to ensure there is enough room for freshman and some transfer students, a percentage of whom will stay four months then transfer out anyway."
According to Church, the first goal of Student Life and Development is to resolve housing needs for first-year students because they have to make the biggest adjustments.
"The freshmen are our first focus because of anybody coming to campus � they are the ones who have to make the biggest transition," Church said. They are less familiar with the community and less familiar with how to arrange housing."
Angie Fitterer and Heidi Sandstrom, first-year students and residents of Sherburne Hall, agree.
"Living in the dorms is definitely important for freshman," Fitterer said
"That's the main way you meet people," Sandstrom said.
According to Church, studies on the academic performance of first-year and second-year students living in the dorm are also taken into consideration.
"Statistics show that living on campus is most beneficial to students in their first two years of college. They generally perform better," Church said.
After acknowledging the importance of freshman living on campus Fitterer and Sandstrom admitted they will not be among the returning students in the fall.
"There are people every where and not enough room. Some people were tripled up in rooms," Sandstrom said.
According to Hayman, there were 50 incidences of overflow like this on campus.
"It also gets very noisy at times," Fitterer said.
Andy Paulsen, a freshman living in W.W. Holes Hall, said he enjoyed the experience of living in the residence halls and he supports the lottery system.
"It's the best way to deal with this many people," Paulsen said. "It's the most efficient system and it gives freshman the chance to benefit from dorm life."
Paulsen's roommate Matt Persons echoed the sentiment.
"It's a good experience and a good way to meet people," Persons said.
Paulsen and Persons, like Fitterer and Sandstorm, will not be returning to the residence halls in the fall.
"The noise level gets out of hand, the overall cleanliness is bad and there is a lot of immaturity," Paulsen said.
Students who wish to return will find out in the upcoming week if they can continue the room selection process scheduled to take place in the Atwood Ball room on Tuesday, or if they should make other housing arrangements. Students like Katie Aho, sophomore and Shoemaker resident, don't mind the temporary uncertainty.
"My roommate and I would like to live in Stateview, otherwise I guess we will get an apartment," Aho said. "I understand the need for the lottery system though. If I were an incoming freshman and I couldn't even get a room at my school of choice I would be really upset."
Kristen J. Kubisiak can be reached at: [email protected]
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