Updated
system alleviates big housing issues
By Cameron Watt
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
With
1,962 spots available from the Department
of Housing and Residential Life will be
able to offer room and board to all students
currently on their waiting list for Fall
2003.
All
of the 7,000 students who applied did so
differently than those in years past. Previously,
space was offered using a wave system in
which applicants are given a randomly generated
lotto number that separates them into tiers.
From there, the first 1,000 are sent a license
agreement and a deadline to send it back
by. Space would then be offered until it
was exhausted.
Under
the new system, all who applied were sent
the agreement in spring with a strict three
week deadline to respond by. After the deadline
passed, the applicants were then separated
by a random lotto number and offered space
corresponding to their number. Stan Olin,
Director of Housing and Residential Life
prefers this system because applicants know
where they stand and can plan accordingly.
It also helps weed out those who are not
sure about attending, or those who applied
that may only have the campus as a fall
back school. The remaining 900 spots are
offered to students who choose to remain
in the dorms the following academic year.
Another
adjustment made to the process is that applicants
are able to check their status through the
department’s Web site as opposed to an automated
phone service. The site also provides students
with a free service to look for housing
in the area or search for a potential roommate.
For
those who still are seeking help in finding
lodging for the year, the department will
offer two housing fairs at The Pyramid on
July 11 and 25. The fair will offer students
large amounts of information about off-campus
housing. For those who would prefer to look
for housing on their own, the department,
located next to Parkside Commons, offers
maps of apartment complexes in the area.
Last
year, to accommodate as many students as
possible, many community rooms were transformed
into additional dorm space. Olin describes
the decision as a tough one; while he believes
that students should have a room like that
available, he needed to do something about
the overwhelming demand for room and board.
For the most part, the move paid off —when
the first day of student move-ins arrived
last fall, the waiting list stood at zero.
Additionally,
for the past three-and-a-half years the
campus has been negotiating to acquire more
land from the VA Hospital near Parkside
Commons. Progress has been made, but Olin
points out there are still many hoops to
jump through. The land would be used for
additional dorm space and parking.
Olin
said he believes that the campus, especially
housing, is at a crossroads with the fast-growing
technology such as the Internet and cell
phones.
“That’s
why it is fun to be in housing,” he adds,
“it’s never the same.”
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