By Jimmeaha Mack, Staff Writer
The housing selection process has been revamped and now allows students to use the highest lottery number within a roommate group, rather than an average of all the numbers.
The new lottery system was explained during an information session held by Director of Residence Life Colleen Bunn on Nov. 29 in Faylor Lecture Hall.
Students not housed during the Specialty Housing or Accommodations process will randomly be given a number within their class entry year, as before.
Students will still be invited to housing selection nights based on their class year, but when the highest number within the roommate group is called, all members of that group will sign up for a building that has the type of room they are looking for available.
According to Residence Life, “All rising seniors will be the first to attend Housing Selection Nights. Seniors will have 18th Street Commons, Liberty Alley and Seibert Hall to select from on their night. All rising juniors will select on the next night. Juniors will have the remaining spaces from Rising Senior Night as well as Sassafras Complex and North Hall to select from on their night. All rising sophomores will select on the last night. Sophomores will have the remaining spaces from Rising Junior Night as well as West Hall and Hassinger Hall. Students without housing by the end of the selection period will be placed on a wait list and housed over the summer into spaces that match their class year.”
Specialty housing options will still be available such as living in the International, Sustainability, or Creative Writing Houses, and Student Created Communities (Honors, SU Engage, and GBP).
In order to live in these specialty houses, the group must go through an application process; all applications will be available on MySU. With the application process students will need to identify a group leader, identify an advisor and approved applications will move on to the interview process.
During the interview the group will need to give a presentation on how they will fulfill the requirements of their Student Created Community and specialty housing.
“[I hope that] students will feel empowered to select their housing through this new process,” Bunn said. “While it will never be a perfect process, everyone will be housed, and the Office of Residence Life works to create environments in all our halls that are inclusive, welcoming, and comfortable.”
“We hope that the new Student Created Community process will inspire folks to come together to live around different topics and revitalize some of our existing theme communities,” Bunn continued. “By doing separate housing selection nights for each class, we will allow more folks to live together with those in their class year.”
Any students studying abroad in the spring 2019 semester who will miss the housing night information sessions need to identify someone to go in their place based on the number of the student abroad. If a student studying abroad cannot find someone to go on their behalf, the Office of Residence Life will serve as their proxy.
With the new housing selection system, students with previous housing accommodations will be reviewed by the Director of Student Disability Services and the Director of Residence Life and will not be required to apply for accommodations again.
Students who have new accommodations will need to complete accommodation paperwork and have it submitted before the deadline that the Director of Student Disability Services sets.
As the housing selection process draws closer, Bunn advises students to “pay attention to their email, participate in the Specialty Housing information sessions in the spring [semester], and housing selection information sessions, talk to friends about their plans for housing next year, and follow the deadlines outlined for the different processes”.
