Students in residence halls and La Maison du Bayou Apartments are preparing for new housing procedures to be instated for the fall semester.
The goals of the new procedure will ensure that students have more say in where and with whom they live with, director of Housing and Residence Life Hayward Guerard said.
“One of the biggest complaints we get is ‘well, you stuck this person with me.’ “
Students will have the ability to pick their roommates, building and room as part of the new procedure. In the old system, students would say they wanted to go back to their previous building, but would not have a say in what room they received.
“We are giving the students more control,” Guerard said.
Priority for rooms will be based on deposit numbers, Guerard explained. Rooms during selection nights will be picked based on the lowest average deposit number of each group of roommates.
“It is completely fair based on your deposit number, which is how it has always been. The only thing we are doing is empowering you to come up and say what you want,” Guerard said.
With the new procedure, students will also find out who their roommates are and where they are assigned as soon as the selection procedure is done. Up until last year, students often did not know who their roommates were until they moved in.
Students will be sorted into four main catagories based on their status, Guerard said. Cards for the sorting must be turned in by tomorrow.
Full returners are any students moving back into the same room in the same building with the same people. They will get the first choice in selecting their housing location. These students must complete housing and food service contracts between March 12 and 15.
Consolidators are any students moving back into the same building but to a different room with a different roommate. They will be able to select their room on March 19 at 8 p.m. in the cafeteria, based on their average deposit number. At least one group member must attend on this night to make room selections.
Open choice includes any students moving to a different building or moving in with different residents. These students will meet on March 21 at 8 p.m. in the cafeteria to select their room. At least one group member must attend on this night to make room selections.
Any students seeking roommates will be able to attend a mixer on March 28 at 6:30 p.m. in Peltier Auditorium. Anyone who does not find a roommate on this night will be administratively placed.
“Roommate Central,” a bulletin board for students seeking roommates, has been set up in the lobby of all residence halls and La Maison du Bayou Apartments. Guerard said that this, along with the new procedure, will encourage students to find their own roommates so that they are “happier.”
Jacie Jacobs, communicative disorders senior from Paulina who lived in La Maison du Bayou this year, said she will not live on campus next year because of the change.
“They gave my roommate and I a week and a half to find two roommates. When I asked someone in housing what I was supposed to do if I couldn’t find anyone, the woman simply shrugged her shoulders and said that it was my responsibility to find roommates.”
Guerard said he has not received many official complaints about the new procedure, though about four people have gone to the Housing Office to ask for clarification.
These changes are not anything new to colleges, however. Many other universities have a similar procedure in place, Guerard said.
“This is not earth shattering or groundbreaking. This is how people do this.”
“Nobody likes change, even if it is for the good,” Guerard said. “There is no rule or policy that 100 percent works for everybody…You base your policy on what works for 99 percent of people, given that one percent if you have to make an exception. Bottom line, it is the students’ choice as to how effective it is.”
