Residence Life is planning to change the housing selection process for next fall
By Melissa Nip
Imagine the entire undergraduate population congregating in the Chiles Center, listening to music and snacking while they anxiously wait for an important event to take place.
Is it a school dance? An influential speaker? Another Pilot Palooza?
No. It's the night of housing selection.
Michael Walsh, director of Residence Life, is spearheading a committee called the Housing and Quality of Life Committee that intends to change the housing selection process for next fall.
In the past, every individual residence hall has held its own housing selection night.
However, the committee wants to have one big housing selection event at the Chiles Center, aiming for the date March 20.
Walsh felt that there needed to be a change in the process because there has been a lack of efficiency and organization.
"We have a real local process now," Walsh said. "Housing selection is in the dorms, but it's disjointed."
Some students are satisfied with the housing process and thought it went smoothly in the past.
David Pomare, a junior, lived in Corrado for two years, and thought housing selection was a breeze because he was among friends and acquantances.
"I thought it was easy and intimate," Pomare said. "I had no problems."
However, other students did experience problems.
Kim Nguyen is a junior nursing student who lived in Mehling for two years.
She remembers going through the process when she was a freshman.
She felt overwhelmed because she was not confident she would get the dorm and roommate that she wanted.
"Honestly, it was chaotic," Nguyen said.
"I felt helpless because I was wanted to get a certain room and there was a possibility that I wouldn't get it," she said.
One of the biggest concerns of the committee is the influx of freshman that increases with every year.
Walsh thinks that it would be easier for both Residence Life and the students to go through the process at the same time and on the same day.
Although UP is recognized for its relatively small size, the reality is that the on-campus population has increased significantly because of the new dorms and freshman living requirement.
"The school is getting much bigger and we want to make it a one-day location," Walsh said.
The new location is not the only change.
Usually every year, there is a good amount of students that switch dorms, and sometimes the process can be confusing and difficult.
Although Walsh says the point system will still be in place, he says that the process will be improved and it will be easier for students to change dorms.
Another aspect of the point system that will be changed involves campus apartments.
With the old process, when groups of students are trying to get into on-campus units such as those in Tyson or Haggerty, their rank was determined by the sum of all the students' points together.
However, the committee plans to determine the rank by individual points instead of group points.
For example, the student with the highest points will be called first, and will be accompanied by his/her group members so they can all register together.
"It minimizes breaking of groups and re-ranking," Walsh said.
Elizabeth Davis, a senior, thinks that the point system could be improved in order to accommodate freshmen and sophomores.
"Ranking, seniority and order are good, but it sometimes undermines the school's value of community," Davis said.
Davis believes that freshmen and sophomores should get the same opportunity as the upperclassmen when choosing their housing. She believes that this will create cohesion in the UP community.
Other students, such as Karen Echon, a junior, have a different view.
"I think the point system is good because it gives people who have already lived in dorms an advantage," Echon said.
The committee has not finalized plans for the housing selection night, but the plan is to make this an event that unfies the UP community.
Some students, such as Nguyen, are apprehensive about having the entire undergraduate population in the Chiles center.
"I'm afraid that it might become chaotic and a frenzy," Nguyen said. "It might be hard to hear you're number when they call you."
Moreen Goerig, a junior, shares the same opinion as Nguyen.
"It seems like it could be worse to have everyone in the same place," Goerig said.
Pomare would be uncomfortable with the change in location after two years of having housing selection in Corrado.
"It's more complicated with more people," Pomare said. "Having a smaller setting for a dorm you want to go into is a smarter and easier process for the students."
However, Walsh says the main reason they are changing the process is to make the process easier for the students. They also want to make it a fun and enjoyable experience.
"It's a lot easier for students and it's also a lot of fun," Walsh said. "It will be like a big party, with lots of music and food."
He hopes that housing selection will no longer be anxious and stressful event, but an opportunity to bring the UP community closer.
"We want to up the community," Walsh said. "It's a part of what we do at Residence Life."
