ResLife, Bane of My Existence

Dear ResLife,

My friends and I would just like to thank you for some of the three most stressful days of our college careers. A few years ago, your original walk-up plan to choose eight-mans was quite unique, but in the end caused too much waiting in line and overall stress. The following year when you implemented the online system, the “glitches” attributed to the system’s brand new implementation were also stressful. And this year, for those vying for the coveted senior six-mans, you put in a good effort, but once again fell technologically short. After setting up housing lotteries for this long, you would think things would be managable, but apparently not.

Now it’s that time of the year when students face the annual challenge that is the Office of Residential Life housing lottery. This means that for all freshmen, some sophomores, and all juniors, the scramble for housing has begun. As a freshman, the need to find seven additional people begins its quest as early as November when eager freshmen who know about this grueling process start freaking out and asking around slyly for prospective housing partners. When the actual lottery occurs in March, all hell breaks loose about two weeks before. Roommate Finder on Agora becomes a Top Site and nothing else can get accomplished until after the lottery session is complete. Didn’t get an eight-man? Scramble to split up your group and form a four-man! For sophomores, the wise and all-knowledgeable, the off-campus journey begins as early as September. Realtors from local agencies are everywhere and just vying for an opportunity to show off-campus apartments at outrageous prices to unsuspecting sophomores. In their case, it’s not until a lease is signed, sealed, and delivered when people can relax. The hassle of finding enough people with three years of housing and willing to sign a lease their parents have not seen is another story, let alone figuring out the abroad life and different people’s schedules. For those sophomores that have four years of housing, do you go for the coveted eight-man again? Or live in dreaded Edmonds, but with the perk of a kitchen? It seems that those who choose the eight-man, while probably loving the meal plan, are still bitter about not getting a top choice in the previous year’s lottery and living in a less than ideal location, i.e. not Lower. I’ve heard from past juniors who lived in Vanderslice that it’s a little strange when walking into Lower on Wednesday nights when you realize you don’t really know anyone there because it’s filled to the brim with underclassmen grabbing a quick bite before Perspectives.

Finally, the year everyone can’t wait to start and yet dread at the same time: senior year. Mods Mods Mods! As the Pros and Cons article points out, there are various advantages to living in the Mods, but, for some, Ignacio and Rubenstein are just as great. Ask anyone who ended up in Edmonds last week and they will definitely agree. The lottery for juniors has to be the most stressful out of the other three housing years. In most cases, the eight-man from sophomore year worked out and groups find that they enjoy living together and want to reunite for senior year. Problem: the housing lottery for senior year is for six people, not eight. Solution: find a group of four to make twelve. Problem: which two split from the original eight? Solution: draw straws. Problem: the group doesn’t get a six-man. Solution: break up into three groups of four. The many problems facing juniors in one week could indeed cause anxiety and heart attacks. Congratulations to those who made it out alive and were not affected by the computer glitches in the system last Tuesday. To those who were lucky enough to get Mods, use them well. You know the reputation and obligations that come with living in one, so please, live it up. For the rest of the class that got a six-man or a four-man in Voute or Gabelli, congratulations, you made it out alive and happy. For those who are in Edmonds, I’m sorry for your loss. It won’t be that bad, right? I hear they call it EdMods?

The ridiculous process that everyone goes through the first two weeks back from Spring Break is outrageous. You would think that after hosting housing lotteries for all these years, ResLife would have everything under control, yet every year there seems to be a problem that causes colossal panic for a large number of students who don’t need any more stress in their lives.

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