The new room draw system debuted to a crowd of stressed, angry and sometimes tearful East Wheelock residents at a trial run Tuesday evening in Brace Commons.
According to the Office of Residential Life, around 165 students, who were mostly freshmen, gathered to pick their rooms for next year in the East Wheelock cluster, using the new selection format allowing students, either individually or as a block, to specify exactly which room they want to be live in.
"It went very well," Lynn Rosenblum, director of residential life, said. "There were a few bumps, but nothing that shut us down."
"We learned a lot of things," she added.
But many of the students who participated in the room draw characterized the experience as being stressful and hectic. They blamed lack of information and confusion about blocking procedures for the chaos.
"It was very, very stressful," Abby Horowitz '03 said. "There must be some better way."
The decision to allocate some floors as freshman-only housing was announced at the room draw and came as a surprise to the participants, complicating and confusing the process. It also severely limited the number of three room quads, which were in high demand.
"Housing is always an emotional experience," Rosenblum said. She said she plans to implement better traffic controls and to provide more up-to-date information about the availability of rooms for the campus-wide room draw beginning next week.
Cortland Barnes '03 attributed most of the problems to the fact that students, especially those who planned on blocking with their friends, found that the rooms they wanted were taken only when they reached the head of the line.
At that point, they were forced to come up with an alternative housing plan on the spot, which took time and held up the line.
When Barnes and his blocking group found themselves in that situation, the staff was forced to tell them to make up their minds in 15 seconds, which made the experience highly unpleasant for him.
"[This is an] experience I wouldn't choose to have again," he said, adding that he would rather opt for off-campus housing or submit an electronic application next time.
The room draw began at 6:45 p.m. and lasted for about three hours.
Collin O'Mara '01 and David Gacioch '00, who held the highest priority number of the evening, also encountered snags, when not every member of their group showed up on time.
Despite this, they said they thought the room draw was a success, especially considering it was the first of its kind.
"[The system] was fairly efficient under the circumstances," Gacioch said.
O'Mara applauded the ORL staff, who were "extremely helpful," and said he thought the room draw gave students a better choice for housing, although he acknowledged his status as a rising senior gave him an advantage.
"They're still working out the kinks but it's nice to be able to know what your rooming arrangements will be next year" said Michael Mothner '03, who also thought the room draw was a success.
The process might go smoother next week when upperclassmen, who are more accustomed to blocking in general, begin their room draw selection process.
The room draw for rising seniors and active olders will take place on Monday and Tuesday. Rising juniors will select their rooms on Thursday and Friday. Rising sophomores will get their chance on the 9th, 10th and 11th.
