Students planning to live in College dorms next year may notice several important changes made to the room draw process.
According to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman, blocking will no longer be allowed, students already in certain clusters will have the opportunity to draw rooms there before the general room draw and additional buildings will serve as substance-free or smoke-free housing.
Rents for all rooms will be equal this year, he said. In the past rents have been different for various rooms.
Redman said that this change was made to ensure that students were not prevented from living in a certain room just because of its cost.
The date to make changes to one's D-Plan for fall term will now fall before room draw, according to Redman.
The Office of Residential Life has also explored ways to make the process of room draw more efficient, including finding ways to use computers to facilitate the process, according to Director of Housing Lynn Rosenblum.
In accordance with the Student Life Initiative, 50 percent of the Class of 2005 will live in freshman-only housing in the Choates and River Clusters.
A mailing explaining the room draw process in detail and containing each individual student's priority number will appear in Hinman mailboxes early next week.
According to Redman, blocking was intended to allow students to live with up to 7 friends; but he said, many students abused the system.
Some met their roommates for the first time at room draw last year, according to Redman.
Both he and Rosenblum heard rumors that some students tried to bribe others with high numbers to block with them, but neither of them could confirm nor deny that such incidents happened.
Likewise, as students who had been at Dartmouth for five years or longer were given higher priority numbers than traditional seniors, few students who were not blocking with fifth-year seniors received the opportunity to live in one of the coveted River apartments, Redman said.
Redman and Rosenblum suggested that, for students who wish to live within the same cluster as several friends, the new institution of "squatters' rights" may give them an opportunity to do so now that blocking has been eliminated.
Students who currently live in the Ripley/Woodward/Smith cluster, the Fayerweathers, Wheeler/Richardson, the Lodge or Russell Sage/Butterfield who will be on campus next fall have the chance to draw rooms within those clusters before the campus-wide room draw, according to Redman.
While Rosenblum said that these changes are intended to ameliorate some of the discontinuity inherent in the D-Plan, the institution of squatters' rights does not mean that the College is moving towards greatly expanding the role of clusters in the future.
She said that the College is not exploring transforming its clusters into residential colleges.
Redman said that, if squatting proves successful, the program may be expanded to include other clusters next year.
Butterfield Hall will remain substance-free next year, and Russell Sage Hall will also become substance-free, according to Redman.
RipWoodSmith will remain smoke-free, and the Fayers will also serve as smoke free-housing next year, he said.
Redman said that these changes were made in response to a survey sent to the Class of 2004 over blitz.
The responses ORL received indicated that more students were interested in receiving substance or smoke-free housing than ORL could accommodate within the buildings currently designated as such, he said.
Rosenblum also said that, depending upon the preferences indicated by the Class of 2005, one or more buildings in the River and the Choates may be designated smoke free or substance free as well.
Various changes will be made to the room draw process so that it is quicker and more efficient, according to Redman.
For example, Rosenblum said that ORL's formulae failed to take into account that groups of students would use the highest priority number within the group.
Thus, ORL found themselves dealing with more students than anticipated last year during the time slots reserved for the highest priority numbers.
Redman said that ORL will also make every effort to make sure that its web page and blitz bulletins display accurate lists of which rooms that have been taken and by whom, and which rooms in which buildings still remain available.
ORL will host several information sessions about the room draw process before the end of the term.
One will be held at 7 on Tuesday in Brace Commons in the East Wheelock cluster, and another at 8:30 in French Hall in the River.
On Wednesday, Rosenblum will be in Collis Commonground from 1:30 to 4:30 to answer students' questions about housing.
She will hold office hours in her office in the basement of Parkhurst on Thursday from 10 to 12, and from 8 to 4 on Friday.
Rachael Class-Ghiguere, Assistant Director of Housing, will also hold office hours on Thursday from 10 to 12, and on Friday from 1 to 4:30.
