In advance of next week's room draw, several hundred rising juniors and seniors selected housing last night during the second year of "squatting," which will allow upperclassmen to remain in the same residential cluster next fall.
The process was introduced last year but was expanded this year to include almost all campus dormitories, including many of the most popular. Only dorms reserved exclusively for freshmen, the East Wheelock cluster and the Maxwell-Channing Cox Apartments were off limits.
Rooms in the highly-regarded Massachusetts Row dormitories, the Fayerweathers, Ripley-Woodward-Smith, Butterfield-Russel Sage and Gold Coast residence hall clusters saw the highest demand last night, with extended lines by the sign-up tables for rooms there. Most rooms in those buildings were not available for squatting last year.
Student reaction to this year's squatting process was generally positive, though most expressed doubts that the process was fair to other students who did not have good housing this year.
Squatting "brings continuity to [room draw] since the D-Plan breaks it up so much," said Tyra Olstad '04, who will again be living in Richardson Hall.
"It's unfair" to some students, Olstad said, "but then again freshman year is unfair."
"I'm a rising senior, and I think it's good I finally have a decent shot at good housing," Matt Raymer '03 said, adding that he was happy with the system and that "It's working for me."
Some students expressed doubts about the process, however.
"People who are on leave terms now can't do it," Charles Harris '02 said. "Sometimes people don't get housing -- it's terrible."
Though Nicole Grannon '03 will be living on Mass Row again next year, she was unable to get housing during sophomore year. The room selection process "really sucks for the average Joe," she said.
Many upperclassmen do not get to benefit from squatting, some students argued.
For example, UGAs and other upperclassmen who may be living in undesirable housing "do get the short end of the stick," Colin Ingram '04 said.
Organizers said they were surprised at how smoothly the squatting process went. The several hundred students who attended were mostly finished by 8:30 p.m., well ahead of the planned stopping time of 9:30 p.m.
Not all participants found the process agreeable. Swathi Gopalakrishnan '04 said she was stressed by the squatting procedure, adding, that you don't know your odds at getting a given type of room.
Assistant Director of Housing Chelsea Nather said the turnout was lower than expected. "Specifically the '04 class hasn't squatted as much as we thought they would," she said.
The only problems were minor, Nather said, including a missing schematic of the fourth floor of Gile Hall and a miscommunication about whether freshmen can participate in squatting.
Current freshmen "cannot partake in the squatting process" in any way, she said.
The housing office was forced to deal with personnel problems in preparing for this year's room draw and squatting.
Interim Director of Housing Rachael Class-Giguere recently went on maternity leave, and her predecessor, Lynn Rosenblum, left just four months ago. In addition, neither Nather nor assistant director John Haletsky worked on squatting last spring.
Squatting was implemented last year to replace "blocking," eliminated two years ago and which had allowed groups of up to eight friends to select rooms using the best housing number among the group.
Last year, just 130 students took advantage of the program, which did not include what are considered by many to be the nicest residence halls.
