Residential Council Minutes :: October 27, 2009

Present: Ben Lowell (Chair), Andrew Tran (Policy Chair), Rachel Kahn (Program House Chair), Jillian Robbins (Lottery Chair), Courtney Mannino (Secretary), Greg Anderson, Sam Barney, Jerry Cedrone, Sara Slama, James Williams

Absent: EJ Chung (unexcused), Evan Holownia (unexcused), Sara Sunshine (unexcused)

Update from Lottery Committee:

Housing Lottery Timeline, Spring 2010:
November19th - Information session for those going abroad in the spring semester
January 28th - Housing options fair (before Greek and Program House rush starts); all Greek and Program House Presidents will be there, DSS will be there, ResLife will be there for special interest housing, etc.
February 11th - Videos due for first pick competition
February 18th - Videos screened for the first pick competition (and voting begins)
February 25th - Voting for first pick ends
February 26th - Special interest housing and squatting applications due
Decisions made first week in March about these applications.
March 9th - Super Deadline Day (floor plans will also be posted this day)
March 12th - Lottery applications open
March 19th - Lottery applications close
March 16th - Suite/Roommate dating event
March 26th - Receive lottery number
April 7th - Rooms that will be available during lottery will be posted
April 11th - Dorm tours begin
April 14th - First lottery night
April 17th & 18th - More dorm tours offered
April 19th - Second lottery night
*Lottery information sessions hosted around Super Deadline Day

Something new this year will be applying big posters in freshmen dorms with important deadlines regarding the housing lottery.

Options Under Consideration for Changing the Lottery:
Should ResLife do sophomore housing separately (pre-assignment to rooms in sophomore only dorm buildings)?
What about a third night (one night for upperclassmen and two nights for sophomores)?
What about letting sophomores know what we have left after the last night and let them choose from one room triples or quads?
Should we invite excess numbers (at the very end) to lottery?

What about the room in which lottery is held?
In addition to having the lottery in Sayles again this year, should we simul-cast the lottery in another building on the main green (like Salomon or Wilson)?
*We really need to be stricter about letting people into the lottery to prevent over-crowdedness and chaos.
Maybe we can bracket the numbers and only permit entrance if the group's number falls within a specific range.

What about unidirectional flow in Sayles?

What about splitting the lottery into three nights?
The second night is always really crowded because all sophomores and their groups show up to lottery - so should we offer two night of sophomore lottery?
If we implement new systems every year, is this really going to decrease stress (the goal of ResLife)?

Announcement:

In two weeks, Margaret Klawunn, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services, will be coming to our meeting.

End meeting.

Submitted by Courtney Mannino, Residential Council Secretary, Fall 2009.