A day after Duke Student Government passed a resolution calling for seniority in the housing lottery process, Campus Council made a similar recommendation at its meeting last night.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta, Assistant Dean of Student Development Bill Burig and other top University officials will decide on a final version of the lottery system early next week. Moneta said the administration will consider both groups' recommendations and that he hopes to inform students of the finished plan's details before Thanksgiving break begins.
"I'm particularly impressed with both bodies and how they clearly cared that students not be disadvantaged in the process," Moneta said.
The core aspect of Campus Council and DSG's resolutions are identical in that they both ask for rising independent seniors to receive priority over rising independent juniors for singles, doubles and triples on West Campus.
However, while DSG's proposal includes an amendment that guarantees current sophomores living in Trent Drive Hall a room on West next year, Campus Council rejected such a measure.
"The administration is sticking to their guns that Trent is a good form of housing," said Campus Council President Vik Devisetty. Devisetty added that the system would create considerable logistical problems if the 350 sophomores who currently live in Trent decided to room with people not living in Trent, possibly creating almost 700 priority positions.
The Campus Council proposal did recommend that students living in Trent for two consecutive years be given priority in their second year to fill any vacancies on West or Central Campuses if they become available.
Campus Council also recommended that the dorm selection process be combined with the Central Campus apartment selection process, thereby affording juniors and seniors more choice in the housing selection process.
Moneta said officials have not considered the latter proposal, but will weigh it with other recommendations.
DSG and Campus Council have both been seeking influence on administrators as the University makes its final decision on this issue.
"I think it is under our mandate to address this issue because we are the residential governing body," said Devisetty, who said the two groups were not in a rivalry.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, an amendment was made to a resolution passed at last week's meeting, which called for a ban of smoking inside all residential living areas. The resolution now does not include Central Campus apartments, where such a policy could be unenforceable.
Campus Council also announced the possibility that this year's Last Day of Classes concert could be held in Wallace Wade Stadium. The concert would become a revenue-generating event, and, although Duke undergraduate students would be allowed in free, tickets would be sold to other members of the Duke community.
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