For the off-campus housing lottery, 44 is the losing ticket. Residence Life and Housing Services Director Eddie Hull unveiled the magic number at Thursday's Campus Council meeting, revealing that the University is still 44 beds short for next semester.
Fewer juniors applied for the lottery than were needed, Hull said, but he added that the number will most likely come down as more decide on their housing futures in the next few months.
"We're hoping to get as close to a zero impact as possible, but it's too soon to tell right now," Hull said.
The bed shortage sparked a comprehensive discussion on how to remedy the situation, with suggestions ranging from having the University take a more active role in drawing students off-campus to converting commons rooms to residential rooms.
Campus Council President Anthony Vitarelli, a junior, said he did not support the decision to place students in commons rooms, saying that students were already "under-served" by a lack of common space.
Additional suggestions included squeezing extra students into rooms which could accommodate them, and even placing upperclassmen on East Campus.
Hull said that exploring on-campus solutions is RLHS' first priority, but that few possibilities are out of bounds. However, he was not supportive of giving monetary compensation to students who agree to live off campus.
He added that he does not foresee the problem subsiding in coming years, as an increased enrollment in the Pratt School of Engineering in 2005 will exacerbate the crunch.
Seniors may feel the burden of the housing shortage more than other classes.
"Our current policy is that seniors are guaranteed a fourth year on campus," Hull said. "I can't say how that will play out."
IN OTHER BUSINESS:
Members also discussed the standardization of operating procedures for the University's housekeepers after an RLHS representative presented a unified version of procedures for the West I and West II service areas. The council also considered whether information regarding expectations for students and housekeepers should be posted. Currently, reminders for removing personal belongings from bathrooms are present in all residential bathrooms.
Hull said promotion of the guidelines is necessary in order to address the lack of student respect for housekeeper duties.
Senior Max Perkins suggested that the need to present guidelines and expectations could be eliminated altogether by inviting housekeepers to attend house meetings at the beginning of each year to get to know the students.
Vitarelli said the council will discuss the matter further next week.
Finally, communications coordinator Pasha Majdi brought up the issue of independent space reservation, allowing unaffiliated students to reserve space for the purpose of putting on parties or holding large gatherings, which they are currently unable to do. No decision was made, but Majdi, a junior, encouraged quad representatives to bring the issue to their residents for further discussion.
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