Students May Help Sort Cards For House Lottery Next Year

Students will definitely participate in the hand assignment process of the freshman housing lottery next year if it is not completely automated. Thomas A. Dingman '67, assistant dean of the College, said yesterday.

"I think the best way to modify the present lottery system would be to have students--probably CHUL [Committee on Houses and Undergraduate Life] members--participate in or oversee the sorting process," he said.

He added that the process might not be automated next year because writing a program for the lottery would take about a month.

The freshman council yesterday can-called an open meeting it had scheduled to discuss the assignment process with Dingman. It was called off because of lack of interest, Dingman said.

Dirty Dozen

"We haven't had more than half a dozen dissatisfied students come to us," he said, adding. "It seems most students are satisfied with the process, even though it is not entirely automated."

Many students said yesterday they believe the idea that administrators misled students about how they run the lottery is more important than the discovery that housing officials conduct the lottery by hand.

"It shows their lack of faith that we'd understand the situation--unless there's something they still haven't told us," Donald E. Tarver '82, said yesterday.

Students suggested ways of improving the House assignment process, including holding a public lottery, with all freshmen attending, so that a group knows which Houses are already filled when it draws a number and selects a House.

Get 'Em Early

Another suggestion was to assign Houses before freshman year, as Yale does, to insure maximum randomization and to avoid having students select Houses on the basis of stereotypes.

Some students said they believed that the present system is adequate, but that the less popular Houses should be improved to make them equally attractive.

Although several students said yesterday they believed exemption from the lottery because of a need to be near athletic facilities should be available, most said they did not support exemption on the basis of social reputation or status.

"I think it's smart to keep athletes by athletic facilities," James G. Jollis '82 said yesterday, adding, "At Ohio State all the football players get to live at dorms right in the colliseum."

Frederick W. Wertheim '82 said he believed no student should receive privileged treatment because of his heritage or ability to pay full tuition.

"Privilege of birth just doesn't make it anymore," Wertheim said.