Freshmen Begin Shortened Lottery, Must Pick Up Housing Forms Today

The recently shortened Freshman lottery process begins today as students pick up their rooming group forms from the Freshman Union.

All members of the Freshman class must pick up the forms between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Housing Officer Lisa M. Colvin said. The packet includes an explanatory letter by Assistant Dean Thomas A. Dingman, a rooming group form, a rooming block form and a questionaire asking for information to be used by the houses.

Completed roommate forms are due in University Hall on Thursday, March 10. Lottery numbers will be assigned one week later.

The lottery this year will take 17 days, instead of the more than three weeks it has taken since it began in the late 1960s. To ease student anxiety, housing officials reduced the amount of time freshmen must wait between turning in completed house choice forms and receiving their final assignments, Colvin said.

The last major change in the lottery occurred in spring 1986, when freshmen were for the first time told their lottery numbers before having to hand in their house choices. Under the current system, after turning in their rooming forms, students receive a random, computer-generated group number and then must turn in their house choices by 1 p.m., March 21.

Then, under the "maximization of first choice" process, all groups will be scanned in order for their first choice. Students whose first choices have been filled will be scanned again for their second choices. Those who are left after a third pass will be randomly assigned. Students learn their final fate on the morning of March 24.

Colvin said she urged students to pick up their packets on time, to avoid delays caused last year when 432 freshmen--17 percent of the class--failed to do so.

"The big hitch last year was that freshman didn't pick up the forms," said Dingman. As a result, housing staff were forced to locate and inform every student who had failed to collect the materials on time. Traditionally, only 90 to 100 students forget to pick up the forms, Colvin said.

This year, many freshmen seem relaxed just before the lottery begins.

"It seems kind of cut and dry," said Sandra E. Junta '91 of the process. "If you're happy with your rooming group, it doesn't matter where you get stuck, except for the Quad," the swim team member and Thayer Hall resident said.

"Housing is the most ridiculous thing to getanxiety about," said David A. Saef '91. Saef, amember of the Committee on House Life, is one oftwo freshmen who will observe the actual computerlottery on Wednesday, March 16. "Students shouldbe worrying about their concentrations," Saefsaid.

For other Yardlings, some anxiety has beenunavoidable.

"It's a fairly stressful sort of thing figuringout who you're going to stay with," said Randal S.Jeffrey '91. "The only thing I don't like is theguess work involved" after students receive theirlottery numbers and must choose their houses,Jeffrey said.

"It's been kind of a hassle" for him and hisroommates, said Wiggles-worth resident Stephen Y.Quintero '91. "We've been kind of busy lately.