Housing Selection Process Announced
Roughly speaking... Red is for freshmen, Blue is for sophomores, and Orange is for Juniors, Seniors, and Grad students
We received word from a source on the Student Senate, after a report by Vice President for Administration, Claude Rounds, at the Senate meeting today, that the housing selection process for school year ‘09-’10 has been announced (or at least the draft form of it). Here are the basics of the plan:
- Warren, Nugent, Davison, Sharp, part of Quad, part of BARH, Colonie, Stacwyck, RAHP, as well as the apartments in Bray, Crockett, and Cary will house almost exclusively sophomores (though some spaces in these halls will be available to upperclass students depending on a variety of factors, including the Greek Life Commons Agreement).
- Upper-class students will choose from Blitman Commons, North Hall, E Complex, and Polytech Apartments. Students currently living in these buildings will be able to squat their rooms.
- Those upper-class students who live in the sophomore-designated housing will be allowed to enter into an Inter-Commons Lottery, allowing them to take the unsquatted rooms in Blitman, North, E, and Polytech.
- Sophomores will then participate in a lottery for the designated buildings.
- Any remaining students who wish to live on campus can then enter an all-campus lottery for any remaining spaces.
The administration does not expect that many students will be forced off of campus, since this allows beds for upper-class students in an amount equal to that of the current upperclass on-campus population.
According to our source at the Senate meeting, Tom Tarantelli, the Acting Dean of Residence Life, said that the Greeks are the “wildcard” in this process. The Greek Life Commons Agreements (which will be signed or not by each house individually) have the potential to take a very large numbers of sophomores away from residence halls. If several houses sign, it may be possible that there will be open rooms in some of the sophomore-designated buildings for upper-class students. However, they will not be able to squat those rooms; they will simply be opened on a case by case basis or put into the all-campus lottery.
We’ll post more information if and when we receive it.
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“Those upper-class students who live in the sophomore-designated housing will be allowed to enter into an Inter-Commons Lottery, allowing them to take the unsquatted rooms in Blitman, North, E, and Polytech.”
Does this mean that upper classmen can squat in those buildings?
If you currently live in Blitman, North, E, or Polytech, you will be able to squat your room.
My understanding of squatting is as follows:
Upperclassmen can squat if they are currently living in Blitman, North, E, or Polytech.
Upperclassmen currently living in any other location (like BARH, WNDS, QUAD, etc) will not be permitted to squat, since those beds will be made available to sophomores. If they beds remain free at the end of the sophomore lottery, you could win your room back if you are lucky in the general lottery (which really shouldn’t be called all-campus anymore, the left-over lottery sounds more appropriate).
Oh man, people are going to throw a shitfit over this.
I was already expecting squatting to go away completely, so that fact that at least part of upperclassmen can squat (with the eventual return of all upperclassmen being able to squat next year, since everyone will be in the upperclassmen-only dorms then) is pretty nice.
Then again, currently living in Polytech helps will being happy about that decision.
Hrm, a lot of people are going to be pissed about the change of Warren (and Ground Zero’s location) over to a sophomore hall. That seems like a silly decision…it breaks up community that’s grown out of the student body just to satisfy RPI’s nice clean housing divisions.
Residence commons? Yeah, ok. I think we all know that RA programs don’t garner much participation and don’t build social communities and campus involvement like Ground Zero or other similar student-initated events.
@Bryan
Actually Bryan, as we understand it (not 100% positive), but GZ and its residents will still be in Warren.
These plans are still in Draft form, and the school is still trying to work out all of the nuances.
Hey, do you guys have a source for this information? I’ve heard the same thing, but if you have a link to ResLife or can cite an actual member of the Senate, that would be great. Just wanted to confirm this. Thanks!
We suggest you view the Senate meeting on http://www.rpitv.org when it is posted so that you can get it straight from the source.
This is ridiculous! The ROTC students have always had apartments in STACK and RHAPS and have passed them down for years! Not to mention that ROTC students can afford STACK because we get a housing scholarship! How can this school force students into housing they might not be able to afford? They might want the sophmores to “bond” for another year but they are breaking up the communities that have squatted in the past. How is one class superior to the upperclassmen? I don’t get it.
So what’s the word on theme houses like Arda and Ground Zero? Do they get to stay, or are the theme houses getting the shaft?
What is this greek life commons agreement you speak of? Links?
MOVE OFF-CAMPUS! :-p
GTFO!
@Lauren
Agreed. The remaining options for upper classmen are either the most expensive (and newest) dorms/apartments on campus, or the cheapest (oldest) ones. North and E can only house so many people, since a LOT of the rooms are singles. I doubt they will let those of us on housing scholarships get first dibs on the cheaper housing…
Another thing to think about: all upperclassmen who aren’t in E or North will have required meal plans. It seems a bit unfair that nearly ALL upper classmen will be forced to have meal plans, where only the sophs in BARH will (unless they are requiring all sophomores to have meal plans like the freshman)
Luckily, I’m already in E and can squat. Phew. Because there is no way I could afford living in Polytec or Blitman AND being forced into a meal plan. I am glad to see however that they are giving the displaced upper classmen first dibs on the empty rooms, sort of like inter-hall squatting, before the general upperclassmen lottery takes place.
Perhaps they will let the communities that are going to be displaced move as a unit, so they can stay together? Ask if that’s possible – at this point in time such a request might be considered, since nothing is officially formalised, and everyone wants this process to go as smoothly as possible. I’d think that keeping groups such as ROTC together would fit nicely in with the whole ‘on campus community bonding’ thing CLASS is working to achieve.
Actually, guys, you’d find a lot of useful info watching the Senate video. Since everyone is ridiculously busy, though…I’ll just say that they’re SERIOUSLY considering revising the required meal plan policy (since the designation of halls is essentially set in stone). We told them that they would have a difficult time even remotely filling more expensive buildings with upperclassmen unless there were other incentives. They may still require meal plans (depending on how the planning goes), or they may put through a declining balance plan if Sodexo will agree to it. Anyone with specific questions or suggestions should email them to justask@rpi.edu, and someone in the Senate will get your point to the people making the decisions.
@JC Reardon
Yeah someone should really do something about the forced meal plan. It makes sense for blitman because of their dining hall but for polytech it makes no sense whatsoever. In polytech we all have full kitchens. The s&w has also already shown that the polytech meal plan is a straight up ripoff.
Meal plans should be optional for anyone who isn’t a freshman. We are college students that have the intellectual ability to choose when, what, and how much food to eat. We won’t starve ourselves if we don’t have a meal plan. Some people would probably eat healthier, too.
In my opinion, the best meal plan is the Brown Bag Plan. Putting RAD on your card comes in as a close second (if your parents will pay for it). The Five Finger Plan is probably the third best option, until you get caught.
The RPI TV video from the meeting is online: http://www.rpitv.org/productions/2009/12/01/Student-Senate-Meeting
Mr. Rounds takes the floor at 10:30; Mr. Tarantelli specifically starts discussing the housing lottery at 51:00.
@Jay Walker
I might just have to write a follow-up to my first Block Plan article if
@Jay Walker
I might just have to write a follow-up to my first Block Plan article if this plan goes through. Forced meal plans make even less sense (as if they made a lot of sense with full kitchens already) if you’re going to limit upperclass housing option.
(Damnit mouse, don’t click the submit button before I’m finished typing)
You’ve got Nason Hall colored blue for sophomores. That’s a mistake, right?
Yes Bryan…write….that sounds like pretty much the best plan ever (no seriously, do it).
If this and forced meal plans go through, it might be time for me to seriously start considering transferring and I fear a mass exile (AKA a source of income for the administration) might be the only way to get them to consider doing something the students support for once.
a lot of transfers would have to happen to send that message, and if it isn’t necessary it hurts the students who move more than it hurts the school. moving off campus, however, sends just as clear a message, when the school realizes that it won’t be filling the upperclassman halls. My only friends planning on staying on campus at this point are those with housing scholarships, but if they need a meal plan too they are definitely finding off campus alternatives.
@Chris W.
Shitfit thrown.
@Ryan
I’m sure if it can be absolutely proven financially that a meal plan is a rip-off, then some sort of legal action could be taken… I doubt any court would allow a mandatory overcharge/charge for nothing. It just isn’t reasonable or ethical.
That would be an extreme measure though…
RPI just wants to make it mandatory because so few people have it anymore. I suggest they rethink their actions though and consider modifying the cost instead.
I just want to say they are having meetings tonight in polytech and blitman about this. I think the blitman one is happening now but the polytech one is scheduled to happen at 9. Thats one place where you can voice your concern if you care about this issue.