A little bit of luck mixed with a semester’s hard work can get you a decent lottery number when it comes to signing up for housing next year. Well, at least that used to be the case.

Simpson students may be shocked to learn that after this year academic standing will not take part in the housing lottery system. The old ways of points being knocked off your lottery number will be no longer, and Simpson College will usher in yet another new – and somewhat frustrating – Simpson tradition.

As much as hard work should actually be expected once you get to college, we all know that is not always the case. So we rewarded it.Students who partnered together would have better or worse picks based on a number of factors. For example, students could have points knocked off their number by filling out a Residence Life survey or having a quality GPA. 

We think the old policy of rewarding students with good grades with earlier housing picks was a good idea. So again, why is it being taken away?

People have cited ethical reasons, saying some students will be disadvantaged.

We understand that students have to work. College is expensive, and more students than not probably hold a job of some sort.

However, students aren’t being severely punished if they don’t get a point deduction. They will still have a roof over their heads.

Simpson is an academic institution, if we do not reward students for working hard in class, than what should we reward them for?

Instead of rewarding students who work hard and take their academics seriously, Simpson is sending students the message that it is OK to skip class or blow off a paper.It would be a stretch of the truth to say that poor study habits are being rewarded in this matter; however, we think it is safe to say that they are being condoned.Everybody knows not all housing is equal. Some apartments are larger with more bedroom space, others do not have dishwashers and some even have more than one bathroom. Should these rooms be up for grabs on a fair basis?It is already fair in the sense that all students have the opportunity to knock down their lottery scores. Every student is on a level playing field to begin with when they get to campus and go to classes.There’s nothing wrong with rewarding students who work hard and do well. In fact, as students, it’s nice to see that hard work being recognized.