Change to housing lottery to benefit high grade points

Change to housing lottery to benefit high grade points

by Emili JohnsonStaff Writer

There has been one significant change to the Residence Life lottery system this semester. Those with a grade point average of a 3.75 or higher will get an additional 100-point deduction from their original lottery number.

Originally, those that had a GPA of 3.5 and above got only a 100-point deduction. Now, the change will benefit those with high GPAs and give them a better chance of better housing.

Mandy Fox, director of residence life, is very enthusiastic about the change and feels that those with high GPAs will be rewarded for their hard work.

“The decision stemmed from feedback from our annual quality of life survey and through discussions with the Residence Hall Association,” Fox said. “

Fox said this change is a far cry from how the lottery system has worked in years past where students were punished for low GPAs and were not allowed to apply for apartment housing.

“Some people feel like people who have bad GPAs shouldn’t be ahead of them in the lottery and for many reasons, that argument has little merit in my mind anyway,” Fox said. “We wanted to benefit those who do work hard and that is what this is about, and I do not think that anyone is going to argue with that.”

Luke Behanuek, area coordinator for Buxton, Picken, Worth and the theme houses, has similar feelings about the lottery change. Behanuek, who feels the deduction will aide students in acquiring a better number, says the change will not drastically affect everyone. It will just give some an edge.

“The department and myself see the GPA number deduction purpose as two-fold; one, being an incentive to those students to strive to get a GPA above a 3.5 or a 3.75, and secondly, to reward those students who already have that GPA,” Behanuek said. “Hopefully, it will be an incentive to all students.”

Behanuek also feels the addition of the Clinton Apartments to housing next semester will aide more juniors in getting apartment housing.

“Station Square has been seen as the best apartments and now that there are more apartment options, maybe Station Square will be comprised of residents who really want it for its 24-hour quite hours and its alcohol-free environment.”

With the addition of the Clinton Apartments, students will not only see more options for housing, but the Residence Life Department also hopes students will not have to settle for temporary housing in the fraternities and more juniors will have apartments.

Another improvement in housing for next year is that those who will be living in the Clinton Apartments will acquire dishwashers, laundry on every floor, wireless Internet and free parking.

Junior Jeanette Stogdill is one of many students who are happy about the point deduction. Stogdill, who is also a community adviser in the Detroit Apartments this year, sees it as a way for students to be rewarded and how it can also encourage underclassmen to strive for better grades.

“I haven’t really heard anything bad about it,” Stogdill said. “I know that a lot of my residents are juniors and they will be seniors and a lot of them have low numbers anyway, so I am sure that they don’t have a problem getting into the nicer apartments. But, I think the ones that are getting the deduction are very happy about it.”

Stogdill will also be the community adviser for the Clinton Apartments next year. Even though she is unsure about how the addition will play in room selection, she does see how the building will have an advantage to students. She also mentioned that students should see where their possibilities of living are before making a decision.

“I think that they should really tour all the places that they think are possibilities,” Stogdill said. “A lot of people get judgments about what other people say and they don’t go to see them, so I would recommend touring all of them and I recommend touring the Clinton Apartments as well.”