It’s the luck of the draw for most Simpson students as theycheck out their lottery numbers and start the scramble that is”room selection.”

“Student Development tries hard to keep us happy,” said senior,Colonial apartments resident, Abby Smith. “Just by looking at itsname, ‘lottery’ tells you that it’s not going to be fair.”

Simpson’s room selection process has been the same since 2001.In 2000 the Residence Life Department changed its room selectionprocess based on research done by a committee of students and stafflooking at housing processes from schools of a similar size toSimpson.

“Each year gets better,” said Laurie Dienberg-Hoppe. In regardsto the current room selection process Dienberg-Hoppe said everyyear has been a little smoother than the last, and Dienberg-Hoppehas similar expectations for the upcoming year. The lottery systemis exactly what it sounds like, a random assignment of numbers thatwill seal students housing fate.

Returning seniors and rising juniors are assigned a numberbetween one and 400. Rising sophomores receive a number between1,600 and 2,000, and rising first-year students receive a numberbetween 3,000 and 3,500. Your name is put into a computer once youverify your name is on the list of students eligible for Simpsonhousing-the computer does all the work from there on out, accordingto Dienberg-Hoppe.

“It’s a lottery number, you either get lucky or you don’t,” saidsophomore and Buxton resident, Denae Crookshank. “It’s really notthat fair.”

Students know very little about the process, but keep theirfingers crossed and hope for the best.

“We got lucky,” said sophomore, Detroit apartments resident,Holly Hendricks. Hendricks and her three roommates were supposed tolive in Buxton, but were notified in August that they had room forthem in the apartments. “We were just happy to get anapartment.”

A minimum of a 2.5 cumulative GPA is required to live in theapartments. This affects a lot of students’ decisions to live offcampus. In order to live off campus students must petition, saidHoppe. The final decisions about off-campus petitions are made bythe Dean of Students, Jim Thorius, according to Hoppe.

“My GPA wasn’t quite high enough to get an apartment and Ididn’t want to live in Buxton again,” said junior, resident ofLorraine (off-campus) apartments, Ryan King.

Seniority is the only aspect that gets taken into account whenlottery numbers are delt out, but students seem alright withthat.

“I like the seniority-when I’m an upperclassmen I’m going towant first pick,” said Hendricks.

The list of lottery numbers will be posted in the window ofStudent Development at noon on Feb. 2. Dienberg-Hoppe said roomselection applications will be available to students in the officeof Student Development and will also be sent campus-wide bye-mail.

Once determining who their roommates will be, students shouldaverage their lottery numbers together to determine their grouprank in the room selection process, according to Dienberg-Hoppe.There are informational meetings in each of the residence halls toanswer any additional questions students may have about the roomselection process.