In response to student complaints, the Office of Residential Life has decided to abolish the housing lottery system. On Friday, ResLife announced its highly anticipated new plan for determining undergraduate housing: a fight to the death atop Gasson Tower.
In the new housing plan, which is to be called "Survivor Housing," undergraduates will once again arrange groups of eight, six, and four and sign up to compete for the different residence halls. As with the previous housing lottery, each group will select a leader to represent them. In the new housing plan, however, the group leaders will fight one another on top of the Gasson bell tower. The winners will secure their desired housing arrangement; the losers will win a trip to Saint Elizabeth's.
"We listened to student complaints and thought long and hard about this," said a spokesperson for Residential Life. "We have a limited number of eight-person suites and Modular apartments and so we felt that this would be the fairest way to ensure that the students who really want these rooms get them."
"Survivor Housing" has been met with mixed reactions from the student population since its announcement.
"I always thought the housing lottery was unfair. I lived in a forced triple my freshman year and now I'm on College Road," said Tom Roncalli, A&S '09. "At least now there will be some sort of logic behind who gets good housing and who doesn't. It won't matter anymore if you and your friends have a bad number, the playing field will be leveled."
Other students disagree with Roncalli and Residential Life's view that "Survivor Housing" will make housing more fair.
"I think it gives an unfair advantage to students who are physically stronger than others," said Sarah Walsh, CSOM '08. "My friends and I were lucky enough to get a mod for this year, but I don't think that any of us would have been able to take on a football player if it had come down to that."
As is typical with many important Boston College events, some students were completely oblivious to the fact that the housing system has been changed.
"I don't really check e-mails that come from ResLife, I just haven't had good experiences with those," said Mike Duchesne, LSOE '10.
When informed of the new plan for determining undergraduate housing arrangements, Duchesne was indifferent. "My friends and I got Walsh for next year. I don't think that rumor that Newton kids have bad luck with housing is true. I don't really think they need to change it but I mean whatever, [the fight] would give us something to do since they don't allow hall sports here."
Parents and alumni, meanwhile, have expressed concerns about the safety and logistic issues the new plan has raised.
"I think this is a horrible idea," said Mary Ann Kells, BC '79 and a parent of a BC junior. "You're talking about putting students in harm's way all for the opportunity to live on Lower Campus and have a common room. Besides that, what do you do with the students who lose the competition? Where do they get put?"
Residential Life said that the plan has not been finalized and that they are taking all safety and legal issues into consideration.
"The rules of combat will be strictly enforced, no weapons allowed, you know, keep it clean," said the spokesperson for Residential Life.
Surprisingly, few students expressed any alarm at the obvious risks involved in hand-to-hand combat on top of the bell tower.
"It would make the Newton bus a lot less crowded," said Duchesne.
March Madness is about to take on a whole new meaning.
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