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Sandridge shelves first-year housing proposal

Leonard W. Sandridge, University executive vice president and chief operating officer, has decided not to enact a proposal that would have eliminated incoming first-year students' choice in housing. The proposal had met with criticism from Student Council, which claimed students did not have enough input in the initial proposal.

The decision will delay the proposed change in the housing assignment process for at least the next year.

The original proposal, formulated by an ad hoc committee of five administrators and no students, aimed to diversify student living arrangements by randomly assigning students to either old or new dorms, on McCormick and Alderman Roads, respectively. The current system allows entering first-year students to choose which housing area they would most like to live in.

Related Links

  • U.Va. Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Home Page
  • Student Council Web site
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    In a letter to Shirley L. Menaker, associate provost for academic support, Sandridge said he felt that the University should not change the policy for the upcoming year, he will be receptive to future proposals to change the current assignment process.

    Sandridge said his main reason for not enacting the proposal was a lack of input from several key University groups that would be affected by the proposal.

    In his letter to Menaker, he said it "is my understanding that several University groups believe they have not had adequate involvement in the development of the recommendation to change the current policy."

    In an interview yesterday, he said he was "concerned that we may not have had time" to gather sufficient opinion before coming to the decision.

    He also said that it was getting close to the time when preparations are made for the first-year housing selection process - a fact that necessitated a quick decision.

    The original proposal was sent to Sandridge, Provost Peter W. Low and William W. Harmon, vice president for student affairs. Any of the three vice presidents had the power to either enact or shoot down the proposal.

    Sandridge did decide to enact one part of the policy at this time - a change in the order of assignments.

    Before, housing decisions were made based on the order in which the University received admission deposits. For now, the rooms will be assigned in a random order.

    The move comes about a month after Student Council formally voiced its desire to see more student input in the proposal.

    While declining to formally support or denounce the plan to randomly assign students to the residence areas, Council members voted to support the change in the order of assignment.

    Council Chief of Staff Abby Fifer said Sandridge's decision to keep that part of the proposal is "a big win for international and out-of-state students" whose admission deposits may arrivee later than in-state students'.

    Council Executive Vice President Matt Madden said he feels Sandridge's decision is indicative of the administration's general concern about student opinion.

    "I think Student Council made a clear statement that students thought they hadn't been consulted" enough before the proposal was submitted to Sandridge, Madden said.

    Fifer said the next step is working with the administration to start a series of forums and discussions on the proposal in order to garner "the kind of student opinion that Mr. Sandridge addressed in his letter."

    Asst. Dean of Students Aaron Laushway, a member of the original ad hoc committee that formed the proposal, said he feels Sandridge's decision to wait is good for the community.

    "I'm sure that any decision [eventually] made is going to benefit from large and vocal participation for all parts of the University community," Laushway said.

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