RIGHT NOW, most first-years have just settled into the University. They've figured out which dining halls they like, which activities they think they'll stick with, what classes they want to take next year and -- oh yeah -- where they want to live. That's right, it's once again time to select housing. For most of us this is a minor first-semester hassle. For first-years, it's time to choose who their best friends are.
Of course it wasn't always that way. A long time ago, (a year before I came to the University) the deadline for on-Grounds housing was in January. But then, an executive decision pushed the deadline up.
"Parents, after a couple of incidents, were concerned about safety in off-Grounds housing," Director of Accommodations John Evans said. "At that time the on-Grounds market and the off-Grounds market deadlines were taking place at different times of the year. To answer the concerns of parents and students they wanted to have both processes taking place at the same time."
Though I understand parents' concerns about safety, other concerns should also be taken into consideration. First year, and especially first semester first year, is a time of great confusion. There are hundreds of decisions to be made: which activities and groups to be a part of, who to hang out with, what classes to take. Where to live second year is just another huge question to consider. There's on-Grounds and off-Grounds, two-bedroom, three-bedroom, single. There are residential colleges for something different, or maybe being a Resident Advisor. There's even a chance to live in one of the language houses and brush up on the old Russian or Arabic a little bit. The opportunities are seemingly endless, which means so are the decisions.
"I thought that it was really early to try and decide who to live with, especially for first years who are just starting to get to know people," second-year College student Brittany Palmer said of choosing housing last year. "I think that it is hard to find someone who is compatible to live with when you only know them for two months."
While not much can be done about this when it comes to the off-Grounds market, there is plenty the University could and should do about its own deadline.
"The first year they [moved up the deadline], we did survey the parents and students," Evans said. "The survey results were clearly that the majority wanted the deadline back when it had been before."
In response to this clear majority, the administration moved the housing deadline back -- 30 days. My first year, the deadline was in October. Now it is in November. This is still nowhere close to where it should be though, which is back to where it was -- in January. Forcing students to decide on housing in November because what has since turned out to be a minority complained with louder voices is unfair. Instead, I propose an alternate plan.
Housing tours, housing information and housing options should all be laid out clearly in November, as is done now. Housing applications are already accepted starting in August, and this should continue as a good starting date for housing applications to be accepted. The deadline for applications, however, should be moved into second semester. This way, students could have all the options clearly presented to them at an early date, but still wait to make a final decision.
Under this system, students who knew that they wanted to live off Grounds and knew who they wanted to live with would sign a lease in November. Students who weren't sure where to live would still have all the options presented to them clearly and would also have a longer amount of time to make a concrete decision on where they wanted to live. Students who already knew where they wanted to live on Grounds could turn in their application and be done with it, smirking while their companions stewed over a decision. But at the very least, everyone deserves a little time to stew over a decision as important as where to live.
Margaret Sessa-Hawkins' column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at msessahawkins@cavalierdaily.com.
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