This year, 220 female students and 168 male students were involuntarily bumped from the room selection process. As of Monday, 320 of those 388 students are still waiting to be reinstated into the Residence Life housing lottery. The reinstatement lists are separate for males and females.
“[Being bumped] doesn’t mean that [students] aren’t going to get housing on campus,” Richmond Road ResLife Area Director Jenn Garcia said. “It just means they can’t participate in the housing lottery until they get reinstated. They might not get housing until after the lottery or maybe into the summer.”
Students are bumped when the number of room deposits exceeds the number of rooms available on campus. Initially, ResLife received around 580 deposits. As students voluntarily drop out, more spaces should become available for students.
Katrina Pawvluk, assistant director of ResLife, held a meeting yesterday to answer questions about this year’s housing selection process for bumped students.
“Being bumped greatly narrows your options,” Pawvluk said. “But we have always been able to house everybody that stayed patient.”
A sizeable incoming freshman class contributed to the large number of bumped students this year.
“We did have to allot for 20 additional freshman spaces this year, which means 20 more people had to be bumped. Transfer housing in Brown and Taliaferro was changed to accommodate these freshmen,” Pawvluk said. “But we are still required to hold 50 spaces for transfer students spread out all over campus.”
The vacating of fraternity units also contributed to a greater number of room deposits. Fraternity
members who would have lived in their respective units will now be looking for on-campus housing.
Next year, six fraternities will move out of their units, and those units will be available for regular student housing.
“There will be more rising sophomores living in the units because those unit spaces are now opened up,” Pawvluk said.
There are several options available for bumped students as they wait to be reinstated.
Pawvluk suggested overcrowding if bumped students are able to find two additional roommates to live with them next year.
“We allow groups pulling in a bumped student to have first pick of overcrowd rooms,” Pawvluk said.
Stefanie Muldrow ’11, was planning on living with her current roommate next year before she found out that she had been bumped.
Her reinstatement number is 81, approximately 40 spots away from reinstatement.
“We’re going to try to overcrowd in [the] Bryan Complex,” Muldrow said.
The overcrowd room selection process will be held on Monday at 5 p.m. at the ResLife office in Room 212 in the Campus Center.
Pawvluk also suggests that students unable or unwilling to overcrowd next year should search for apartments near campus.
“Just make sure you check out what you’re signing for before you sign the lease,” said Pawvluk.
Dylan Reilly ’12, with a reinstatement number of 105, said he would be looking for an apartment for next year.
“I was going to room with a friend, but I told him to get a new roommate,” Reilly said. “I’m more likely to look at off-campus options rather than overcrowd.”
Still, many bumped students are finding their new housing search stressful.
“I didn’t have any plans before being bumped,” Melissa Gomez ’12 said. “And now I have no idea.”
Despite the large number of bumped students this year, Pawvluk asked them to remain patient with the process.
“I can promise you, as bumped students, you become my priority,” Pawvluk said. “I know this is stressful. and we hate doing this, but unfortunately our situation for housing forces us into this process.”
