'If it ain't broke, don't fix it'
Campus Times
April 16, 1999
Change, as most have often believed, is often for the better. Whether
through the correction of mistakes on a term paper, the suggestion of an
alternative idea or the revision of a program, altering many things has
proved beneficial. But in some cases, such as the new residence hall room
reservation process, it seems there is always something wrong with the way
things have worked.
The Office of Housing and Residential Life at the University of La Verne
recently elected to change the selection process for the 1999-2000 academic
year. The reasons for the change have not been fully explained until recently,
however, no reason has been given for the need to change the procees.
In the past, it has been somewhat of a "tradition" for Housing
procedures to change from year-to-year. Most of the issue first arose this
year when the staff distributed fliers throughout the Oaks Residence Hall,
requiring that in-state students staying in the residence halls during the
school break be granted permission to do so.
Though the policy has been one detailed in print for some time, it has
never been "enforced properly" until this year. Why this year?
What was the problem with the way things were managed in the past?
And now, as the end of the academic year approaches, the matter of reserving
a room for next year has become a problem-at least for the Housing administration,
it seems. Thus far, within the last three years, room reservation procedures
have been revised or completely changed each year. Students seeking to live
on campus last year had the chance to play Monopoly and attain a "free
parking" pass to reserve the rooms in which they already lived. Those
who sought other room accomodations could take their chance by entering
a lottery to determine who would receive first preference on remaining rooms.
There appeared to be no problems with this once-again revised procedure,
and, to knowledge, many students were actually happy with the fairness and
process of the game. But, again, the process has been changed this year,
just when students were attempting to and succeeding at understanding the
old process. Now, there is no such thing as a "free parking" space,
because instead students who want to keep the same room in which they currently
live must "squat" their borrowed property within a four-day time
period.
Thereafter, priority for selecting rooms that are not "squatted"
is given to those eldest in class standing. Fifth-year-or-plus seniors have
first dibs on reserving their room, upcoming seniors have second, juniors
third, sophomores fourth and so on. In other words, students will have to
go through a registration-type process to select their rooms for the upcoming
academic year -- by class standing.
This is a pretty reasonable idea, whereas in the past, determining order
was arranged via lottery. Now those students who have seniority will have
the opportunity to be first in line without having to worry about having
the winning ticket.
As mentioned, the new room selection process has its share of advantages,
but it cannot guarantee that everyone will be happy with the results; a
uniform agreement can never be reached in most situations. But as the saying
goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," there may have never
been a need to change the system.
The end result cannot be determined until the process is over, but,
as a word of advice, it might be better to simply organize a room selection
process and stick with it every year thereafter. In that way, even students
who are new to the housing process will not be left standing -- instead
perhaps squatting -- as they understand the rules and know what to expect
in advance.
