Max Bickley – General Assignment Reporter
During the school year, there is an exorbitant amount of things which can cause a hassle and frustration. Whether it be the cost of textbooks, multiple exams in a single day, or registering for classes, there is always something. For students who live on campus, one of the frequent complaints and concerns is actually registering for housing and getting the right room to live in.
Housing registration, which happens in the second semester of every year, is the time when students try their best to find housing for the next school year. Whether it be with friends or just a random roommate, students at Southern find the process to occasionally be a hassle.
One of the concerns and complaints from senior Robert Walsh, is that the system itself has its flaws and is sometimes too complex for it’s purpose.
“Yeah, it’s a hassle, sure it kind of works, but I wish the process was easier and didn’t have so many restrictions,” said Walsh. “There are so many restrictions. If you select one option, you get locked out of others, so if you are rooming with friends you have to make sure everyone is ready to click the same option.”
This concern, about being able to room with friends and needing to organize to ensure any sort of rooming situation with them, is echoed by senior Kerstin Moreau. What Moreau found was that Southern’s policy of doing internal housing selection first, where those inside a dormitory on campus choosing to return select their rooms before other students, derailed the plans she had made with a friend she wished to room with.
“This year the housing process was rough because the one person that I was rooming with did not live in north, but I did,” said Moreau. “So, we had to wait until the very last day before we could apply for housing. By then, all the rooms were gone and we couldn’t even get into the same room, let alone the same floor.”
Another frustration that Walsh found with the system of housing applications was the issue with credits. The issue is that should two students wish to room together, but one of them does not meet the credit requirement for the desired dorm, they won’t be able to go to that dorm.
“Also, if you happen to have friends with different levels of credits, you’re really restricted in what dorms you can sign up for,” said Walsh. “This year though I was able to get a room with my friends because we worked really hard to try and make sure we had no issues. The last time I tried to get a room with specific people it ended in spectacular failure.”
This issue of credits restricting housing selection was also the frustration found with freshman Alexander Govus who was looking to get a suite with friends but ran into trouble regarding reservations and credits.
“It was a little difficult for our first time selecting housing,” said Govus. “Credits were something of an issue, and a friend couldn’t get a room in the building we wanted because they reserved rooms for freshman. It’s not bad, but it’s just alright.”
While these are just a few voices of the student body who have found issues, many like Walsh have been able to get housing in time, and many more students have as well. Some though, have found some complaint and issue in the system.
Photo Credit: Staff Photo
