Harnwell College House has launched a new housing selection process that will eliminate current residents' ability to retain their rooms from year to year. The house has instituted a lottery system that will favor students who have lived in Harnwell for more than one year.
The policy was created by residents who felt that the current system gave an unfair advantage to students who had friends with large rooms and could use their friendship to gain access to the rooms.
Under the new policy, students are not guaranteed their current room for the upcoming school year but might be able to keep it if it is still available after the lottery is complete.
"The new system will prioritize students who have lived in Harnwell during the long renovation period by giving them an opportunity to choose the best room for themselves," Harnwell House Dean Suhnne Ahn wrote in an e-mail interview.
Students who request rooms as a group will be given scores based on how long each resident has lived in the house.
The combined score of two current Harnwell residents will be reduced if a non-Harnwell resident wishes to join in their community living, thereby decreasing the group's chances of getting a better room.
The new policy -- similar in structure to that of Stouffer College House -- has generated mixed reaction from its residents.
"I'm really mad because I remember in the beginning of the school year, our [hall] advisor told us that we were definitely guaranteed a room, and it would be really nice to have this room," said College freshman Jide Iruka.
"I want to live with people who don't live in Harnwell, so that's going to be difficult," said Iruka.
The Harnwell Senate was instrumental in formulating and promoting the policy.
Wharton sophomore and Harnwell Senate member Lori Ngo said that the policy was designed in part to eliminate some students' attempts to monopolize the largest rooms in Harnwell.
According to Ngo, under the old policy a student had the option of switching into the largest rooms in Harnwell -- spacious, four-bedroom quads generally ending in 03 -- mid-year by paying extra money for the spot.
"We wanted to establish a more fair way of choosing rooms because ... in Harnwell it seemed that a lot of people are monopolizing the 03 rooms, and they're passing it down from year to year," she said.
"We feel that [the new system] is a better way to gauge whether you should get a room or not," Ngo said.
"We were a place for [Harnwell House administrators] to bounce off ideas and then in the initial steps to get initial feedback ... everyone on the Senate thought it was a great idea to go ahead with," Senate member and Wharton senior Lea Cohen said.
Cohen added that though she has heard mostly positive feedback from residents, the official housing selection date is still to far away to be sure of residents' reactions.
"It's a little too early to tell, [but] ... I think it's a great idea because it's making a community, and ... it gives [residents] a reason to look forward to next year," Cohen said.
Ahn noted that Harnwell is the only high-rise College House to pilot the new system and believes the policy will more fairly reward current Harnwell residents.
"It's an ambitious undertaking. A strong sense of fairness to patient members of the community drives this endeavor, though, and that's the reason we have devoted so much time and hard work to this project," Ahn wrote.
College House Room Policy
A breakdown of the different policies for retaining rooms in the high rises. Harnwell: Has recently eliminated guaranteed room retention and adopted a system based on group scores that gives preference to current residents. Hamilton: Residents are able to retain their rooms, and preferences for room changes will be based on graduation year, with priority given to seniors. Harrison: Similar to Hamilton, Harrison allows room retention and gives an advantage to current House residents.
