When it comes to the housing lottery, most students agree that Fairfield is behind the times. And with the Off-Campus Boarder Lottery (OCB) kicking off today, questions have surfaced about whether the process will ever get any easier.
The University guarantees students housing for all four years. But for many students, a crucial part of the college experience at Fairfield is being able to live at the beach. To do so, they must be officially released from their on-campus resident status by Fairfield through the OCB.
Though most juniors start looking for beach houses at the very beginning of the school year (if not the end of sophomore year), campus e-mails say the OCB process will not start this year until Nov. 2, and the list of students approved to live off-campus will not be posted until Dec. 4. However many students believe that if they have not signed a lease or are not in verbal agreement with a landlord before Dec. 4, they will have little hope of securing a decent, inexpensive beach house.
How does the University justify conducting the lottery so late in the semester while forbidding students from signing leases before being released? According to Director of Residence Life Gary Stephenson, it has to do with several factors.
One reason the OCB lottery is done in November relates to students’ class standing. The first few weeks in September are always used to sort out issues about students’ class year – specifically affecting transfer students or students who have taken summer classes through a different university and need the credits to transfer, Stephenson said.
This is important not only for the purpose of being able to graduate on time, but also plays into the housing process. A student in the class of 2008, for example, is much more likely to be released in the OCB than a student from the class of 2009.
Still, November is too late for most students to comply with the wishes of their landlords and the school.
Although the lottery wouldn’t be moved to September, Stephenson did mention the possibility of moving it up to mid- or late- October.
“[We could move the OCB lottery] if it is helpful to the students,” he said.
He was quick to point out, however, that the lottery would not be changed to accommodate students signing leases with their landlords.
“We would react based on academics and class standing,” he said, as opposed to any specific housing conflicts.
Dean of Students Tom Pellegrino echoed Stephenson’s concern about changing the lottery to accommodate students signing beach leases.
“The University can certainly investigate the date when the lottery occurs, but one of several questions that should be addressed in that context is whether changing the date to an earlier time would, in fact, lessen the number of students who go ahead and sign leases before being released,” said Pellegrino.
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