Nicole Martino, the Student Government Association’s Vice President for Student Services, has proposed that the lottery process for student housing be modified by giving preferential treatment to students with fair academic standing, careful house maintenance and a clean judicial record.
Although in its infant stages, the idea is to have a sort of preferential point system implemented into the lottery process. The SGA and the Department of Residential Life are looking into how this idea has benefited other schools and how it will best benefit the Northeastern community.
This idea makes so much sense that it is a shame it has not been proposed before. Simply put, students who value housing by keeping their apartments in decent physical condition have almost an inherent right to keep their housing based on their good behavior.
Too many students are unappreciative of their privilege, not right, of on-campus housing. Year after year, students who maintain their living spaces are forced to pay for the insolence of other students who do various things to disrupt the housing community: break exit signs, leave trash in elevators and outside trash rooms and put holes and graffiti on freshly painted walls.
It’s disheartening to watch newly erected buildings be treated so poorly especially considering the tuition money that is poured into them. Think how much more “life” the university will get out of the buildings if they are better cared for.
It’s hard to think that the student body would have anything less than overwhelming support for such a proposal. Eliminating undeserving people from the lottery process would alleviate the housing crunch and give an air of fairness some believe is wholly missing from the process.
Aside from the simple fairness aspect of the proposal, it makes sense for the university and the health of the community as well. Fiscally, not having to constantly repair light fixtures or overwork janitors, the university will save time and money. Also, residents not being bothered by students who throw parties or who constantly blemish their judicial records will leave the housing community breathing a sigh of relief.
Although the academic aspect of the process may be the smallest determinant, it also may be the most irrelevant or unfair. Students with above average academic records already receive other forms of preferential treatment, the greatest of which includes more scholarship opportunities. Also, the respect shown to on-campus housing has little to nothing to do with GPA.
However, aside from this possibly insignificant stipulation, the idea as a whole has merit. Students who treat university housing with respect should be treated with respect as well – and what better way to reward them than to make the housing process more beneficial to them.
