The mere mention of the words “housing lottery” is enough to conjure up butterflies in the stomachs of even the most relaxed, Type-B Cornellians. In this seemingly arbitrary process, scholastic achievement and leadership are of no help, as students become mere numbers in a system based entirely on their class year. To alleviate some of the trepidation that comes with housing and to create a more “merit” based process, Brown University for the past several years has held a “First Pick” competition that has encouraged students to use their creativity and submit a video tape, sculpture or drawing that answers the question: “Why do you deserve to live in the best room on campus?” The contest winner, as voted on by the entire student body, is then granted the room of his or her choice.
Although Brown stands out as an anomaly, Cornell has also done much to make the housing lottery process more humane. In the past, students were treated like cattle and painstakingly forced to line up in crowded rooms for several hours at a time before receiving their housing assignments. This year, however, the University greatly improved the lottery system by moving it online, which saved students precious time and energy. Aside from streamlining the housing process, the University has sought to improve the residence halls with the West Campus Residential Initiative, slated to be completed by 2010.
While Cornell ought to be commended for simplifying the housing process and making its dormitories more desirable, as it currently stands, less than half of students actually live on campus, according to Kimberly Fezza, coordinator of the Off Campus Housing Office. And even with the construction of new residence halls such as Becker House and Bethe House, this percentage has stayed relatively stagnant over the past few years. Concentrating its efforts solely on university-owned housing, Cornell has done little for the majority of its students who live off campus. It is difficult to believe that even in the wake of grave situations, such as the Collegetown Creeper, David Church video-tape scandal, Linden Avenue strong-armed robberies and the rape of a Cornell student in the Commons, the University has not sought to assert its presence off campus until now.
Not until this year did the University create an Off Campus Housing Office to help students navigate through the arduous process of searching for properties, signing a lease and dealing with difficult landlords. While the creation of this office is a step in the right direction, the University must do more for its students living off-campus, particularly with regard to safety. A recent New York Times article, “Off Campus and Off the College Security Radar,” stressed that while it is difficult for universities to control privately-owned property, they do have some degree of responsibility to protect students. For one, Cornell should develop stronger relationships with Collegetown landlords. Landlords would hopefully become more receptive to students’ concerns about that faulty plumbing or those creaky stairs if they knew there was a chance the University might get involved. Simply put, Cornell must shift its priority from on campus to off campus housing. The University cannot afford to ignore the housing concerns of more than half of its student population; it cannot wipe its hands clean of accountability once students move off the grassy quad and onto College Avenue.