Students hoping to live on campus for the duration of next year participated in room selection last week with less housing available for upperclassmen as options were expanded for the larger sophomore class, according to Assistant Dean of Student Life Maggie Balch.In an e-mail to the Justice, Balch wrote that the first room chosen in upperclassman housing was located in the Charles River Apartments, a different scenario than that in prior years.

Balch wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "After [the first selection], I believe Ridgewood [Quad] and the Mods went next, then Ziv Quad then the rest of Charles River." Despite the fact that some rooms in the Charles River Apartments were chosen last, "Students who had the higher lottery numbers were okay with [those rooms] as an option this year, which has been different from in years past."

To make the Charles River Apartments more attractive to students choosing housing, the University plans to renovate all of them by the beginning of the next fall semester. The Department of Community Living has held open houses this semester in a model renovated apartment to show students what the facility will look like after the renovations are complete.

Because of the increased sizes of the rising sophomore and first-year classes, some sophomores will be housed in the Village, leaving less room for juniors and seniors. Further restricting available housing for upperclassmen will be the housing of study abroad students in Ziv.

Balch wrote that it is very important for students who were placed on the housing wait list to ensure that DCL has their contact information over the summer, because that is when most housing becomes available.

"In the time I have been here (8 years) anyone who is on the wait list and wants to live on campus, has gotten a space; we just ask for their patience," she wrote.

Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer deferred comments to Balch. Senior Director of Community Living Jeremy Leiferman could not be reached by press time because he is attending a conference.