As is true of any college administrative office, the Office of Housing Services faces an uphill-both-ways battle when it comes to the annual housing selection process. Not every single one of the University’s roughly 3,600 students can receive their first, second, or possibly even third choice in housing for the upcoming year, and it is not uncommon for students to finish out the spring semester and spend most of the summer waiting to hear of their housing fate for the next year.

Housing Services’ decision to shift from a paper lottery system to an online portal this year was couched in the desire to make the perennially complicated and stressful process of housing selection easier and more streamlined for all parties involved. While no system is perfect, the office is certainly making moves toward improving the user-friendliness and accessibility of their resources.

It’s important to note, however, that no system is perfect, and this year’s housing selection process was marked by the surprising assignment of multiple infamous (or famous, depending on your perspective) Bucknell West “Mods” to rising seniors, rather than the typical sophomores and juniors. Several reasons can account for this, including an overall shift in desirable places to live on campus, but many rising seniors are displeased with this assignment.

This discontent should be noted by Housing Services and the University administration, especially as the campaign in recent years to limit students living downtown and push for more residential on-campus living has taken off. In this shift, hopefully the needs or wants of the students don’t get overshadowed by administrative goals of expansion and renovation.