This Valentine's Day, rising sophomores, juniors and seniors will receive their housing lottery numbers. There are fewer than 2,500 beds on this campus for more than 3,000 undergraduate students. We recognize that the University places the Department of Residence Life in an unenviable position, asking it to find a way to give some students the housing they want, disappointing housing to others and, to many, no housing at all.In the 2000-2001 academic year, Residence Life replaced its blind lottery system with the new, more open system in which numbers are assigned to each student. Under the old system, students filled out forms in groups and never knew which person's number was responsible for housing the group. The transparency of the new system is refreshing; under the blind system, there had been accusations that some students received preferential housing. The lottery system, however, often harms relationships between friends competing to become members of a group with the student who has the highest number. A return to the blind system, albeit modified, could help improve social relations on campus during the already stressful spring semester.

Residence Life has chosen not to include the new dorm and its 220 beds in the housing lottery. Therefore, it seems likely the building will not be completed by fall. This means juniors and seniors will not have access to this nice, new housing, although the senior class is particularly large.

Inequities in the current housing system must also be addressed. For example, one sophomore may live in a cushy Rosenthal single with an exercise room downstairs while another is stuck in a double in East. Some housing has kitchens, while others require meal plans. Where one lives, on campus (or off), has a profound effect on one's experience for the year. Brandeis must try its hardest to provide equitable housing for all students.

Residence Life has recognized the housing shortage and building a new dorm should alleviate some problems, but it is not a complete solution. The entire housing system, both rooms and lottery, needs to be reevaluated by a panel of students and administrators. There must be a better way to provide comparable housing for all students, yet keep friendships intact.