Some sudents have expressed frustration over the process of relocating their living space to accommodate the 76 new midyears and the strictly enforced move-out deadline, which was 5 p.m. on Dec. 12.Andrew Katz '06 and Jay Hyne '06 are roommates who moved from the Castle to Ridgewood in response to Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer's October letter that requested students to help make room for the incoming midyear class.

"The Castle was cold, the hot water would go off for days at a time, Andrew and I wanted to move out as soon as we could because the living conditions were so unbearable," Hyne said.

After Hyne and Katz said they told Residence Life they needed a move-out extension due to exams and papers due on Thursday and Friday of finals week, their request was denied.

Balch said students get frustrated when they are unable to meet guidelines.

"Do students yell at the registrar for being closed out of a class?" Balch said. "There is a ripple effect to every decision. If we tell international students they can stay in their rooms, we need to make exceptions. Every student feels as if they are just one exception, however, Residence Life cannot grant extensions to only some students and not others."

Hyne said he thought Residence Life should have been more considerate.

"... We were doing them the favor of moving out in order to make more room for the midyear students that they chose to admit," Hyne said.

Hyne and Katz said they called Director of Residence Life Maggie Balch to ask for an extension.

Hyne said, "we left messages, but no one called us back. Finally at the last minute Maggie called back and gave us a one hour extension which was really insignificant. They granted an extension to the person living in Ridgewood, but that extension made no difference because Ridgewood doesn't close for winter break because they have kitchens. "

Responding to accusations of Residence Life "never calling back," Balch said, "we had so much to do in a short period of time. Since this was our first midyear class some things took us longer than expected. Also, there was a good deal of phone-tag with students that added to the problem."

The move to Ridgewood was more complex than Hyne and Katz had anticipated.

"It was a mess, Ridgewood 8 needed to move to Ridgewood 2, and we needed to move into Ridgewood 8," Hyne said. "We needed have three different rooms move in one afternoon, it was ridiculous."

According to Katz, the University offered to give them their new room at a reduced rate since they were helping mitigate the housing issues caused by a large incoming midyear class. But Katz said the University ultimately decided not to change the cost of living for them.

Balch said that students inquired about the possibility of reducing the price of rooms at a senate meeting to which Balch responded that at that point no price changes would be made.

According to Balch the option of reducing the prices of houses was a possibility, however nothing was decided upon and students were never told definitively that prices would be reduced.

Becky Fromer '05 and her suitemate who live in Ziv Quad also encountered problems when time came for them to move out.

Fromer and her suitemate were not able to move out by Friday at 5 p.m. because they are studying abroad this semester and were not able to move out all of their things. Their parents were also unable to miss work on weekdays to help transport all belongings.

Fromer said that she still had finals work due past Friday at 5 p.m.

She and her roommate obtained permission to leave their belongings in the room until Sunday at 9 a.m., but they needed to be out of the dorms from Friday at 5 p.m until Sunday at 9 a.m.

"On that Sunday a security guard let her parents and us into our building, on which the exterior lock had been changed. We had two hours to move our stuff out, and then we left school. My friend and I paid a total of $51 to offset any costs the University incurred. We thanked the University for accommodating our parents and us,"Fromer said.

But not all students faced problems moving. Amy Goldwasser '06 moved from East to the Castle.

"My roommate moved from pomerantz," Goldwasser said. "And I didn't want a random roommate. So I tried to get myself get myself a single and I am happy where I am now."

Goldwasser said the University offered her a van to help transport her belongings but she decided not to use the service.

"I just had to schlep all of the stuff up all of the stairs," Goldwasser said.

Dana Winnik '05 also faced troubles similar to Fromer's when attempting to move out. Winnik's last final was on Thursday and she was leaving to study abroad.

Winnik said because her father was not able to help her move, she became frustrated when her requests for a move-out extension was left unanswered.

Balch said, "from a parental perspective I understand the need for a weekend. From a director of Residence Life perspective I know that when students are just hanging out there is more time for parties and things to go wrong. It is in everyone's best interest have the deadline on Friday.

"Also, since students are notified of the deadline so early, they have ample time to search for alternatives, such as friends who drive, and possible shipping options,

Balch said." I would feel more lenient if we haven't given students so much notification about the deadline."

Winnik said, "No one [at Res Life] would do anything to help. Things didn't get done until my father got irritated with the situation and decided to call himself. Finally, they decided to call my dad back; he thought the whole situation was ridiculous."

According to Winnik, she spoke with a close friend who is a school senator at Brandeis and had "connections" in Res Life. This relationship allowed her to leave her belongings in her room until Sunday when her father would be able to come and help move.

Winnik said she needed to pay a police officer $25.50 per hour just to have the door to her building unlocked.

"The police officer didn't even know why he was taking the money. At that point, all I wanted was for them to let me get my stuff and leave, it was a horrible situation," Winnick said.

Balch explained that the fee is not related to Residence Life.

"When we are doing housing lottery and we need campus security to be present, Residence Life also pays for their presence," Balch said.

When Balch was asked to explain why the move-out deadline is enforced so strictly, she explained several factors require Residence Life to enforce their deadlines.

"Residence Life does a good job of making sure that students are aware of the move-out deadline ahead of time," Balch said. "The deadline is published in advance and students are expected to make the proper arrangements to be sure they comply with the rule."

Balch said that for security reasons, all students must vacate the building.

"When you know that no one is supposed to be in the residence halls and someone is there, it is clear that something is wrong and this allows us to do a more efficient job of securing belongings of students," Balch said.

The residence halls also needed to be vacated because Quad Directors perform a health and safety inspection on all rooms, Balch added.

Despite efforts, some students expressed dissatisfaction with Residence Life's manner of dealing with students who need extensions.

"Dealing with Res Life is like dealing with a Rubik's cube; all the pieces and colors need to match up at the right time or else nothing works," Katz said.

Balch said it does not seem that the move-out deadline will be changed in the near future.