<u read this, you will have endured (or luckily for some, effortlessly sailed through) the grueling process of Room Draw.
This year’s battle was certainly a struggle of its own kind, and according to some, more hectic than those of previous years. With Evans scheduled for demolition, Res-Life got a bit wacky with its room changes. Rooms that were never meant for more than three residents unexpectedly sprung up as Burton quads; spacious Watson corner doubles turned into stuffy, uncomfortable triples; Goodhue lounges transformed into doubles with balconies (very attractive for smokers and star-gazers).
With such bizarre room changes, it is no wonder that upper-classmen were thrown off their game, inadvertently leaving Nourse triples, Cassat doubles, and Burton quads available for rising-sophomores – rooms that are rarely available for the straggling, inexperienced freshmen Room Drawers.
Thus, the incentives for sidestepping Room Draw grew especially strong this year. Not everyone could possibly be Pedro Fernandez (the most envied rising Senior at the moment); therefore, people fled to other options.
A traditional alternative is an interest house. When freshman Ian Fischer ’15 discovered that his draw number was in the 500’s, he applied to live in Parish House. He commented, “I thought living in Parish would be better than anywhere on campus as a sophomore. I mean, what’s good that’s available for sophomores?”
For the Laack-Veeder twins, it’s a Davis quint. Noah Laack-Veeder ‘15 and Thor Laack-Veeder ’15 convinced their rising-Senior teammate to pull the two of them up into a quint. When asked how he felt as a freshman snagging a traditionally Senior dorm room, Noah commented, “I would like to apologize to all the upperclassmen who got their dreams of living in a quint crushed. Wait, no, I’m not. It was either that or dirty Muss, and I didn’t feel like Muss-diving for another year.”
Similarly, hundreds of other rising-sophomores didn’t feel like living it up in dirty Muss. A particularly popular escape method this year was applying for an RA position. According to Res-Life, there was an overwhelmingly large applicant pool, with sophomores making up the majority. Rob Yeagle ’15 reflected on his decision to become an RA, commenting, “While I know it will be great to help out the freshman next year, so far the highlight of being an RA has been scrolling down to room draw number 3,421 and no longer seeing my name listed. We can’t all be Pedro Fernandez. I am glad to be an RA.”
Evidently, rising-sophomores can’t be Pedro Fernandez. However, rising-seniors can also occasionally luck-out with relatively low numbers.
In order to avoid such an incident, Patrick Nalepka ’13 sought out a rather peculiar option: he attempted to get “married.” In hopes of snagging an apartment in Northfield, he searched for anyone (male or female) willing to actually marry him and move into town. He advertised his search by submitting a blurb in the NNB. In the end, although Nalepka ’13 found a volunteer, he said, “Taylor [the volunteer] scared me off. He didn’t think getting married was a serious matter, and I was afraid that he would leave me. The consequences, emotional toil, stress involved in getting married, and divorce costs were just too much for me.”
For those who were not fortunate enough to have a high draw number, or a room in an interest house, or a friendly Senior, or a husband/wife, there is always the option of “pulling an Austin Lane.” Last year, Austin Lane ’14 had one of the lowest draw numbers as a rising-sophomore, and therefore, was denied a room during Room Draw. He was then forced to wait until Res-Life assigned him a room over the summer. Fortunately for him, he was given a Cassat double.
In the end, it all comes down to luck. Luck determines your draw number, the availability of rooms, and consequently, your room for next year. But luckily for everyone, Room Draw stress is over for the year, and students can return to stressing over schoolwork.