By Dorian Block
Justice Editorial Assistant

The Office of Student Life has put the finishing touches on the new live housing lottery they unveiled to students last semester.

Under the new system, students will be given a random lottery number, just as in the past, but unlike in past years, they will be able to take an active part in lottery process.

The live lottery will take place over several days, from March 11 to March 14.

Students will be assigned a random number that will correspond with a selection day and time.

The numbers will be posted for students to review on a date, which will be announced at the several scheduled student information sessions.

The dates of the sessions are: Jan. 21,22, 23, 29 and 30 or Feb. 1, 5 and 6.

“Students will need to visit the information sessions to find out (when they will receive their numbers). I don’t want to let too much of the cat out of the bag,” Jeffrey Groden-Thomas, associate director of Student Life, said

After attending one of the information sessions, students will make a list of the on-campus locations where they would like to live in the coming year.

The different housing options available to students can be explored by attending one of the housing expos on Feb. 11 or 12.

Finally, once students receive their assigned lottery numbers, they will be required to report to the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on their assigned date.

In Gosman, students will see exactly what rooms are available at that time and will find out where they will live right on the spot.

“Sophomores are guaranteed housing and therefore will choose housing first. However, sophomores will only be able to choose housing in designated areas,” Groden-Thomas said.

As an example, much to Seniors' comfort, Sophomores will not be able to choose to live in the Mods,” he added.

He also explained that juniors and seniors will go through the process independently of the sophomores.

Students who are studying abroad will participate in the lottery through a proxy, just as they did in the past.

The practice run took place in November with a group of about 60 student leaders, who volunteered to participate.

“The run went extremely well. Many people gave suggestions for improvements and we will be using them for the actual lottery,” Groden-Thomas said.

In the past couple of years, there have been numerous complaints from students over the secrecy of the process.

The Office of Student Life has been accused of rigging the “random” lottery, giving priority to student athletes, student leaders and others with various connections.

The Office of Student Life is hoping that this new system will put an end to these accusations and give students more choices when choosing their housing.

“It was decided by Student Life, based on these concerns, to make the lottery ëtransparent’ a system where students could view the lottery as it occurred,” Groden-Thomas said. “Students will have the opportunity to participate in the lottery rather than have a computer choose their housing for them,”he added.