Junior draw begins amid concerns

At 4:06 p.m. Friday, Ron Weissbard '06 will finally get to pick his room for next year — that is, if any rooms are left. Weissbard, who has the last draw time in the upperclass room draw, said in an email that he is "hoping to get any kind of single."

Though the Housing Department has guaranteed four-year housing for all students, some rising juniors are concerned that there is an insufficient number of rooms on campus. With approximately 600 sophomores yet to draw rooms as of today, there are only 511 beds left, according to the Housing Department's list of available rooms.

Many sophomores, however, have been surprised at the number of single rooms still open for room draw. While it has been rare for rising juniors to draw singles in previous years, especially when they hold draw times on the last day, this year appears to be a different situation.

Some attribute the continued availability of singles to the brand-new Ellipse dormitory, which has about 160 singles. While seniors took some of these, 108 singles — 52 of them in Ellipse — remained available after the first day of Class of 2006 draw.

The dorm's availability has surprised many students, including Sarah Shea '06, who was "shocked by how open the Ellipse is."

Shea and five friends chose singles in Ellipse yesterday. She said it is a "great location" for them because they are all athletes and the dorm is close to Jadwin Gym.

Brandon Miller '06 also drew into Ellipse Monday afternoon. Miller originally wanted a single in Henry, Pyne or Laughlin halls. However, those singles were taken Monday morning.

While it appears that Ellipse will be a predominately junior dorm next year, there were "some seniors who did draw into the Ellipse," said Lisa DePaul, assistant director of undergraduate housing.

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The rooms were taken, she said, "more so on the second and third days of senior draw."

DePaul said she was surpised that members of the Class of 2005 passed up some of the nicer rooms in the Ellipse. But she did recognize that there was some uncertainty associated with choosing the new dorm.

"The Ellipse is unknown," DePaul said. "And there is a 'Construction Alert' listed for next year," due to the its proximity to the Whitman College site.

Liz Alfson '05 had the first draw time in upperclass draw, but her group passed on the Ellipse in favor of three-room doubles and singles in Pyne Hall.

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"The Ellipse is too far away," Alfson said. "And the setups aren't really that much nicer than other places on campus."

Joanna Gaines '05 is another student who passed on the opportunity to live in Ellipse, opting for the "junior slums" instead.

Choosing a large two-room double in 1901, Gaines said room selection is ultimately "all a matter of square footage" for her. The room she picked is simply bigger than the Ellipse rooms, in addition to offering a more convenient location.

According to DePaul, the most popular dorms this year for the Class of 2005 were Dod, Pyne, Patton, Wright, 1903 and Cuyler halls, with Brown, Scully and Ellipse more open for the Class of 2006 draw.

Many sophomores with draw times on the last day are still pessimistic about their room draw prospects, however.

"I'll probably wind up in the 'junior slums,'" said Mark Price '06, who will draw his room at 9:57 a.m. Friday.