If anyone was not already aware, I recently had a personal experience with the iHousing room assignment process that left me quite dissatisfied. To respond to my complaints, Seth Weinshel, the director of assignments for GW Housing Programs has graciously agreed to sit down for an interview with GWBlogspot.
To let everyone have some important background information, I have criticized GW Housing Programs in the past even before I had this issue. In February I chastised the department for what I perceived as a misinformation campaign as to why admissions tour guides no longer show Thurston Hall to prospective freshmen. I won't go into too much detail here so that you can read on your own, but I basically thought that there was a much more obvious reason that room prices were lowered for the huge dormitory with a not-so-savory reputation than Housing let on. Two weeks later, I followed up on the story with another post about some of the issues I've encountered in my own room such as the chronic mold in my bathroom. In this post I cautioned those prospective freshmen not to be seduced by those lower prices and showed why I thought they were lower than normal.
With my most recent experience, I did not receive the assignment I wanted. But more importantly, I noticed that I was part of a larger population that did not get what it desired. I've spoken with several of these people who are genuinely upset at not receiving their preference or not even receiving *any* housing assignment at all.
Having said that, I'd like to open the floor to the entire GW student body to ask questions to Mr. Weinshel. The interview, which will feature these questions as well as some of my own, will be taped and then put onto GWBlogspot after it is completed so that everyone may view it.
Some of the questions that I have for Seth include:
1. Is GW Housing Programs actively working to design a system that would grant a preferred assignment to more than 80% of the applicants that go through the system? (By "preferred assignment", I mean one of the top three preferences put on the iHousing application.)
2. What accounts for the seemingly huge waitlist for rising sophomores? How can this be alleviated so that people are not left without housing for upwards of potentially three weeks (as Housing Programs told a friend of mine that she would be without an assignment for this period of time).
3. Does GW Housing Programs think, in general, that a success rate of 80% is acceptable?
There are other issues with GW Housing Programs that others have expressed concern about on this blog. Around the time of my first post on the issue, Alex discusses the inability of Macintosh users to navigate the iHousing application.
In the past I have written on issues ranging from stress over the approaching final exams to my concerns over people who personify "trendy activism" to the difficulties in operating a student organization like GW Votes. Everyone is welcome to read my previous posts to see what and how I think.
But the main point is that now, the floor is open to all GW students to post questions for an upcoming interview with Seth. Please post these in the comment section so that I will be able to incorporate them into the interview along with some of my own.
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52 comments:
Seth: Why do you think GW students complain so much even when they have so much?
Max,
Here's a question I have for Seth:
Why is it that GW students must pay for/use summer housing in sessions (running from mid-May to July and July to August) while non-GW students can pay for housing by the week? I'm planning on living in DC this summer, but for June and July only - under the current plan, I'd be paying $1,000 more than a non-GW student for six weeks of housing I wouldn't be using.
Here are some links to go along with my previous post:
Rates for GW students
Rates for non-GW students
I live in Potomac Hall. I also lived in Fullbright (which is another issue altogether--that building is the worst on campus).
My question is why do these dorms have UPD officers checking in on each floor, about ever two hours or so, every day of the week? This just seems unnecessary to me.
In Potomac and Fulbright, some rooms can actually hear the beeping mechanism that UPD checks in with. This is basically a warning to students: Now I know every time UPD will be on the hall, why not just wait until after I hear the beep to break some rules?
follow up to my previous question:
"anonymous (4:29:35 PM): hello
GWHousingInfo (4:30:40 PM): Hi, this is Emily with GWHP. Can I have your name or GWID please?
anonymous (4:30:59 PM): what for?
GWHousingInfo (4:31:16 PM): Just for logging records. What can I help you with?
anonymous (4:32:28 PM): i have some questions about housing. i'm a freshman, and i see that UPD comes on each floor of the building every other hour or so..why is that?
GWHousingInfo (4:33:31 PM): Do you live in Thurston?
anonymous (4:33:51 PM): no
GWHousingInfo (4:34:34 PM): Oh, what building do you live in?
anonymous (4:34:42 PM): i don't see how that's relevant
GWHousingInfo (4:35:27 PM): I'm sorry, I'm not trying to incriminate you for anything. I'm asking because the answer to your question depends on whether there is a security desk in the lobby of your building.
anonymous (4:35:33 PM): there is
GWHousingInfo (4:36:36 PM): Well, the UPD officers have specific rounds that they have to do daily. There are specific "check-points" thoughout most buildings that security officers have to "check" at certain times throughout the day.
anonymous (4:37:41 PM): i'm aware of that, what i don't understand is why they have to check on each floor, every couple hours or so, every day of the week.
GWHousingInfo (4:38:46 PM): It's simple security protocol. Keeping residence halls secure and safe places for students to live in the nation's capitol is of great importance.
anonymous (4:40:07 PM): secure from what?
anonymous (4:41:09 PM): i mean, what danger necessitates someone physically coming onto each floor of a building, at regular intervals, all day long?
GWHousingInfo (4:46:30 PM): All I know is that it is for the safety of the students. If you have any other questions, or feel that I have not aptly assisted you, please contact UPD's non emergency number. It is 202-994-6110.
anonymous (4:47:53 PM): thank you for your time
GWHousingInfo (4:48:20 PM): Have a nice day.
You all who keep asking about UPD and the residence halls should be calling Chief Stafford and not Seth.
As a student of GW, why do I have to go through the chief of police to ask questions about housing issues?
Why did they remove the virtual tours, floorplans, and square footage information from the http://living.gwu.edu ? I'd like to see that back, because it was really useful.
I completely agree with james.
Seth, can you help create a more efficient housing website that may make up for what housing lacks in certain other areas? I want pictures, videos, virtual tours. What could be more important than the image the housing department has? Please, try to work with other departments in the University to make GW look good. Don’t make students turn to sketchy You tube videos for reliable information!
Why do all of you complain like little immature spoiled brats and bitch when you are given so much? Like every-freaking-where in the world, there are departments and specific groups that deal with several issues. GW Housing works with Financial Aid, UPD, Student Accounts, and Health Services and many other departments that have specific functions. How about you don't give a shit about the beeping noise and just don't do anything illegal? Does it really bother you that much? With limited housing around campus it is impossible to give everyone what their first choice is - single with bathroom and kitchen and a view I suppose? Contact these departments and figure out how you can solve your issue - don't just complain about your mold. Universities around the US are kicking students out of housing after the first year. Talk to the desperate NYC kids looking for Chinatown apartments. So here's a word to all: stop bitching, stop complaining, and be happy you're alive and not in some third world country or war ridden region (because let me give you a wake up call - that beeping noise pales in comparison)
A lot of your complaints cannot be alleviated by GWHP. GW Housing Programs does not mandate when and where UPD makes their rounds, and they are also not the department that responds to your facilities complaints. For example, you would not call housing to fix the mold in your bathroom. Instead, you would call Residential Property Management (the same organization that handles the key depot and fix-it requests). GWHP, from my understanding, deals more with things like housing assignments or the house life curriculum.
My question pertains to the Focus on Fall Aborad Community (FOFAC).
This spring, half or more of the students who requested roomates online were denied these roomates, redgardless of housing promises that roomates selected and confirmed online were garunteed.
There was a massive outcry by FOFAC and we were told to simply mediate between ourselves. The problem here was everyone wanted their friend to move in and no one would budge. I also noticed Housing tried to place us with students from our own programs. I guess Housing believed that they knew better than the students themselves who had requested their own roomates. Personally, I was left with three people who are completely different than me (never clean, loud, dis-respectful) and have had a miserable semester.
Why did the FOFAC housing get so messed up this year and why did Housing not follow through on it's promises to put people with the roomates that they requested and had confirmed online? What are you doing to prevent such a housing disastor in the future?
here is a question:
Why are there so many different sites for the residence halls? Students who are paying for GW housing should be able to access floor plans, building descriptions, move in/out dates, activity calendars, House Scholar information, employment ops, and summer info from one website. As it is now, you have to search each topic separately. If it pertains to living, it should all be in one place. I understand that there are separate offices, but there is no reason they can't join forces to make a clear, comprehensive website.
I think the website should be updated to include by-room floor plans. Students are paying almost as much as would for apartments. You wouldn't sign a lease for an apartment without knowing what you are getting.
UPD does regular rounds so GW doesn't get sued when someone gets raped or beaten up or drunkenly passes out in the hallway and drowns in their own vomit on a Saturday night. Yes, it's fun to party in your room, yes, it sucks to be under 21, and yes, they knock on your doors, but be creative.
There has to be a better option than iHousing. Perhaps a point system in which you get points for your academic, athletic, extracurricular, internship, etc. involvement? I think it is also important to look at need. GW housing, though expensive, is a better option for me because I get aid. Scholarships from GW help make it affordable. If I had to rent off-campus, I could not attend GW.
GW needs to be able to ensure 4 years of housing. It is not a good thing to make seniors angry during their last year. After being screwed by housing, I'll be damned if I give an endowment.
If you want senior gifts, money, etc., do more to make them happy during their last year.
As Brittany said, FOFAC housing was a joke this year. We were told it was worth our while to participate, that it was okay to put down three room mates or fill a quad and when we did, we were denied and then told to talk amongst ourselves to figure it out.
A source at housing said there were two stacks of papers from the initial turn-in event. The first stack had roommate pair requests on it, and the other stack had the forms with requests for two or more roommates. The latter was lost and they refused to redo the process for everyone.
p.s. A City Hall triple with recommended bed bunking is not a perk, it is like sleep away camp. GW is raking in money from these rooms while we have to wake our bunkmate up every time we climb up or down.
I have friends who unbunked their corner room and their beds all touch. They have to shimmy between them to even enter the bedroom.
I sure am glad that I participated it such an awesome program. I, like many other FOFAC participants I know, have strongly discouraged people from participating in future years.
And as anonymous said above, it is bad news to piss off Juniors and Seniors. Not the best way to get their money once they graduate.
I would like to know why Potomac House is a sophomore dorm rather than a freshman dorm, which is the way it began. I realize that it is the newest building on campus, but I do not think that just because it has carpeted floors and a nice looking entranceway that it makes up for the lack of space that its rooms have. I was assigned to live in Potomac for the upcoming fall, and I currently live in Madison. I've been to see my room for next year and was shocked to see that the double that I am to have next year has significantly less space than the double I currently live in. I just don't think it is fair to a sophomore that a freshman coming in next year will have a bigger room than they do. Also, Madison, though an older building than Potomac, has kitchens on every floor and in the basement- Potomac only has one kitchen for the entire building. I do not think that either building is a bad place to live, but it seems to me that they should be switched because I feel as though I am downgrading when my living accommodations should be improving. I would like GW Housing to reconsider who Potomac will house for the upcoming years.
As GW students, is it possible to receive a greater discount to stay on-campus during the summer?
To support my claim, I offer the following equations.
1. For students:
(Entire summer housing rate per term 2008) + (Administrative fee for students 2008)
=$2,944.00 + $50.00
=$2,994.00
2. For non-students:
[(Room rate per week 2008*) x (Number of weeks in the entire summer)] + (Administrative fee for non-students 2008)
=($238.00 x 11) + $150.00
=$2,618.00 + $150.00
=$2,768.00
*I have used the least-expensive room pricing provided on the web site.
3. (Total cost for students) - (Total Cost for non-students)
=$2,994.00 - $2,768.00
=$226.00
Therefore, I am paying $226.00 more than a non-student to stay for the entire duration of the summer.
Now, I will point out that the length of stay does vary from students to non-students.
A student's "entire summer" stay takes place from May 21 to August 21.
A non-student's "entire summer" is from May 25 to August 9.
Counting the week of May 21 as a full week (though it only starts on a Wednesday), this means that the average weekly rate for students is:
4. (Entire summer housing rate per term 2008)/(Number of weeks in the entire summer)
=$2,994.00/14
=$213.86
Therefore, as a student, I save $24.14 per week compared to the non-student paying the least amount of money for his or her room.
5. (Room rate per week 2008 for non-students) - (Room rate per week for students from #4)
=$238.00-$213.86
=$24.14
I see that we do have to pay less for the administrative fee, which is generous; however, is is possible to allow GW students to pay less per week/less for the entire summer without working for as a summer assistant or for RPM? This way GW students can live on campus and participate in their own internships around DC.
Also: if you'd like to check my stats or math, the information came from the same webpages which Andrew P posted the links to in a previous comment.
Dear Seth: I agree with the question about Potomac Hall as to why it is not still a freshman dorm. And for an 80% success rate, I seem to have met all the people who were shafted by housing. I know it is a computer selection process and they "can't take personal history into account", but I have moved 3 times already this year and might have to move a fourth time, plus I was put in Potomac next year, which wasn't even on my list of choices at all. Due to that fact, my roommate for next year moved into her sorority house and left me roommateless...no way am I being stuck with a random roommate again or living alone because I have had bad experiences with both. I had a bad roommate situation in Thurston, moved to Pelham,which was the "only spot left" at the time of my moveout. The heat wasn't working for November and December and my skylight kept leaking on my head 5 times (they never replaced the window), saying RPM would do something about it. Finally right before spring break during midterms week, I was given 48 hours to move to another dorm in Pelham, which is currently leaking in 4 spots due to the horrendous rain today. I moved out of the other room because it was leaking, are you kidding me? It said there was no previous history of maintenance concerns and I have been waiting since 12 this morning to get it fixed but no one has come yet, plus I have the flu, so that is helping nothing. We keep having power surges in Pelham because we are not running on power, but a generator. I have reason to be dissatisfied with Housing and RPM when I am paying so much to live in these dorms and can't even really afford it. Housing off-campus would most likely be cheaper. They say Housing and RPM don't work together, but why? I feel as if more communication between the two would be very beneficial for problems such as mine. I feel like GW Housing should encompass living conditions such as leaking windows and ceilings to maintain a habiable standard inside the dorms, not just keeping a head count of residents, which I was told by a Housing official when I went to state my problems. Please take this into consideration.
If you get placed with random roommates who match your preferences from the housing application, then those roommates swap out and you get new roommates - the preferences in the housing application is completely lost. What can be done about this? Shouldn't this be addressed?
I agree that people complaining about the beeping and UPD presence need to find things of actual substance to be upset about.
I would ask Seth that - "About 30 colleges throughout the country have co-ed rooms. Why does GW not offer this option?"
And please don't settle for the "we don't want couples living together" because that's something that comes down to personal responsibility.
Reading these kind of posts reminds me of just how technology truly is something we cannot live without in this day and age, and I am 99% certain that we have passed the point of no return in our relationship with technology.
I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as memory becomes cheaper, the possibility of copying our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's a fantasy that I dream about every once in a while.
(Posted on Nintendo DS running [url=http://kwstar88.livejournal.com/491.html]R4 SDHC[/url] DS SPPost)
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