Word: randomization
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...believe that the current housing lottery should be changed to a system of modified random assignment. A modified random plan would allow freshmen to still pick their rooming and blocking groups in March These groups then would be randomly assigned to the different houses. But most Harvard students blindly come to the defense of the current system. Students harp on "the right to choose" and the importance of determining their own face. Many assume that the more control they have over the assignment process, the happier they will be. The Administration perceives these sentiments and hesitates to deny students this...
Moreover, students individually would benefit from change to a more random assignment process. Students arguing for the present system say that if 70 percent of students get their first choice then 70 percent of the student body must be happy. I remain unconvinced that all students in their first choice house--not to mention the other 30 percent--are extremely satisfied. Many are content, but they rightly believe that something is missing from their House environment...
...which House to pick first. Since freshmen believe that each House is very different from the others, they are overly concerned about getting into the House that best suits them. Moreover, the lottery overemphasizes the perceived disparity between river and Quad houses and the importance of the results. Random House assignment could minimize this anxiety and free freshmen from what is a time consuming and unproductive concern...
Harvard should not adopt the Yale system in which freshmen are assigned to their upperclass Colleges even before they reach new Haven; Harvard is different from Yale and should have a different type of random system. Freshmen should still be able to pick their roommates and blockmates in March. But these groups would be randomly assigned to the Houses, although the sex ratio would be maintained. There are many advantages to such a system. A freshmen would continue to be exposed to all his or her classmates during the year and could still pick roommates from the whole class...
...random lottery will not only fail to solve the fundamental problem, that concerning the Quad Houses, but it will also drain the Houses of much of their existing character. The diversity the pro-random forces so crave is already here, just not at every dinner table. Letting people choose where they want to live makes residential dorms not just houses but homes...