Rock and roll is making a comeback in South Florida.
Purdy Lounge and Se
INTRAMURALS
Reminders
The deadlines to sign up to play intramural softball and sand volleyball-the last events of the school year-are March 23 and April 6, respectively, by 5 p.m. in the Wellness Center.
Basketball Playoffs
Men’s ‘B’ Division
Miami Rockets – 43
Chrome Uzis – 37
Team Breakfast – 46
White Boys – 41
Med 2 – 66
The Ballers – 41
Free Michael – 66
Supreme Court – 22
Donkey – 47
12 Angry Men – 36
Hammerin Heebs – 71
F3 – 21
Med 3/4 – 48
Salty Seamen – 33
Knightriders – 58
Cash Money Records – 41
Shawn Kemp’s Kids – 42
Kings – 28
The Department – 51
Quick Thinking – 30
Cuban Jews – 55 (OT)
Miami Rockets – 52
Team Breakfast – 53
Med 2 – 47
Donkey – 48
Free Michael – 34
Playmakers – 47
Hammerin Heebs – 34
Med 3/4 – 47
Knightriders – 39
The Department – 40
Shawn Kemp’s Kids – 15
Men’s ‘A’ Division
Smuggling YoYos – 55
Next? – 47
The Ligers – 47
The Real H – 37
Fast Break – 40
PT Docs – 36
Southsmoke.com – 61
Sofa Good – 30
The H – 62
The Real COGs – 37
Big Dawgs – 56
Springs Boys – 51
Punishers – 10
PBR Street Gang – 0
XPi – 57
Royal Court – 31
Smuggling YoYos – 56
WC Regulars – 37
Game Cocks – 53 (OT)
Ligers – 48
Boss Players – 61
Fast Break – 46
Club 332 – 53
Southsmoke.com – 35
The H – 70
Big Dawgs – 43
Punishers – 74
XPi – 63
Co-Rec Division
Team Cubano – 78
Springs Boys & Girls – 64
Tortfeasors – 71
DPT 1s – 45
Boss Players – 77
Hoof Hearted – 27
Panhellenic Division
Alpha Delta Pi – 34
Zeta Tau Alpha – 29
Women’s Division
Usual Suspects – 62
DPT 1s – 11
Da Squad – 34
Hot Shots – 27
Greek Division
Alpha Sigma Phi – 10
Kappa Sigma – 0
Sigma Alpha Mu – 38
Sigma Chi – 28
Indoor Soccer Playoffs
Men’s Division
Brown Baggers – 10
Springs Boys – 5
Eaton Fishsticks – 7
The Eagles – 1
Bafana Bafana – 7
FC These Guys – 2
Summary Judgement – 5
Med 4 – 4
Cattenaccio – 3
Napoli Soccer – 2
Balls Mills – 4
Boa Vista – 1
Buck Fush – 9
Brown Baggers – 3
Bounce Back Ability – 6
Ottoman Power – 4
Eaton Fishsticks – 5
Biggest Dolo Olo – 1
Red Devils – 6
Bafana Bafana – 2
Gunga Gunga Gulunga – 5
Chess Club – 1
Panama FC – 5
Summary Judgement – 1
Greek Division
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 10
Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 1
Women’s Division
Freestylers – 4
DPT 1s – 3
Golden Girls – 11
PT Players – 1
Usual Suspects – 10
Med Girls – 0
Innertube Water Polo Playoffs
Greek Division
Lambda Chi Alpha – 10
Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 0
Pi Kappa Alpha – 33
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 20
Pi Kappa Alpha – 33
Lambda Chi Alpha – 18
Men’s Division
Elian’s Return – 25
Springs Boys – 21
Campus Championship
Pi Kappa Alpha – 43
Elian’s Return – 29
Ultimate Frisbee Playoffs
Men’s Division
Springs Boys – 10
Sofa Good – 0
Corey Feldman Fan Club – 18
Med – 9
Green Lanterns – 11
Dixie Normus – 10
Corey Feldman Fan Club – 16
Springs Boys – 3
RT 9’ers – 14
Green Lanterns – 7
Corey Feldman Fan Club – 13
RT 9’ers – 12
Greek Division
Pi Kappa Alpha – 15
Sigma Chi – 9
Lambda Chi Alpha – 13
Sigma Alpha Epsilon – 12
Phi Delta Theta – 18
Sigma Alpha Mu – 7
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 13
Pi Kappa Alpha – 9
Lambda Chi Alpha – 16
Phi Delta Theta – 8
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 13
Lambda Chi Alpha – 11
Campus Championship
Corey Feldman Fan Club – 16
Sigma Phi Epsilon – 7
Briefs – BASKETBALL
Men’s Basketball
University of Miami sophomore guard Guillermo Diaz was named second-team All-ACC, junior guard Rob Hite was named honorable mention All-ACC and sophomore forward Anthony King was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team by a vote of the league’s media members on Monday.
Diaz has started all 27 games this season averaging 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He leads Miami in scoring and has scored in double figures in 25 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the ACC, and scored 20 or more points in nine of the Hurricanes’ 16 league games this season.
In league games only, Diaz is averaging 20.7 points and 2.13 steals per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. He is the only player in the ACC to rank among the top 10 in scoring (2nd), field goal percentage (8th), three-point field goal percentage (10th) and steals (3rd).
Hite is averaging 17.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this season. He has scored in double figures in 24 games this season and ranks among the ACC leaders in scoring (3rd), rebounding (21st), steals (12th), three-point field goal percentage (12th) and three-point field goals made (4th).
This season Hite became the 27th player in UM history to record 1,000 career points. He currently ranks 22nd on UM’s career scoring list with 1,123 points.
King has started all 27 games this season at center averaging 6.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. He ended the regular season ranked No. 2 in the ACC in blocked shots and was fifth in rebounding. Earlier this season King set a UM and ACC record with 13 blocks against Florida Atlantic (11-29-04). He currently ranks second on UM’s single-season blocked shot list with 83 and needs just two blocks to tie Miami’s all-time single-season record.
PLAYER PROFILE – Olympic hopeful
On Oct. 11, 1985, Tim Harris entered this world with athletic blood running through his veins. Fast-forward 19 years later and a 5’9”, 160-pound Harris is receiving the Nike Athlete of the Year Award for his stellar performance on the track and field team.
Harris decided to come to the University of Miami because he wanted his parents and younger brother to get a chance to watch him run in college. He grew up in Overtown, which is just north of Downtown Miami. Even through Harris lives on campus, he is not far from home.
Recently on the track Harris has consistently outrun his competition. On Feb. 19 he received All-ACC Honors in the 800-meters with a second place finish at the Indoor Track and Field Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. Prior to that, Harris set the record in the Florida High School State Final in 2004 by running the 800 meters in 1:49:75.
As a youth, Harris participated in a variety of sports, and at age 11 he began to run track. He stuck with track and made the team at Booker T. Washington High School in Miami. Harris’ work ethic stems from his desire to exceed expectations. Critics who doubted his ability only motivated the young man to work harder.
“I work hard but I always feel there is room for improvement,” Harris said.
Harris said he juggles dual responsibilities.
“It’s a struggle everyday to run track and be a full time student,” he said.
According to Harris, UM athletes do not get special privileges or breaks from teachers. His schedule is very tight with morning and afternoon workouts. Harris recalled high school being much easier but looks forward daily to handling his responsibilities.
Harris is adjusting quite well to being a freshman at the University of Miami. He offered this advice to senior high school runners who will venture onto college campuses this fall.
“Don’t let anyone stop you from reaching your goal and don’t be realistic but work hard,” Harris said.
Even with these accomplishments, Harris expects improvement. He wants bring at least two NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships to University of Miami in his next four years here. With a major in Sports Administration, after college Harris plans to stay on “track.”
“I want to be a professional athlete…and right now I am working hard to be in the 2008 [Summer] Olympics.”
Paul Campbell can be contacted at p.campbell62@umiami.edu.
Women’s tennis trounces Boston College in home match
The ninth-ranked University of Miami women’s tennis team improved to 8-2 with a decisive 7-0 sweep over Boston College Monday night at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The ‘Canes entered the match ranked 10th in the nation according to the past four ITA polls, but with Monday’s win UM has now won six straight matches and swept six opponents this season. When the latest rankings were released on Tuesday, Miami had improved to the ninth spot and senior Megan Bradley became the No. 1 player in the nation.
The Hurricanes won all three doubles matches to clinch the doubles point for a sixth straight match. Miami’s No. 1 duo of Bradley and Audrey Banada, ranked fourth nationally, defeated BC’s Nida Waseem and Gia Nafarrete 8-1. Afterward, the No.2 tandem of Melissa Applebaum and Caren Seenauth beat Szilvia Szegedi and Lindsey Nash 8-1. UM’s Staci Stevens and Patricia Starzyk capped off the doubles sweep with an 8-5 win against Morgan Landes and Caitlin Arnould.
Miami went on to win each of its singles matches, six out of the seven coming in straight sets. Bradley stretched her unbeaten streak to 24 matches with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Szegedi at the No. 1 spot.
Bradley didn’t seem to be overly impressed about her 83-16 record, good for fifth all-time at UM.
“That’s not why we do it,” she said. “It’s just nice to come out and win all your matches and help the team as much as possible.”
In other singles action, Starzyk defeated Nash in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 4 spot to improve her record to a still undefeated 10-0 since joining the team in January. Sophomore Emily Mowery topped Amy Molden 6-1, 6-0 in sixth singles. In fifth singles, Banada beat Nafarrete 6-2, 6-2, and then Stevens defeated Landes 6-2, 6-4 in the No.3 match.
The most competitive match took place at the No. 2 position, in which Applebaum overcame a 3-6 loss in the first set with a 6-2 win in the second to force a third set tie-breaker. Applebaum followed up her second set with a 10-5 win in the tiebreaker to end the night.
“This match was important because we have a big one coming up on Friday night [Florida State] and another big one on Wednesday [North Carolina]. Tonight was kind of a warm-up for Friday night, and it’s important to go into early April having all these matches under our belt,” said Head Coach Paige Yaroshuk-Tews.
Miami continues its eight-match homestand Friday night against Florida State in its ACC home opener at 6 p.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Bradley and the ‘Canes know what it’s going to take, though, to come away with the win. “We’re going to have to be on our A-game to bring home these next victories; our ultimate goal is to host regionals in May,” Bradley said. “I don’t think we’re there yet, but we’ll get there.”
Mike Soto can be contacted at m.soto3@umiami.edu.
Stellar pitching, defense earns victory for Hurricanes
The University of Miami shut out the Pittsburgh Panthers 3-0 at Mark Light Stadium on Tuesday night. The win marked the fifth victory against the Panthers in Hurricanes baseball history.
Sophomore Ricky Orta took the mound as starting pitcher after proving himself against Northeastern last week. He walked the first pitcher of the night but quickly became more comfortable and threw forcefully through six innings.
“When I first got onto the field, I had butterflies since it was only my second game pitching,” Orta said. “After I threw the first pitch I was myself again, which is what happened last time.”
Head Coach Jim Morris indicated that Orta would find his way into the weekend pitching rotation as a result of his performance.
Offensively, the ‘Canes were strongest in the opening inning. Sophomore Jon Jay and junior Danny Figueroa each scored a run off a double hit by sophomore Danny Valencia. Valencia was able to advance to third base as a result of an error in the outfield made by Pitt.
“With Jay, playing to win is automatic,” Morris said. “He takes full advantage of being a player that can hit, bunt, run and get on base in a lot of different ways that are met with success.”
In the bottom of the second, freshman Walter Diaz made a fatal mistake in an attempt to steal second that cost the team an out.
The Hurricane defense showed significant improvements from last weekend’s series against the North Carolina State Wolfpack. Five double plays were made during the game, giving the ‘Canes the edge and preventing Pittsburgh from scoring.
Scoreless innings continued until the bottom of the sixth. Valencia found a hole in the outfield and was able to get on third. Sophomore Roger Tomas added an RBI to bring in Valencia before stealing second.
Junior Andrew Lane relieved Orta in the seventh. Senior Vince Bongiovanni came in as pitcher during the eighth inning and remained until Danny Gil stepped in to close the game. Gil struggled slightly, hitting one batter and walking another, but managed to finish the game without allowing Pittsburgh the chance to score.
So far this season, the Hurricanes have seemed to thrive off a busy schedule that constantly keeps them in action.
“Baseball is a game meant to be played every day. To become better and learn how to play in this game, you actually have to be in the game,” Morris said. “In practice you can only work on mechanics. I’d like to think a game is much more fun.”
After having their Wednesday night game against Quinnipiac cancelled due to bad weather, the ‘Canes will host the Duke Blue Devils in a three-game ACC series beginning tonight at Mark Light Stadium.
“Duke is going to try to come in and take one from us because we’re a big name program,” Valencia said. “If we continue to play our game we’ll be fine. It’s about keeping the momentum going.”
Stacey Arnold can be contacted at s.arnold@umiami.edu.
No letdowns
The baseball team got off on the right foot in its inaugural series in the ACC last weekend after taking two of three from the visiting N.C. State Wolfpack. This weekend, Miami will look to build its conference resume when the Duke Blue Devils come to town.
The ‘Canes have been led by sophomore leftfielder Jon Jay, who has torn the cover off the baseball so far this season with a nearly .540 batting average. The Hurricanes sit at 14-4 overall after a Tuesday night win over Pittsburgh 3-0 and a canceled game due to rain Wednesday against Quinnipiac. As for their series with Duke, they will be missing a familiar face.
Sophomore pitcher Chris Perez was arrested last week for a DUI and has been suspended for the time being. Head Coach Jim Morris did not know how long it would be before Perez would be back in action, but as of now, it looks like a suspension, not an expulsion, will be the only thing in store for the right-hander.
With Perez out, that leaves the Sunday starting pitching slot open for competition between a couple hurlers on the Hurricane staff. For now, Morris isn’t sure who will get the nod come this Sunday. One name being mentioned is Brandon Camardese, who started last Sunday in place of Perez against the Wolfpack, but only lasted three innings, giving up five hits and two runs.
As for Friday, it will be the ACC pitcher of the week on the mound for Miami in the form of Cesar Carrillo. Carrillo went 7.1 innings, striking out a career-high 10 batters, and gave up one run on only three hits. Saturday will feature senior Dan Touchet on the hill looking to rebound after getting roughed up a week ago. Touchet gave up seven runs in only 2.1 innings of work on seven hits.
Duke will come to Mark Light Field as a team picked to finish last in the ACC. So far this season it is living up to the low expectations with a 6-11 record, 0-3 in the ACC, after Georgia Tech swept the Blue Devils last weekend. Morris knows though no one can be taken lightly, however.
“We have to go into every game knowing that anyone can beat anyone on any day,” Morris said. “Just look at us last week. We have 11 scholarship guys and we beat the Marlins, who have a 66-million-dollar payroll.”
In their last series against the Yellow Jackets, the Blue Devils gave up 41 runs in the three-game set while only scoring 11.
The series gets underway on Friday night at the Light at 7 p.m. and continues on Saturday at the same time. The finale will take place Sunday with the first pitch at 1 p.m.
All three games can be heard on WVUM 90.5 FM.
Douglas C. Kroll can be contacted at d.kroll@umiami.edu
In defense of our Student Government
The people have now spoken. With a few clicks of a mouse the Era of Free Napster has ended, while the Era of Free Towel Service dawns on the horizon. When you start looking for a job in large part based upon the strength of your UM degree, I’m sure the fact you had free Napster and were too cheap to pay $1 for a towel when you work out will stand you in good stead with your potential employer.
This is not a knock on Vance Aloupis or Pete Maki for offering those respective campaign promises; it’s a knock on the electorate for being moved to vote for nonsense like that. This is why I applaud the Elections Commission for canceling the debates. To have had to watch yet another amateurish display of grandstanding between variant factions of the Hellenic Industrial Complex is more than mortal man deserves. Of course that’s a hit on the electorate, too.
Having said that, I think we had two wonderful candidates for Student Government President this year, one of whom I came to know and have great respect for having had the honor of competing along side him for President last year, and the other who is one of those rare and inspiring natural leaders who understands, as they both do, the potential UM students have to make an impact on this community. The choice was difficult because SG is that important.
We would have had a great leader, regardless of who had won, leadership commensurate with the leadership we’re losing. This year’s Executive Board has done an admirable job serving the student body; I hope that next years Board does just as good a job.
SG is that important, because regardless of what arrogant, self-delusional and ignorant people might think, SG is a force for positive change. It is no more appropriate to base the effectiveness of the organization on the fact that refreshments were mentioned in the minutes than it is to base one’s potential effectiveness as a lawyer on the ability to blather nonsensically without restraint.
The problem with SG is not structural. The problem is a lack of sufficient resources to fund better initiatives. That’s why your choice for Student Government President is always between Athens and Sparta…rather than between good and better.
Scott Wacholtz can be contacted at s.wacholtz@umiami.edu.
A brand-new ranking to classify sports
Wikipedia encyclopedia defines sport as “consist[ing] of a normal physical activity or skill carried out under a[n]… agreed set of rules…: for competition, for self-enjoyment, to attain excellence, for the development of skill, or some combination of these. A sport has physical activity, side-by-side competition and a scoring system. The difference of purpose is what characterizes sport, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.”
I classify a sport as an activity that uses a combination of talents, skills and rules. In a sport an athlete must use a combination of coordination, strength, endurance and speed, combined with skill. The sport itself should have a level playing field.
I would like to introduce a system that ranks sports from one to five, where the lower end is a completely subjective event and five would be almost completely objective. The rankings are in no way derogatory to the events but a way to differentiate between them for the sake of argument. At level one would be events such as diving, gymnastics, surfing and ice skating, mainly because their scoring systems are highly complex, and they are so much closer to art forms than other sports. Level two would include events similar to the art/sport of parkour (freerunning). At level three would be the combative sports: boxing, wrestling, tae kwon do and judo, because spectators understand the rules but the scoring depends on the agreement of officials. At level four would be basketball and soccer. Level five includes swimming and athletics. The first two are almost completely devoid of subjectivity because when the ball enters the goal it is understood that points have been scored. The latter two are completely objective because their outcomes are obvious. All other sports would fall in line similar to the examples I have provided.
Now for the non-sports: fishing, hunting, billiards, poker and vehicle racing. Fishing and hunting do not have level playing fields, billiards and poker require no athletic ability (though ESPN would have us believe that). Vehicle racing requires stamina and coordination but the “athlete” in this sense does not do the majority of the work. Manipulating a steering wheel, shifting and hand-eye coordination are its requirements. Granted, some drivers cross train, but this does not make them true athletes. Another sport that requires a machine is cycling. The difference between it and vehicle racing is the amount of true athletic ability used to complete a race. I do not include equestrian or horse racing as non-sports because the horse is the true athlete and should therefore be rewarded for its effort.
I will admit that this is a contentious topic for many. The definition will continue to change over time making this debate more enjoyable.
Vontilla Steven can be contacted at v.steven@umiami.edu.
On why you just can’t keep a good Greek down
Hi, my name is Christopher and I’m Greek. After the verbal assaults following Greek Week, I am almost hesitant to admit it. But no matter what you say about it, I love every damn minute of being Greek.
And you might be surprised, but it’s not because I love to party, and it’s not because I love to always be drunk, and it sure as hell isn’t because I need to be paying for my friends or feel “elitist” as most people charge.
Don’t get me wrong: my first two years at UM, I had the same thoughts of Greek life as almost every non-Greek student. But a simple note on my door from my first friend at UM changed my opinion. As I sat on the bed in my dorm and read “the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon applaud your accomplishments at UM” and asked me to check out the fraternity and what it stood for, I immediately dropped my barrier to Greek life and decided to give it a chance.
Thirty minutes into my quest to learn more about fraternity life, I was astounded by all I learned about SAE on its national website. Who’d have guessed that all fraternities had values that they stood for, especially values that were congruent with my own life like SAE?
The point of my life story here is that I had been letting my biased interpretation of Greeks influence my vision of what Greek life really was; I was truly ignorant and content in that lack of knowledge, like most students.
Two years after deciding that I would give up my anti-Greek stance, I have met 40 of the most dedicated scholars, athletes, philanthropists and best friends I have ever known. And that is just in my fraternity, one of the 29 Greek organizations on campus.
Despite coming from a non-Greek background, I can’t help but be furious when I read the comments of those that perpetuate the beliefs that we are “elitist” drunks or that Greek life is useless, mostly because I used to think that way too.
I could write paragraphs about the astounding statistics associated with fraternities and sororities, but that’s old. The important thing is that Greeks are just everyday students. When we aren’t wearing letters, we look the same, talk the same, act the same and do the same stuff that non-Greeks do, including being members of the 210 other non-Greek organizations at UM.
It’s OK not to be Greek, just as it is OK to be Greek. It took a note on my door for me to realize this. I just wish those who hate us because we wear letters to show our pride in the accomplishments of our organizations would drop their bias and stop believing the stereotypes.
No matter what, I will always be proud to be Greek. But more importantly, just like every other Greek at UM, we will always be proud to be ‘Canes; that’s why I wear my letters in orange and green.
Christopher Vasquez can be contacted at c.vasquez1@umiami.edu.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
UM Mock Trial Organization
I find it disheartening that the Mock Trial Organization has been recently neglected in The Hurricane. The Mock Trial Organization is a club that not only upholds, but also helps, to build the academic reputation of the University of Miami. Last week, the club sent two teams to the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Southeastern United States Regional Tournament in Tallahassee, with much success. Melody Manning and Don Donelson each received a Best Attorney award, while Katie Onachila went home with a Best Witness award. One of our teams tied for third place and for the third straight year earned a bid to the National Tournament where they will compete against top schools such Yale, Dartmouth, Berkeley, Stanford and more. The other team earned the highly coveted Spirit of AMTA award given to the team that shows the most professionalism at the tournament. I cannot comprehend why, in the March 4 issue of The Hurricane, this information was ignored. If there is enough room to include an article about a barbecue at one of our rival schools, there should be enough room to report on the great accomplishments of a student organization here at UM. All of our teams devote a great deal of time and effort into Mock Trial, and they all deserve to be recognized. I hope that in the future, The Hurricane will lean more towards covering the substantial achievements of its own students.
Alissa McElhone
Mock Trial Treasurer
Re: “Greeks and non-Greeks involved in Trojan War,” 3/8
There seemed to be a lot of negative opinions toward the Greek community in the March 8 column of The Hurricane. Jovanni Bello’s piece called Greeks and non-Greeks involved in Trojan War was incredibly judgmental. He grouped all Greek students into a narrow stereotype of being elite and unfriendly to non-Greek students.
I already informed Mr. Bello that I found his article to be inappropriate. Surely, stereotyping all Greeks is equally as unjustified as making a blatantly racial or anti-Semitic or other type of ignorant generalization.
In addition, the editorial, entitled “Greeks force charity” practically made me cry. Many Greek organizations do not hold large philanthropic events like most of them preach about during recruitment. But my sorority, Delta Delta Delta, raised more than $30,000 in our annual golf tournament this last October. It is unfair to blame Greeks for giving their money and blood (literally) during Greek Week. Although I agree that the intentions were not directed towards helping people, and was, in fact, geared more towards winning, it does not negate previously successful philanthropic endeavors.
Sure Greek Week made $19,000 this year, which far surpasses that of last year-but our organization alone made over $30,000 last fall. Obviously something is wrong with some Greek organizations, but again, let’s not throw all Greek students into one large stereotype.
The media and entertainment industries are always against Greek organizations. We have to constantly defend our organizations-our ideals, our friends and the things we work incredibly hard towards. Your newspaper portrays our endeavors as a joke. The reason people in Greek organizations give into the stereotype is because it is so omnipresent, from books like Pledged to movies like Animal House, we must always be on the defense.
Reading about how all Greek students are snobby elitists gets old…and it gives the ones who do act that way all the more reason to maintain that attitude.
I think you are telling only one side of the story.
Elyse Gibson
Student
Sign-up, not line-up
Apparently you just can’t make everyone happy. For the second year in a row the Department of Residence Halls has tried to make students’ lives easier by allowing online housing sign up for dorms. The online sign-up times are allotted during weekends, allowing students to pick their next living situation while still in their pajamas from the comfort of their own room.
It’s hard to believe that just two years ago we were forced to get up at 7 a.m. to wait in line for our rooms. Remember missing classes because the lines were more than five hours long, camping out in the halls of Eaton, calling in late to work, and who know what else? It was just part of the process.
Fortunately, after continued criticism, the University and the Department of Residence Halls began offering online housing sign-up last year. The program, compared with previous procedures, is near perfect.
Yet, being the cynical students that we are, we must point out some issues that, if addressed, would make the process even better. Mainly, many students have complained that they are unable to sign up for suites in groups of four because other students with higher numbers will each take one room per suite, leaving five suites in a row with only one room taken. This has forced groups of four who want to share a suite utilize thefacebook or other methods to ask for the other students to move. If there was a way for the Department of Residence Halls to encourage students to sign up for suites with other “randoms,” then this could be prevented.
While the above is a reasonable concern brought forth by students, a different complaint is just plain lazy. If your future roommate/suitemate/apartment-mate-whatever-can’t go to a website and click “confirm” within a certain window, then they really can’t complain about not getting the room they wanted. It’s not that hard, and face it, it’s a heck of a lot easier then setting up camp in Eaton for five hours!