Friday, March 11, 2005
Learning to Get By
I've spent too many hours of the last couple weeks worrying about 45 minutes today that would determine my fate for the next year.
Housing.
I don't even know what to compare it to. One day we log on to a website to find out our lottery numbers and times to show up for registration. Then there are two weeks of suspense. Some people pass them frantically trying to find friends, or friends of friends, who have better numbers than them. Some people just don't care. Some people plot conniving ways they can bend the rules to get what they want.
Campus housing is hard to come by here. It's guaranteed for freshmen and sophomores. But that's it. If you're a junior, senior, or anything else, kiss any sense of confidence in your future campus housing plans bye-bye.
Last year I wasn't desperate and sneaky enough to try too hard. I was a rising sophomore. I had a number. I knew I'd get by. I guess I didn't realize how bad "just getting by" can be. Small, dirty rooms; industrial-sized, dirty bathrooms; strange, scary roommates can guarantee a living nightmare, even if you're still getting by...
I learned my lesson last year. So this year when I got a loser housing-number, an alarm went off. Not only could I get screwed this time, I could have literally ended up homeless. I casually brought up housing with everyone I know in hope of identifying someone with a better number than me who can pull me in with them. I found a generous friend with a number better than mine, but still bad enough to risk getting wait listed. Opportunities came up, I looked into all the respectable options and held by breath a couple times trying to figure things out, but I decided to play it safe and to play it by the rules...
But I've learned enough to know that playing by the rules is enough to qualify you as loser, and sometimes even the rules seem a bit whack. Students with disabilities get nicer, bigger, better rooms just about whereever they want. Surprising how for a couple months during the year the number of "disabled" students on campus suddenly spikes. Or it's funny how some people kiss up to those they despise just to get a free ride on their lucky lottery number. Or some desperate students picket the lines as the first lucky ones go to claim their rooms in hope that someone won't have the guts to say no and will pull a complete stranger in with them.
These loopholes exist for a reason. A kid in a wheelchair deserves a bigger room with a bigger bathroom. Or a student who wants to live in a double should be able to pull in his or her best friend so they can room with a friend rather than a stranger. But to see people taking advantage of these things to the extreme makes me want to puke. Depending on how aggressive and how low you want to stoop, sure, yeah you can get yourself housing.
I went with two of my friends to sign up for housing today, knowing full well that I may come back with a slip indicating my wait-list number. Fortune struck, we met a friend who had a better number than any of us and offered to pull us in. Together we rushed to the lines for the new dorms. We all lived in ancient buildings this year, which have their character... but it was time to move on up.
As we entered the lines with some 20 students in front of us one of the staffers started shouting, "only six more rooms open here!" He came up to us and told us he'd hate to see us wait in line just to get turned back. We looked at each other worried, but stood our ground. Eventually they started shouting, "this is the last room!" But then the next person would approach, "this is the last room!" Everyone got rooms. Of course, the people before us were supposed to get the "last room." By the time it was our turn the line had cleared up. I suppose enough people got the message that they decided to try their luck elsewhere.
We got our rooms, got our singles, and left. I felt elated to get the single in the nice dorm I wanted. But I couldn't help feeling queasy about the whole experience. The more stubborn you are, the more chances you have of getting what you want even if you're not supposed to. Is it fair that people who actually listen are the ones who get screwed over? And what if we never met that guy who pulled us in early? And what about all the people who came before us and were politely, obiedently waiting their turn? And was there a reason they were shouting, "last room"--to reserve enough rooms for the rising sophomores?
In a tight housing situation like this, someone's pain is always gonna be someone's gain. But is it fair that the pushy, lying, deceitful ones are the people gaining? Or have we already determined a couple centuries ago that fair is obsolete?
Housing.
I don't even know what to compare it to. One day we log on to a website to find out our lottery numbers and times to show up for registration. Then there are two weeks of suspense. Some people pass them frantically trying to find friends, or friends of friends, who have better numbers than them. Some people just don't care. Some people plot conniving ways they can bend the rules to get what they want.
Campus housing is hard to come by here. It's guaranteed for freshmen and sophomores. But that's it. If you're a junior, senior, or anything else, kiss any sense of confidence in your future campus housing plans bye-bye.
Last year I wasn't desperate and sneaky enough to try too hard. I was a rising sophomore. I had a number. I knew I'd get by. I guess I didn't realize how bad "just getting by" can be. Small, dirty rooms; industrial-sized, dirty bathrooms; strange, scary roommates can guarantee a living nightmare, even if you're still getting by...
I learned my lesson last year. So this year when I got a loser housing-number, an alarm went off. Not only could I get screwed this time, I could have literally ended up homeless. I casually brought up housing with everyone I know in hope of identifying someone with a better number than me who can pull me in with them. I found a generous friend with a number better than mine, but still bad enough to risk getting wait listed. Opportunities came up, I looked into all the respectable options and held by breath a couple times trying to figure things out, but I decided to play it safe and to play it by the rules...
But I've learned enough to know that playing by the rules is enough to qualify you as loser, and sometimes even the rules seem a bit whack. Students with disabilities get nicer, bigger, better rooms just about whereever they want. Surprising how for a couple months during the year the number of "disabled" students on campus suddenly spikes. Or it's funny how some people kiss up to those they despise just to get a free ride on their lucky lottery number. Or some desperate students picket the lines as the first lucky ones go to claim their rooms in hope that someone won't have the guts to say no and will pull a complete stranger in with them.
These loopholes exist for a reason. A kid in a wheelchair deserves a bigger room with a bigger bathroom. Or a student who wants to live in a double should be able to pull in his or her best friend so they can room with a friend rather than a stranger. But to see people taking advantage of these things to the extreme makes me want to puke. Depending on how aggressive and how low you want to stoop, sure, yeah you can get yourself housing.
I went with two of my friends to sign up for housing today, knowing full well that I may come back with a slip indicating my wait-list number. Fortune struck, we met a friend who had a better number than any of us and offered to pull us in. Together we rushed to the lines for the new dorms. We all lived in ancient buildings this year, which have their character... but it was time to move on up.
As we entered the lines with some 20 students in front of us one of the staffers started shouting, "only six more rooms open here!" He came up to us and told us he'd hate to see us wait in line just to get turned back. We looked at each other worried, but stood our ground. Eventually they started shouting, "this is the last room!" But then the next person would approach, "this is the last room!" Everyone got rooms. Of course, the people before us were supposed to get the "last room." By the time it was our turn the line had cleared up. I suppose enough people got the message that they decided to try their luck elsewhere.
We got our rooms, got our singles, and left. I felt elated to get the single in the nice dorm I wanted. But I couldn't help feeling queasy about the whole experience. The more stubborn you are, the more chances you have of getting what you want even if you're not supposed to. Is it fair that people who actually listen are the ones who get screwed over? And what if we never met that guy who pulled us in early? And what about all the people who came before us and were politely, obiedently waiting their turn? And was there a reason they were shouting, "last room"--to reserve enough rooms for the rising sophomores?
In a tight housing situation like this, someone's pain is always gonna be someone's gain. But is it fair that the pushy, lying, deceitful ones are the people gaining? Or have we already determined a couple centuries ago that fair is obsolete?
