Students currently living in chem-free dorms will get a leg-up in the housing lottery this spring if they opt to apply for chem-free housing next year.
Director of Residential Life Kim Pacelli said the change was prompted by the belief that the chem-free lottery is currently "manipulated by students to secure specific housing, even though they do not actually intend to abide by the chem-free expectation."
ResLife arrived at this conclusion after collaborating with Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) to administer a survey asking why some students opted to move from regular dorms to chem-free residential halls after their first year.
"We've found that the absence of alcohol was not nearly as important as finding quiet dorms and avoiding the Chamberlain double for more than half of the surveyed students," Pacelli said.
According to college policy, students who sign up through the lottery to live in chem-free housing automatically agree to abide by the chem-free policies. The lottery guide states, "Your Lottery Application Form is also a Residence Agreement. By submitting the Lottery Application Form you agree to abide by all Bowdoin College rules and regulations...Any student violations to the Chem-Free policy that come to the attention of Residential Life could result in reassignment to another space on campus."
On March 4, Pacelli and BSG co-led a discussion on chem-free housing in Howell House, which also played a role in the College's decision to give current chem-free residents an advantage in this April's lottery.
ResLife has also made plans to increase the amount on chem-free housing on campus. Smith House and two floors of a wing of Chamberlain Hall will change over to chem-free, joining Howard, Howell House, and Mayflower Apartments.
"It's kind of nice to be all spread-out throughout campus," noted Lindsey Thompson '10 at the Howell discussion. "Putting us all in one little corner seems counterproductive. It seems important to have some sort of diversity."
Kate Emerson '10 agreed. "The last thing we want is an us-versus-them-thing happening," she said.
The order of the lotteries has also been changed; the quad lottery will now precede the chem-free lottery.
The decision to diversify the chem-free offerings was twofold. First, according to ResLife's online lottery guide, the number of spaces designated as chem-free is determined through the Housing Intent Form sent to all students before Spring Break.
In addition, Pacelli said, "One BSG leader noted that we should try as best we can to make chem-free housing as representative as possible of all housing, which is what we are aspiring to do this year."
Some students involved in the March 4 discussion at Howell, many of whom are sophomores and live in chem-free housing this year, said that a process involving a recommendation or essay might filter out students who would not sincerely adhere to the chem-free guidelines.
Pacelli said she has considered these and other suggestions, and brainstormed ways the issue could be addressed next year.
"In essence, we're making three modifications," said Pacelli in summary. "We're adding a 'bump' to chem-free students for the chem-free lottery, meaning that those students who lived chem-free as first years have an advantage over other students applying for chem-free housing. We're also changing the sequence of the quads and chem-free lottery to first and second respectively, and rethinking which spaces are offered as chem-free."
"It is a challenge to try to balance all of these issues, some of which can compete with one another, but we're trying our best," she added.
Lottery information sessions will be held on April 9. The lotteries begin on April 16 and will span a week.