Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 01:20:34 EDT To: advise@MIT.EDU From: "Matthew L. McGann" Subject: Residence Selection/Orientation Minutes Minutes 9/20/99 Present: Trup, Will, Rezek, JenFrank, Zhe, Matt The Institute shall designate 1050 (or other number determined by the Admissions Office) freshmen beds appropriately distributed throughout the residence halls. The number of freshmen in each dorm shall not exceed a certain percentage (say, 45%), nor fall below a certain percentage (say, 25%). Allow evolution in the system. Some houses may evolve to have significantly more freshmen than other houses. If some dorms near the critical numbers of freshmen, a non-squatting lottery may be necessary. However, for the first two years of the new residential system, this option should not be enacted. Also, it will be less likely necessary when the second Vassar Street dorm is erected. Sophomore shuffle: squatting or no squatting? Agreement: we shall allow squatting. [A change from last meeting's notes] Theme Houses: two options 1) upperclass house 2) frosh sign an agreement Stapling: need strong rationale for the number "2." Our Orientation is far from perfect. Call it a straw man for now. Will will send out text on Transition Support. Our tentative theme house language: > The living groups housed within New House known as "Cultural >Houses", namely Chocolate City, Russian House, Spanish House, French >House, and German House, have the following privilidges in accordance >with their special status with respect to housing regulations: they >have the opportunity to fill all vacancies within their assigned areas >in either one of the following manners, or they may use a combination >of the two. The first method consists of recruiting Freshmen, >Sophomores, and Juniors at the end of a Spring Term to live in the >House in question starting at the beginning of the following Fall >Semester. All current and future residents shall have the room >assignments granted to them by the Cultural Houses guarenteed (and >will not be lost in housing lotteries such as the "Sophomore >Shuffle"). The second method consists of compelling all future >Freshmen to sign a commitment that says they will be willing to do the >house duties that are required of them for membership, and that they >satisfy whatever requirements the Cultural House in question wishes >its members to have (for example if German House were to institute a >language requirement of 1 year of German in High School). If the >commitment is violated (as in the housemember in question refuses to >complete the work required of him), then an administrative channel >will exist which will allow the house to have the member moved out of >the house and replaced with a person who has their approval.