The St. John’s Department of Residence Life recently announced the results of its housing selection process for the 2006-07 academic year.

Now that students know whether or not they will receive the rooms they requested, many questions are being raised regarding Residence Life’s handling of the situation. Although many feel the process will bring positive results, others think the negatives will have a greater impact.

The selection process is based on two factors.

The first of these is a student’s grade point average, which can earn them a total of 10 points. If he or she has a GPA of 3.85 or higher, that student will receive 10 points. Any GPA lower than a 3.85 earns a different amount of points; the lower the grade, the fewer the points.

The second factor is a student’s judicial history. Again, a total of 10 points can be earned. f a student has no judicial history, he or she will receive 10 points. If a student does have a prior judicial incident on their record, he or she will receive fewer points, depending on how severe the violation was. The GPA and judicial history points are then added together totaling a possible 20 points. From this point system, Residence Life decides who gets a room, as well as when they will be eligible for room selection. The higher number of points a student has, the better the chance they have of getting the room they requested.

However, many students argue the process is unfair.

“The system has made mistakes in the past and nothing has been done,” said Jill Rossi, a junior. “This has been a problem for years.”

Rossi, who currently lives in O’Connor and received a total of 15 points, is a Presidential Scholar, and was placed in the general selection pool. Students in general selection mainly get to pick from whatever is left after all the other students have chosen their rooms.

“My friends and I are more than qualified and give back so much to the school and we get this in return,” Rossi said. “Something should be done.”

Christine Glueckert is facing a similar situation as Rossi, and feels that communication between the administrators and students is nonexistent. “There is no input from students when the administrators make decisions,” Glueckert said. “We are the ones living in these dorms and I think we should have a say in what goes on.”

Glueckert received 20 points and is the president of the hospitality management club. She is currently on the waiting list and will find out in the coming weeks where she will end up.

Although many students feel the selection process should be handled better, others think Residence Life is doing a fine job. Timothy Shortt, a senior commuter student, feels Residence Life is moving in the right direction.

“Many schools I have visited are very lenient when it comes to the dorms,” Shortt said. “Anyone can come and go and you would never know if a person actually goes to your school. I think St. John’s has done a great job and keeps a close eye on everything happening. The room situation has no affect on me, but I’m sure they are doing the best they can.”