Sarah and I have appreciated the opportunity to meet with many of you for continued individual discussion after our group meetings on November 11, when we shared information about changes to the specialized housing processes. These focused conversations have deepened our understanding of your concerns that these changes could impact the continuity of your community and the commitment of residents selected only by lottery.

In response to your feedback, we wanted to share with you, before the Thanksgiving break, some clarifications  that can help accomplish our shared goals of maintaining the missions, traditions, and cultures of these student-led communities alongside equal access for students who wish to join them. Those adjustments are:

• Guaranteed placement in the allotment for any resident who wants to return 

• A mechanism for pre-screening students before they are entered in the lottery 

• Incorporation of a statement in the application that affirms the applicant’s understanding of the community’s focus and the possibility of housing relocation due to lack of engagement

• Allowing students to express interest in up to two options among the Greek, Program, or Theme communities

Communities will continue to be able to identify out-of-house participants; this information will be collected in the housing portal after Spring General Selection concludes. 

To ensure current residents are aware of their guaranteed right to return to the community, we will share this information directly with them. 

After the Thanksgiving break, we will continue conversations with you to finalize the pre-screening mechanism, and we will continue conversations in the months ahead about other ways to support engagement in these communities. We appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns and ideas with us, and we look forward to continued partnership toward our shared goals. 

Sincerely, 

Dean Ice