Athletic Housing Causes Stir

By Connect2Mason Reporter Lauren Jost

The typical Room Assignment Process, as mandated by George Mason University, was not what Roxanne Bauland, junior global affairs and Latin American studies major encountered when she was signing up for housing for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Bauland and her prospective roommates were planning to remain in Northern Neck for the 2009-2010 academic year in a four-person single bedroom apartment. Together, they conducted what they call “active housing research” to see who would be retaining rooms for the next year. Her plan was to see if the current residents were planning on retaining their rooms for next year, or if they would be available.

“After doing some preliminary research on the housing website, we found out that there are only four rooms with single availability in the entire building,” said Bauland.

Bauland explained that she and her roommates went to the fourth floor room where a female basketball player informed them that they would not be retaining their room for next year.

“We got quite excited at this because it made it seem as if we had more of a chance to get the room that we wanted,” said Bauland.

Bauland’s excitement was short-lived when the basketball player told her why she would not be retaining her apartment.

“She then told us that they were being removed from Northern Neck to be placed in Potomac because the room was being ‘saved’ for incoming freshman basketball players,” said Bauland.

After receiving this information, Bauland was referred to another apartment where two basketball and two baseball players shared a room.

“We rushed upstairs to check on the next room’s story. We asked the same thing to the male basketball player who opened the door,” said Bauland. “Once again, the same story was repeated to us. The room was being retained for freshman basketball players.”

Students are not always given their first choice in housing selection. RAP lottery numbers are assigned by credit hours, meaning the higher the credit hours the lower a student’s lottery numbers.

“It is important for students to understand that the right of determining how buildings are ‘programmed’ for occupancy and the right of final assignment to available space rests with the university,” said Jana Hurley, Executive Director of Housing and Residence Life.

On-campus resident Lisa Buzzelli, a junior communication major, thinks the RAP process is difficult.

“My first RAP encounter put me in Patriot’s Village, which I was certainly not pleased about. I had to miss class to figure out the situation,” said Buzzelli. “But after you find a room that you like, you’re able to keep it, and then you don’t really have to worry about it.”

“All of the past years that I had signed up for housing, I was lead to believe that when a room was taken or retained it was because someone of higher seniority/lower lottery number than me had gotten to it first,” said Bauland. “I mean, how am I supposed to argue with that? The Mason system has always been run by seniority, at least, prior to this incident.”

Hurley said that certain student programs are in place that have designated living areas, such as Living Learning Communities, Athletics, ROTC, international exchange students and some Greek organizations.

“Every year space is reserved in housing for special purposes,” said Hurley. “I believe that you will find that this is pretty typical on most residential public university campuses.”

Hurley explained that there is some space within the Housing program reserved for athletics in order to accommodate the expected numbers and range of preferences or needs anticipated for student athletes.

“The assignment process is lengthy and complicated,” said Hurley. “Returning students obviously get the first opportunity to reserve and confirm a space or room type. For everyone else the details of who is assigned where continues to evolve throughout the summer. We don’t know for certain who will be assigned to rooms held for Athletics (or what their respective class standings will be) until Athletics provides OHRL with that information.”

Kent Dernbach, director of operations for the Athletics department, referred all questions about athletes in housing to be answered by the Office of Housing and Residence Life.

“I have come to find out that it does not matter if you have the lowest of the lowest lottery numbers,” said Bauland. “A freshman can come in and bypass the horrors of living in Presidents Park, something almost all of my peers had to endure to get to a decent housing area.”

Hurley expressed that housing space is selected for special groups as aforementioned based on consideration of numerous factors including (but not limited to) availability of different styles of housing, preferences of the requesting university department and special needs of a population including 12-month housing, apartment style and kitchen space.

“It is understandable that students desiring to live in a particular building, suite or room would be disappointed to discover it wasn’t available to them,” said Hurley. “We want all of our residents to be comfortable with their housing assignment and feel they had a wide range of housing choices available to them.”
Hurley said that due to the dynamic growing environment of Mason, it is anticipated that housing will be continuously adjusting assignment priorities to meet the changing needs of students.

“I have been told over and over from my first day here at Mason that academics will always come before athletics,” said Bauland. “There is a reason why they are deemed ‘student-athletes,’ student comes before athlete because it is overwhelmingly more important what knowledge you gain in your four years at Mason as opposed to how many baskets you shoot.”