Room Ballot Confusion At ChCh As Flaws Exposed In New System
Second year students at Christ Church have expressed concern they will be forced to live in flats with students they do not know next year following problems with the housing ballot. A new ballot system giving those taking Finals priority has led to a number of students electing to live on the college main site for the second time.
As a result, 12 current first years may be required to stay in accommodation usually reserved for finalists, and could be placed in flats with people they do not know. The ballot system was changed in Michaelmas following complaints by finalists who were placed in underground, cramped or noisy rooms.
Traditionally, those entering second year tended to take the best rooms in college, with finalists opting for self-catering flats in an annexe on Iffley Road, which Christ Church shares with Corpus Christi. First year students voiced their objections to members of the JCR committee at a meeting on Sunday. JCR President Jo Lee Morrison told The Oxford Student the issue was settled in Michaelmas, and that no new objections had been raised.
When pressed further, she declined to comment on first year objections. The college, in conjunction with the JCR, is attempting to control the situation by appealing to finalists to move to Liddell quad, or to current first years to move into flats in groups, but as yet no resolution has been reached. A further danger is that two students could be forced to live in graduate accommodation near the train station. All involved in the dispute are reportedly attempting to avoid such an eventuality.
Robert Sawbridge, a first year historian said students would be forced to share when they originally did not choose to in order that friends would not have to live miles from one another. “The whole situation is a bit of a disaster which could have been avoided.
“The college seems to have blundered into a decision without properly thinking through the consequences and this had led to the whole idea of a room ballot becoming completely farcical as people in the middle of the ballot are worried about having to live in Liddell. “We understand that finalists are the priority but Liddell and Meadows are much more conducive to working than Peck, which will still be filled with noisy second years. “The college seems to have missed this key point.
“The obvious solution would be to return the situation to how it was before, but I doubt very much if the college will do that.
5th May 2005