Like many students looking to change their on-campus housing assignments last semester, Elizabeth Stern '08 opted to register with Disability Support Services, which provides special housing for students who need them, according to its Web site.
Stern, who declined to comment on why she registered with DSS, said she knew in September that she wanted to change her living situation and was put on the waitlist.
"(The Office of Residential Life) said it was very unlikely (for me to get a single), but I talked to them and began to register with Disability Support Services," Stern said. "I really didn't know what DSS was until I talked to a student working there. You're in the dark unless you make a concerted effort."
ResLife contacted Stern three days before she returned to campus this semester and told her that a single in New Pembroke was available, she said.
Stern is one of roughly 500 students registered with DSS, according to Director Catherine Axe. 113 students were approved for accommodations through the program as of last week, Axe said.
"Anybody who has a condition that can be affected by certain factors, we look at what can be done to rectify it," Axe said. "It's all done on a case-by-case basis. (A student's housing assignment) depends on what is requested, what their (medical or other) documentation indicates and what is available in terms of housing."
Axe continued: "(Students with) asthma and allergies account for a good number (of those registered with DSS). Many of these students can self-accommodate."
Axe said she understands the difficulty many students face when trying to change rooms. These frustrations are compounded by the fact that many students wishing for a new living situation request singles, which are often not available, according to Rosario Navarro, assistant director of housing.
Until next week, the University will abstain from assigning 57 currently vacant on-campus housing spots to students who already have housing and are looking to change rooms. The University's policy to wait allows for students who have taken leaves of absences, are facing academic discipline, have gone abroad or have been delayed from arriving on campus to finalize their status before their beds are reassigned, according to Richard Bova, senior associate dean of residential life.
"Every single day we are getting changes (to who is returning)," Bova said. "It's a very complicated and time-consuming process."
Many available rooms were vacated by seniors who graduated in December, Bova said.
"In the fall we are always slightly short of housing, and in the spring we are often slightly under-booked," Bova said.
Before assigning vacated rooms to students on the waitlist, ResLife usually contacts DSS, Axe said.
"ResLife tends to hold onto the rooms that fit the needs we often encounter - singles and rooms near bathrooms," Axe said. "Especially if I hear about (a new need) before the semester begins, we can usually make these accommodations."
"The frustrating part can be when a student has a need and the housing is not available," Axe said. "For the most part, people (registered with DSS) are able to get into a suitable location."
But not all students expressed satisfaction with the process.
Like Stearns, Katherine Goetz '08 also opted to register with DSS. She applied for a new room in November and said she was further down on the waitlist than Stern. Students who request room changes are prioritized by when they submit their request and then by their semester rank, Navarro said.
Goetz grew particularly worried about her living situation because of her Crohn's disease - a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines - which is in remission.
"(My roommate) and I were on totally different time schedules," Goetz said. "(My worrying about housing) was getting to the point that over break I wasn't sleeping and it began to worry me that my Crohn's may come back. It was getting to the point that I felt that I didn't want to return this semester," she said.
Goetz said she found a room in a Grad Center suite through a "friend of a friend" last week, thereby circumventing the process of changing rooms through ResLife, she said.
