"I have a blocking group of 15 to 16, only four or five of whom I know well", says Alex C. Band '99-'98. "The people in my group are my roommates' friends and friends of theirs--under the old system I would have had a group of no more than six or eight".

Maximum Size

College administrators last year said they anticipated large blocking groups and decided to shrink their maximum size from 20 to 16 in hopes of increasing diversity in the houses.

But many first-years say the change is unfair, particularly in light of the move to complete randomization.

"We got jacked", says Zack C. Phillips '99. "They should put the limit back where it was or even higher".

Like Phillips, Dana B. Bennett '99 says she prefers larger groups.

Bennett says she has made a number of good friends through social events and extra-curricular activities, like the Black students Association, whom she would like to live.

But Bennett says her choice was severely restricted by the maximum limit--she says a 20 or even 30-person limit would be more appropriate.

"We know most of the people pretty well, and there were others who we also knew well that we wanted to include but couldn't," Bennett says.

Simplifying the Selection?

Former Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, who made the final decision to randomize last fall, said at the time the new system lessens stress on first-years during the busy spring term.

But many students say the decision is still not an easy one to make.

"You still have to pick the people you want to live with", James E. Lenhart '99 says.

Other students offered more complex views on differences in forming blocking groups before and after randomization.

"Last year, blocking groups would have split up over wanting to live in different places", says Rachel L. Weber '99. "But it also offered a way of sectioning people out of the group without hurting their feelings".

"All in all, this way forces you to be more honest which I guess is good", she says.

Jay H. Lee '99 says the administration is to blame for the anxiety surrounding rooming.

"They make this out to be a stressful experience", says Lee. "But they blow it up, hype it up, way out of proportion and that's what causes a lot of the stress".

Some students, however, particularly those in the smaller blocking groups say they have not been affected by the change.

"We have a group of four, two of them are from my entryway", says one first-year who did not want to be identified. "This is surely the size we would have chosen, even without randomization. We would have disagreed on where to go, but we would have worked it out somehow"