<p>For anyone who thinks I’m being too harsh, I’m reminded of a situation I encountered when I was president of the parents association of my kids elementary school…</p>
<p>After fall classes had started, the school decided to hire more K-3 teachers to shrink class sizes. So, of course, some kids would be moved out of their existing classes and put with a new teacher. The change would happen around Thanksgiving. Oh my! The drama that erupted from some parents who were so concerned that their little Johnny or Mary would just fall apart with a teacher change or loss of some friends in their classrooms. </p>
<p>These upset parents all showed up at the Parent Assoc meeting with their complaints. As president, I stood up and told them…“You are the adults. Your children will be LOOKING TO YOU to see how YOU’RE reacting to the situation. If you act like this is the worse thing in the world, so will your child. If you put a positive or neutral spin on the situation, then your child will be less anxious.” </p>
<p>The principal came up and hugged me and reiterated my words. The last thing children (even adult children) need is for parents to be acting all hysterical about things that are part of life (changes or minor inconveniences).</p>
<p>dammit - i had a LONG post typed out and it got eaten. not sure if i have the energy to do it all again … </p>
<p>ok … breathe …</p>
<p>this time it probably won’t be as eloquent …</p>
<p>slippy, i really don’t think you can blame this on poor planning on UAs part. a uni of this size does not expect or aim to house this size student body. if you want that kind of deal, then you needed to choose a school where everyone is required to live on campus (like vanderbilt). then this type of problem would never come up.</p>
<p>i went and checked on a few similar unis. all had approx. 25% of students living on campus. the range was from 19 - 27%. guess which school came in at 27% … that’s right, UA. the difference is that UA requires freshmen to live on campus. the other schools had about 60% of freshmen living on campus vs. UA’s 93%.</p>
<p>what we are talking about here is a first world problem. you and others are complaining not about your students that didn’t get a bed (those people stopped complaining a long time ago) but that your students will not get to live with his preferred roomie! so you know what the deal is now, either deal with it or do something about it.</p>
<p>i am pretty sure that when my student started honors housing was guaranteed. they may not have meant it to be, but it was in the writing. well, guess who got waitlisted for housing after year one due to coming in with a bunch of credits? my daughter. we did get it worked out.</p>
<p>sure it would be nice if everyone could keep their preferred roomies, but the roomies have different situations, so that is not possible.</p>
<p>i don’t think blaming it on UAs poor planning is accurate at all.</p>
<p>bamamomof3: the proxy codes will return tomorrow, so no worries. (but, it is great advice to always write it down and/or print it out when you have the chance - also, it is prudent advice from two years ago to change your proxy code if you have previously given it to anyone else earlier/last year, in order that it is not abused)</p>
<p>kjcphmom: picking rooms is based off of your classification, based on hours, per registrar: [Classification</a> of Students < The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/classificationstudents/]Classification”>http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/classificationstudents/) . So, even though you/degree works might consider your son a junior, check that he falls within the accepted hour bracket to be sure - they do NOT include current semester hours, btw, only hours up thru end of Fall 2012. Rising Seniors pick starting 2/26, Juniors starting 2/27, and Sophomores starting 2/26. All picks end Friday 11.59 pm, March 1.</p>
<p>Okay guys, I have to wholeheartedly agree with M2CK, it really is an inconvenience not a major problem. I hope that your students are branching out and getting involved on campus, more so than with just their roommates. They should be establishing connections and forging friendships with more than those three other individuals who room with them, so it is likely that they have a pool of friends to choose from as prospective roommates. If not, then now is a great opportunity to make new friends. Look, even if their new roomie is a freshman, try to see that as an opportunity to help, to mentor an incoming student. There is also the possibility of trying to switch to a double or even a single room on campus, then the problem is solved if there are only two people who need to stay together. Yes it will cost a little more per room, but not nearly as much as moving off campus and giving up the housing scholarship.</p>
<p>Saying that UA has had unbridled growth without planning is just plain ridiculous. They have planned very well for their expansion. Their infrastructure is top notch with new science and engineering buildings, rehabs, new residence housing, new property purchases and maintenance of existing campus structures. You need to look at the master plan.</p>
<p>Seriously, show me another university that has accomplished so much in the last ten years and I would say that university is also planning ahead and making great strides.</p>
<p>In the Northeast, we do not expect our students to live in such wonderful residence halls as those that our students are privileged to experience at UA. There are double room, triple rooms, outdated infrastructure, no air conditioning and housing lotteries with no guaranteed housing even for freshman. That is the reality of colleges here and elsewhere around the country. Students have to grow up eventually and if the worse problem they face is choosing among the vast array of good/great housing options surrounding the university, they will be lucky.</p>
<p>Mom2K - My DS isn’t in college yet and I normally agree with what you post. However perhaps the posters aren’t creating drama by complaining about this to their kids and instead are just venting to the forum… I mean isn’t that part of why we are here?</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s my right as an American to complain. If I think something sucks, I’ll say it sucks, and I really don’t need to be told to stop complaining.</p>
<p>MichiganGeorgia - That is only part of why we are here. I personally like to come in every once in a while to stand on Slippy’s lawn…</p>
<p>Actually I hope no one took my earlier post as complaining…it was actually more of a “How can I expect my laid back, introverted son to go out and find three new friends all at the same time ??” That’s like a year or two’s worth of friends for him :)</p>
<p>Thank you aeromom. My son was a junior at the end of Fall 2012 so I think he picks on 2/27. In the e-mail that they sent the returning students, did they each student the day/time they needed to pick a room (I obviously haven’t seen anything)? I am glad it isn’t for another week; I was afraid from something I read above it started tomorrow and I know my son isn’t ready yet. Keeping my fingers crossed that when he does have to pick a room he’ll have at least one known roommate thanks to CC.</p>
<p>kjcphmom: picking DOES start tomorrow (Wed 2/20) for those students who are staying put in their same room. Thur 2/21 is pulling in roommates into a vacancy in that same suite (no other changes) - and interestingly, btw, that new pull-in can be a freshman (if any of us know freshman from CC who need a great established room, this isn’t such a bad idea!). Moving dorms requires students to wait until next week, per above schedule. </p>
<p>Yes, an email was sent to students directly, and I asked son to forward it to me…then UA sent me my own copy outlining most of this. Last night there was a webinar for returning housing students and the room selection process - slides of it are posted on UA Housing website: [Student</a> Affairs | Housing & Residential Communities](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/on_campus/recontracting_faq.cfm]Student”>http://housing.ua.edu/on_campus/recontracting_faq.cfm) , along with many FAQs to help. I think the audio portion was also taped, so you can listen to it.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for the drama. Believe me, I was holding my tongue for a lot. I’ve always been one to stand up for the regular kid, not the one that gets all the fantastic awards and special treatment, and I felt that this was a place that I could help out some underclassmen.</p>
<p>Believe me, my son has no idea I am posting any of this. He would be livid. He does not want me to be involved in picking his roommates, and that is not what I’m doing here. I already feel like I’ve said too much, but I always like to share my experiences in an effort to help somebody else. I do not use this forum to brag on my son’s accomplishments, but rather, to illustrate that there are, in fact, some regular kids there at Bama, who are faced with disappointments and hurdles every day, and that everything is not as rosy as some would like us to believe.</p>
<p>If any of you has ever been part of a support group, you know you feel better knowing you are not the only one. The victim mentality comes down a notch when you realize that you are not being singled out, your situation is average, and this is not an emergency. </p>
<p>Many parents on this forum are OOS. In choosing schools, we took housing greatly into consideration. And the fact that honors housing was guaranteed to our kids played a large role in their choice of Bama. While this is a first world problem, it is a valid complaint.</p>
<p>Hope everyone has a good week and that everything works out for our kids.</p>
<p>chardo - students had to register their intentions some time ago. then recently (not sure when) students were notified whether they got space or not. not all freshmen (now) that wanted it (rising sophomores) got housing. </p>
<p>if you know of a student that is a junior now that is in honors housing and has been from the start, i think you would have a “right” to bring this situation to the attention of housing since when kids started that year, it was in writing that honors housing was guaranteed. things may have changed since then, but if a student started with the understanding that he could be in a dorm for four years (and that was the policy when he started) then they need to honor this for those who wish to remain in campus housing.</p>
<p>I just wish that there would be guaranteed housing for at least the first two years. This is very distressing for an OOS student to have to deal with after just one semester at a location 1000 miles away from home. My son and his family will handle this, we are very resilient and resourceful people but just saying two years would have been perfect.</p>
<p>NYBama… that is one issue that motivated my initial post. One of my son’s roommates who may not get housing in his Jr year is from NY. Kids who come from long distances via airplane have added burdens when it comes to off campus housing. My kid almost went to school up north. If he would not have had the option of housing every year, I can guarantee that he would have looked elsewhere. THAT is the problem that Bama is putting itself in with this housing situation. OOS students will just say, “meh… it’s not worth it.” You can argue with me if you wish, but I think I’m right on this.</p>
<p>I think it’s interesting how some people on this forum will never, ever say anything negative about the university. Those who do are dismissed as either not having all the facts or just being plain wrong. (And I’m of course not even talking about outsider trolls like karen whatshername… I’m talking about UA parents.) The University of Alabama is heaven on earth and can do no wrong.</p>