After years of competition for housing, University of North Georgia’s Residence Life is providing a new system to provide a “fair” chance to all students to find on-campus housing in Dahlonega.
In November 2024, UNG Reslife emailed all students announcing the new housing lottery system. This new system was launched on Jan. 20 and closes Jan. 31. In the email to students, UNG Reslife said, “Each student will receive a unique lottery number, assigned by our system. This process is designed to be completely impartial, ensuring no personal aspects of a student’s profile are considered, so fairness is maintained for everyone involved.”
Though this system is intended to be fair, students around campus have mixed reactions.
Isabel Pulliam, a freshman psychology major, says, “Personally I don’t really care for it. I understand that they are trying to help give everyone a ‘fair’ chance, but I don’t think it’s really benefitting anyone.”
Though this system was intended to be fair, the competition for housing is still an ongoing problem. Pulliam continues, “I am hoping that I am able to get into a traditional style dorm because I don’t want my parents to have to pay for even more expensive housing.”
Rebekah Anderson, a senior kinesiology major and a resident assistant, explains, “The students who want to live on campus next year and are applying for housing are facing more uncertainty, but will also be given more of a fair chance in obtaining housing.” Anderson says she understands the concerns of students who desire housing on campus but also encourages them to give it a shot, “While this system, even by its name may cause many students extra stress, I hope they can see the good in it and have an overall positive experience in their housing process!”
This new system is sparking much concern on UNG Dahlonega Campus, but there are still students who say they have not been fully informed of this change. David Bushey, a freshman finance major, mentions, “I have heard of the UNG housing lottery briefly but don’t know much about it.” UNG students received one email about the change to the housing system. “From what I’ve heard, I think there are pros and cons, but I think the [incentives] to live on campus for seniors are taken away due to everyone having the same chance.”
Some students like Anderson, say they remain hopeful that the system will bring fairness to the process, despite any uncertainty it introduces. Others, such as Pulliam and Bushey, voice concerns about its impact on both affordability of housing and students’ awareness of the changes.
