Changes in next school year’s housing placement process are leaving some South 40 residents feeling like they got the short end of the stick.

With record enrollment in the class of 2018 and a comparable amount expected for 2019 as well, space on the South 40, designed to accommodate underclassmen, will be increasingly limited.

Residents of Lee/Beau Residential College are especially upset because there is no sophomore house on the South 40 for which they have sole preference, unlike most residential colleges that are complete with separate freshman and sophomore houses. Lee/Beau, a traditional dorm and therefore a cheaper housing option, shares a preference for Shanedling Hall with JKL Residential College, as well as Village and Lopata Houses on the North Side.

Beau resident and freshman Adam Becker thinks the process is unfair to those who are under financial stress.

“The majority of people in Lee/Beau chose traditional because of the price, and they gave us priority to one of the most expensive housing options in the entirety of Wash. U.,” Becker said.

Becker also noted that this method of assigning housing, in which financial preference is not considered, is counterproductive in attempting to draw a more socioeconomically diverse student body.

“We’re trying to make this a more diverse college, more socioeconomically diverse, and this is a big part of college. They can’t make financial aid an acceptable basis to decide housing because…that would be too hard [for them] to create a new plan, so we’re just going to do it the…traditional way we already have,” Becker said. “They just don’t want to change.”

A traditional double like the ones in Lee/Beau cost $9,482 for the year while a traditional triple is $7,160. The only housing option offered for Village House residents is a single, which costs $11,880 yearly.

Tim Lempfert, director of housing operations, said that the Lee/Beau situation isn’t much different financially from previous years, but the most significant change for these residents will be the number of sophomores who end up living in the Village.

“We’re going to be planning to assign a critical mass of sophomores in Village House and Lopata House next year,” Lempfert said. “It’s not precise, but the estimated number that we’re predicting is somewhere around 250 sophomores living in those two buildings there.”

Molly Pierson, associate director of the Office of Residential Life for Off-Campus Students, estimated that the number of sophomores on the Village next year will be closer to 200.

“We anticipate a potential increase of around 150. We currently have around 40 sophomores who live in Village House and Lopata House,” Pierson told Student Life. “I think the increase will contribute to a real sense of community among sophomores.”

Pierson also noted that she thinks it will be more preferable for sophomores to live in the Village next year.

“Village House and Lopata House are suite-style like other sophomore houses on the South 40,” she said. “There are great common spaces and study rooms. It also houses our Village Dining.”

Although both Lempfert and Pierson said that plans are in the works to enhance the sophomore experience in the Village, students are generally unhappy with this forced relocation.

“I think with all new opportunities there is a little anxiety,” Pierson told Student Life. “The South 40 is what freshmen students know, and I think it is hard to think of experiencing anything different. We have committed more programming funds and created more leadership opportunities for sophomores to get involved next year.”

Anna Ivarson, a freshman resident of Lee, said that the price increase will be a significant financial burden for her and her family.

“I ranked my housing choices based on price because the one thing keeping me from coming here or not coming here was that,” Iverson said. “I definitely anticipated that triples aren’t available for sophomores so I knew I was going to have to pay a little more next year, but I definitely was not planning on having to pay a $5,000 difference. That’s a whole other loan for me and a huge, huge economic stress on us financially.”

Becker also mentioned the Lee/Beau Residential College’s somewhat tumultuous housing meeting held earlier this semester to discuss the issues.

“[The Residential Life representative] didn’t answer any of our questions,” Becker said. “She would give us these B.S. one-line answers. She had no answers for us. After our meeting, we were all so pissed off.”

Pierson, however, said that the Village will work to meet the needs of its sophomores.

Other changes in the housing process this year include the option of gender-inclusive housing on the South 40 and a compressed schedule in order to complete the process earlier in the semester.