Don’t Leave Student Housing Up to Chance

If you’re anything like me, you fear Loyola’s housing lottery more than death.

Last Monday, all first-year students reapplying for on-campus housing for the 2025-2026 academic year received their lottery numbers. The process for distributing lottery numbers was completely random, according to Residence Life’s website. 

The only exceptions were those who obtained priority housing, either through attending certain athletic events or finding a golden ticket during one of Residence Life’s annual scavenger hunts. Students who received accommodations from the Student Accommodation Center were also exempt from the lottery.

The randomization aspect also applies to newly enrolled incoming students. First-years can indicate a housing preference — however, this means largely nothing, since the selection process is completely randomized anyway.

This double randomization means students can have bad luck twice — first by receiving an often undesirable first-year dorm, and then by potentially receiving a high lottery number, ruining their chances for a good residence hall in their second year.

But how a college student’s experience will play out shouldn’t be left to luck.

Some might believe this is the fairest system because it prevents favoritism, but equality doesn’t mean equity. A truly fair system would consider past housing assignments to create a more balanced experience for everyone.

In the 2024-2025 school year, students in a Campion Hall double built in 1955 or a Mertz Hall double built in 1969 paid the same rate as students in a de Nobili Hall double built in 2014 or a San Francisco Hall double from 2013. 

In the 2025-2026 school year, students rooming in a double-style room will pay an equal amount for housing —$10,950 — but some dorms offer amenities absent in others. For example St. Joseph’s Hall, Campion Hall and Mertz all have one community kitchen while Francis Hall has seven. Yet the current lottery system does nothing to even out housing conditions or offerings. 

The oldest dorms come with frequent maintenance issues. Mertz and Campion have both had several issues with elevators and unreliable heating, which has caused flooding in Mertz. Students in newer halls like San Francisco or de Nobili have modern amenities, like coffee shops and dining halls, at the same cost.

de Nobili Hall, built in 2014 for $21,500,000, has a two-story entertainment lounge, four study lounges and two community kitchens, while Mertz and St. Joseph’s each have one kitchen to act as their community areas.

The solution to this is to even out the housing selection. It’s unfair a student could get stuck with a bad dorm experience in both their first and second years because of randomization. First-years in undesirable dorms should be given lower lottery numbers in their second year to balance out their experience.

Students in Mertz should be given a greater shot at second-year dorms like Fordham Hall to leverage their overall experience, and students in St. Joseph’s Hall and the Simpson Living-Learning Center shouldn’t be given access to lower numbers since they had a preferable first-year living experience.

An example of unbalanced housing is the second-year dorm Bellarmine Hall. Situated roughly a quarter mile north of the Lake Shore Campus, the dorm’s location is unfortunate. Residents endure an almost ten-minute walk to the Information Commons, compared to the approximately two-minute walk from Santa Clara Hall. 

Considering there are 153 school days in the 2025-2026 semesters, this can mean the difference between spending several hours commuting to class per year. Students in Bellarmine who want to eat at de Nobili Dining Hall face a roughly fourteen-minute walk, which is inconvenient when it’s the only dining hall open late at night.

I’ll be frank — I’m a first-year in Campion Hall and I’m upset about it. Because of my residence hall, my dorm life experience is lesser — and I fear with upcoming housing selection it’s unlikely to get much better. 

Right now, there’s a first-year in Mertz, doomed with a lottery number in the 1700s. At the same time, there’s a first-year in de Nobili who’s already selected their lakeside view in Santa Clara.

I’m fortunate enough to have lottery number 502, out of what I know to be at least 1775. My number’s decent, so maybe I’ll get my second or third choice, but I still have survivor’s guilt for those poor souls doomed by Residence Life’s repugnant randomization.