Housing, often referred to as the most disastrous process on campus but usually in less pleasant terms, is upon us once more, except this year, the lottery is shrouded in even more unsettling ambiguity. Nobody really knows just how the following weeks are going to play out.

We cannot be too surprised by the increased intrigue, of course, with the inaugural year of The Commons fast approaching. Without the traditionally sophomore housing in play, most rising sophomores are left with what some might perceive as a grim set of choices: Branscomb, Kissam and Vandy-Barnard. For rising juniors, of course, the marked decline in living conditions after the sojourn on the Peabody campus of pristine dormitories and the convenience of The Commons Center looms large. And rising seniors must bank on the idea that they will get the housing they are promised, unlike this past year in which 100 more freshman than anticipated appeared. It’s unclear what the administration will do if the yield rate is greater than The Commons will accommodate.

The disorganized Office of Housing and Residence Education has done little to minimize the confusion. Various students have complained of incorrect amounts of housing points on contracts and a generally disoriented procedure for getting these ballots corrected.

At the same time, the order of the lotteries leaves something to be desired. For instance, why is the three-person Morgan apartment lottery the final one? This past year, rising juniors who did not receive Morgans ended up in doubles on the Peabody campus. Next year, the Peabody campus dorms are obviously unavailable as a consolation prize, so will those few unlucky upperclassmen be placed in Branscomb? Kissam? Reliving freshman year is rarely at the top of any rising junior’s list.

Hopefully, this year is just an anomaly, with unavoidable confusion due to the advent of The Commons, and next year won’t be filled with the same unnecessary disorder.