Priority Points Resume as Normal

Student Government Association (SGA) has decided to temporarily revert to the previous priority point system for the upcoming housing selection process following an academic year filled with rigorous discussion on the topic.

According to Roda Mohamed, Executive Vice President of the student body, SGA is currently taking steps to be more beneficial for a majority of students, while especially keeping in mind the interests of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, those that are employed in on or off campus jobs, and the intentions of the new college president once appointed. 

“As a body of leaders we are thinking of maybe tweaking the system to make it more accessible for everyone on campus,” she said. “That will solve some of the problems that we raised in the last administration and also in the Sarci-Mohamed administration as well.”

The debate over priority point has been a highly voiced issue in the previous Dolce-Ankofa administration. SGA members voted to abolish the current procedure and replace it with a lottery system similar to the one incoming first year students use to select their housing at orientation. 

“I think, as a student government, we would like to do whatever is good for the student body and try to represent their needs as much as we can,” explained Mohamed. “But at the moment, I think the focus and where we are putting our energies to see where can we improve ideally that we can make everyone feel valued and equal in the playing field.”

Michele Williams, the Director of Student Activities, has sent emails to all club leaders regarding the collection of priority points from the student body to prepare for housing selection on Apr. 21.

“From my experience I think it brings students to join clubs, be active members, and take leadership roles,” said Mohamed. “I will certainly not say I love priority points for that, but it definitely brings students out of their classrooms and out of their buildings and [creates] a place where everyone fosters their ideas and is able to discuss [them] in a mannerly voice and behavior.”