Rooms Ballot Procedure 2007

For attention of all prospective 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students.

It is time to start the process of choosing the rooms you wish to live in next year. This webpage is intended to explain the process in as much detail as possible, and to inform you of who to contact should you have any further questions.

You will all receive in your pigeon hole an application form to enter the ballot for a room. This must be returned to the Rooms Committee pigeon hole (right-hand most of the JCR pigeon holes) by midnight on Friday 2nd February by prospective 3rd and 4th years and by midnight on Friday 16th February by prospective 2nd years. If you do not return a form by that date, you will be placed at the bottom of the ballot. This is non-negotiable.

Prospective 2nd Years

You must fill in your ballot form and place it in the Rooms Committee pigeon hole. You may enter the ballot individually, or in groups of up to six people (i.e. you plus up to five others). To enter as a group, each person must each fill in a form, write the names of the others in their group and staple all their forms together. This will ensure that you will be grouped together in the final ballot.

The order of this ballot (i.e. who gets to choose a room first, second etc) is required by the JCR constitution to be drawn at random. Each returned ballot form/stapled group of forms shall be given a number by two members of the Rooms Committee other than the Chairman. The Chairman will, sight unseen, randomly draw the numbers out of a hat on a date to be announced shortly. You may, but need not, attend this draw, which is held publicly merely for reasons of accountability. The draw will determine the ballot order, which shall be posted in the JCR by Monday 19th February.

Rooms will be selected on Wednesday 7th March, 7pm in the JCR. The person at the top of the ballot will then be required to select a room from those left over from the Third and Fourth Year Ballots (there will be lists on the wall), then the second on the ballot must do the same, and so on until the end of the list. You must be present at this, or have arranged with the rooms committee who is able to speak for you, or you will be put at the bottom of the ballot.

Prospective 3rd and 4th Years

The ballot for you is arranged by merit according to your contributions to college and university life. You are not able to enter this ballot in groups. On your application forms, list each contribution to college or university life you have made and for which you are claiming points. Prospective 4th years are only able to claim for activities carried out since the last rooms ballot, or continuing achievements. List everything for which you feel you deserve points, giving as much information as possible including dates.

The rooms committee is now only allowed to award points in accordance with the standard points scheme in the JCR constitution. If you feel you deserve points for something that does not appear on the scheme, you have until midnight on 30th January to contact the Rooms Committee (via the pigeon hole in the P'lodge or by emailing roomscommittee@googlemail.com), explaining what does not appear on the scheme for which you feel you deserve points, giving as much detail as possible. The Committee, with the consent of the JCR, will thereafter decide whether this merits room points, and if so how many. A list of anything new which is to be awarded points will then be emailed to everyone and published in the JCR within 48 hours so that others may claim them too. This is a strict deadline; no new activities shall be considered for addition to the points scheme after 30th January. Applications for points for being a member of the Perne Club, helping at open days, helping with interviews or for being a fire warden will not be accepted, as these activities are either not voluntary/available to everyone, or because you were paid to do them.

The form is subdivided into sections pertaining to the standard points scheme, write what positions you hold/activities you do etc in what appears to be the appropriate section; do not write next to this the number of points you feel the scheme suggests this gives you, they will be ignored; all points calculations shall be made by the committee.

As we are unable to verify them, prelim results will not be accepted as an indication of grade; all students who have not sat tripos must submit a note from their DoS with an indication of their expected class, it is at the DoS's discretion as to whether he bases this prediction solely on prelim results or not.

Both membership of University committees and editorship of University journals shall be regarded as 'Other contributions to university life' and hence merit 2 points; please give full details, as awarding points for such posts is at the discretion of the rooms committee.

All forms must be placed in the Rooms Committee pigeon hole by midnight on 2nd February otherwise you shall be placed at the bottom of the ballot. As the JCR and AMALS elections will not be held until after this deadline, the Rooms Committee shall add the appropriate number of points to the totals of those who are elected into the various positions. You may not claim points for things you expect to do; only activities/positions undertaken on or before 2nd February shall be considered. With regard to elected posts, it is clear whether or not you hold them by this date, though for activities it is less clear. If you are unsure, it is worth asking yourself if you've actually done anything by 2nd February. For example, if there is a production on in March which you wrote for before 2nd February, you may have points. If you have been auditioned/interviewed and given a role in the production/on the technical side etc before the 2nd February, you may similarly claim points. However, if you expect to be involved but do not hold a definite position by this date, you may not claim points. It is therefore important that you give the committee as much detail as possible on the form so we are able to award points appropriately.

In the event of two or more people having the same number of points, placing between them shall be decided at random.

You will be notified of how many points you have been awarded by 9th February.

It is hoped that the clearly set out points system and schedule will remove the need for any appeals. However, if you believe that you have grounds for an appeal, you may do so by email to roomscommittee@googlemail.com, or by leaving a note in the committee's pigeon hole, before midnight on the 18th February, clearly and concisely stating your grievance. Appeals will not be accepted on the basis of activities you failed to declare on your form by the appropriate deadline, or on the grounds that points should be awarded for something which does not appear in the standard points scheme; the opportunity for requesting points for such activities has been given, and new activities or positions attained after the 2nd February deadline shall not be considered (with the above exception for the newly elected JCR/AMALS posts). Any appeals shall be considered before posting the third and fourth year ballot orders on 19th February in the JCR. These lists are final, and no changes to the ballot order shall be made after this date.

Linguists who will be away next year must still enter the ballot and select a room for the year they return (2008/09), the rooms they select will of course still be available for others to choose in this years ballot (2007/08).

Prospective 3rd years: Rooms will be selected on Monday 5th March, 7.15pm in the JCR. You must be present at this, or have arranged with the rooms committee who is able to speak for you, or you will be put at the bottom of the ballot.

Pr ospective 4th years: Rooms will be selected on Tuesday 6th March, 7pm in the JCR. You must be present at this, or have arranged with the rooms committee who is able to speak for you, or you will be put at the bottom of the ballot.

Doubles Ballot

College request that those entering the doubles ballot together must be of the same gender. This relates back to problems in the past of couples splitting up and refusing to live together.

In addition to entering the ballot for single rooms, all students can also enter the ballot for a double set. To do this, fill in the slip on your application form, tear it off, staple it to that of the person you wish to share a room with, and place this in the Rooms Committee pigeon hole by midnight on 16th February. You must enter the singles ballot in addition to this, by filling in and returning the singles ballot form. Prospective 3rd and 4th years' position will be decided on merit by adding both applicants' points together. In the event of two or more pairs having the same number of points, positioning between them will be decided at random. Prospective second years will then be drawn at random and added to the bottom of this ballot.

Double sets will be selected on Monday 5th March, 7.00pm. You must be present at this, or have arranged with the rooms committee who is able to speak for you, or you will be put at the bottom of the ballot. If you fail to get a double set you will still of course be able to select a room in your year's singles ballot.

That is as comprehensive a description of the process as I can think I am able to give. If anything is unclear, please do not hesitate to get in touch, directing any correspondence to roomscommittee@googlemail.com, or the Rooms Committee pigeon hole in the P’lodge.

In summary, if you are a prospective 3rd or 4th year return your forms by 2nd February and if you are a prospective 2nd year get your forms back by 16th February.

• Doubles ballot – Monday 5th March 7pm
• Prospective 3rd year ballot – Monday 5th March 7:15pm
• Prospective 4th year ballot – Tuesday 6th March 7pm
• Prospective 2nd year ballot – Wednesday 7th March 7pm

You must attend the ballot or have arranged with the Rooms Committee who is able to speak for you.

The Rooms Committee