With a few friends interested in student leadership positions, I have been perplexed by the anxiety-inducing selection process. For over a month now I have witnessed students scrambling to make living arrangements as they wait to hear back from the Student Leadership Selection committee, which does not get back to students until on-campus housing deadlines and prime lease-signing weeks have passed.

Wanting to look deeper, I pulled up the 2016-2017 Housing Timeline on the UST Residence Life page to discover that the deadline to apply for next year’s housing was Feb. 21, which also happened to be around the time SLS interviews were just beginning (Feb. 15-17).

The first deadline was followed by the room retention deadline on Feb. 22-23, consolidation on February 25 and four-person apartment selection beginning March 3. All this happening before the release of next year’s student leadership positions on March 24.

This situation is less than ideal for students who apply for leadership roles, as they find themselves unable to make proper living arrangements and — if rejected by SLS — are left with the scraps both on and off campus. Not only are positions released after lease and housing deadlines but also after study abroad non-refundable deposits. My peer minister friend Quinlan Keller had to pay the deposit last year while lingering on the line between peer ministry and a semester in Rome.

After speaking with Associate Director of Residence Life Erica Thompson, I gathered more information regarding the conflicting timelines in the SLS process. Chiefly, what I found was that SLS interviews for 16 leadership positions, some of which require more time commitment than others. At info sessions, students who apply are encouraged to sign up for on-campus housing in case of rejection, but students do not always do so. SLS is independent of housing and study abroad, as all offices work based on the timeline that best fits their needs. These needs may end up conflicting, thus leading to conflicting timelines. On March 24, SLS releases offers and rejections to all applicants, allowing students to receive multiple offers at once, or just one letter in case of rejection.

Speaking with Thompson shed light on the intricate process that is SLS, making the timeline issue more understandable in my eyes. However, one problem remains: SLS, Residence Life and study abroad all work independently to best suit their needs, but what about the needs of students?

Sure, it may be more of a hassle to get separate offices working together on one timeline, but if each group works independently while all affecting the same students, there should be more unity among offices. Students otherwise find themselves in positions like that of my friend, junior Lauren Pyle, who is waiting to hear back from Campus Ministry, missed the on-campus housing deadline and is being pressured to sign a lease to which she cannot yet commit.

Attempting to have all ends meet in one office is an admirable and intricate ordeal, but offices cannot forget that there should be harmonious unity among different branches of the university, as all branches together affect its students. Separate plans may work well independently but clash when combined. Then they become great ideas that do not work for the students’ good when put into practice but solely for individual efficiency.

Letizia Mariani can be reached at mari8259@stthomas.edu.