Many of the changes dealing with Social Club policy were necessary, but the university took things too far with the new lottery system.

ACU has changed pledging guidelines, and frankly, it is about time. Did anybody consider that maybe some changes should have taken place two years ago, when a story about ACU hazing hit The Associated Press?

The Social Club Advisory Committee divided the pledging process into two parts: the initiation phase and the provisional member phase.

The initiation phase will last two weeks and will look like pledging during years past, with pledges walking around in club colors, planning grubs and participating in secret club traditions.

Student Life will strictly monitor pledging activities; pledges must obey the dreaded curfew; and morning activites are banned.

The second phase of pledging, said Mauri Westbrook, director of student clubs and organizations, will be called the “provisional member phase” and will consist of club members and provisional members.

But the new lottery system has caused the most controversy.

According to the Social Club Handbook, “There will be a partial lottery system for the women’s clubs.” All women wishing to pledge ranked all seven clubs in order from favorite to least. Then each club voted on rushees to offer bids to.

Women not voted into the club of their choice were entered into a pool and a lottery system was used to decide who was put into which club.

“During pledging there are days that you need to know that ‘they wanted me’ and you rely on that information to get you through pledging activities,” said Katy Encalade, ACU and Ko Jo Kai alumna. “Now, because of the lottery system no one can say that for sure. Girls will always have to wonder, was I wanted, or was my name drawn out of a hat?”

We think the women who were voted into club and the women picked by lottery may be treated differently, and the women who were drawn by lottery could end up finding out.

The lottery system has potential to have a negative impact on the womens’ clubs.