Last Thursday all ACU freshmen were required to participate in the sophomore housing lottery.

The mood in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center at 9:30 p.m. was chaotic. Almost 800 soon-to-be sophomores pushed and shoved their way through the halls to feel closer to the front of the line. The line wound its way through the gyms and up the stairs like a fat python.

However, no matter how close the students pushed towards the door, they were still held back by their little lottery number, whose digits determined their fate for next year. Although they all knew that the number determined where they must stand in line, they all forged closer to the door.

There was a shared vibe that one could only describe as sheer anxiety. It could be felt in the air. The building was dripping with distress. It was contagious.

The front of the line, however, was more at peace. Some students were sitting, some standing, listening to iPods or watching movies on their laptops, waiting for the process to begin. Smiles on their grim faces, knowing karma was in their favor on the night they pulled their tickets.

However, towards the tail of the fat python, the faces changed. Eyebrows were lower, smiles upside-down.

Elise Brimberry, freshman social work major from Austin, drew number 259 for her lottery ticket. She was going for one of the most popular dorms, Barret Hall.

“Because my number wasn’t super low, the whole time we were freaking out because we thought we weren’t going to get it,” Brimberry said. “We ended up getting the last two rooms in Barret, so that was kind of crazy. We got really lucky – it doesn’t seem like the most efficient way, but it’s definitely fair. No one can complain about it being unfair because of how random it is. I don’t think there’s any other way to do it that would be as fair.”

Brimberry was at the housing lottery until 11:20 p.m.

Sikes Hall was the most popular dorm for the girls and it filled up the fastest. Barret was the most popular for the boys, and it too filled up first.

Brimberry knew of few people who didn’t get the housing they wanted.

“It was especially hard for girls because most girls wanted to live in Sikes, so Sikes filled up really fast,” she said. “If you didn’t have a really low number then you basically had no chance of getting into Sikes. I knew of a couple people who didn’t get what they wanted, but if they didn’t get their first choice, then most of them got their second choice. It really all just depends on your number.”

Addie Schmitz, sophomore family ministry major from Grapevine, is a resident assistant in Gardner Hall. She was put in charge of the back of the line during the housing lottery.

“It was fine during the first part but then as dorms started to fill up, people started getting sassy because their first picks and even second picks weren’t available anymore,” Schmitz said. “I had someone tell me that they would not live in Smith-Adams over their dead body- I had to leave a little early, but apparently I missed all the crying.”

Schmitz said if she could describe the housing lottery in one word she would call it “hectic.”

However, Schmitz also thinks it’s the fairest way.

“There’s going to be people that argue that its not fair, but how else are we supposed to do it? I think it’s the best way.”