II. Membership

Membership

Membership to reside in Von Cramm Hall is open to all full-time Cornell students, undergraduate and graduate.

The Selection Process

Admission to reside in Von Cramm Hall for the following academic year is done via a random lottery system. In this system, potential house members¹⁴ are pulled out of a hat or randomly chosen with a computer program where each candidate has an equal probability of being chosen over other candidates.¹ In order to enter the selection system for a room in Von Cramm Hall, all prospective house members¹⁴ must submit a questionnaire or have an oral interview with the current president and go through "Mosey." Mosey consists of at least:²

attending two of the Mosey events
helping prepare dinner and attending dinner³

Any potential house member¹⁴ may be taken out of the selection pool if a current house member privately or publicly raises a serious concern about living with said potential house member¹⁴ to an officer or the house.⁴ The president has the authority to waive Mosey requirements if the situation is appropriate; for example, if those applying do not currently reside in Ithaca, or if the selection is less than a few days away. Normally, two people help the president with Mosey as their house projects.

Selection for admission to live in Von Cramm Hall

The number of residents of any one gender identity will not exceed 60% of house occupancy at the time. The exception to this cap is in the case when there are unfilled openings, but the only people left on the waiting list are of the predominating gender. Priority will be given to people who have completed the mosey process even if their acceptance to Redbud exceeds the cap. However, if the waiting list is exhausted and the house is not yet filled, the spots are opened up to anybody. People are guaranteed a roommate of a gender with which they are comfortable rooming.⁵
The number of United States domestic residents will not exceed 90% of the house occupancy at a time. The exception to this cap is in the case when there are unfilled openings, but the only people left on the waiting list are domestic students. Priority will be given to people who have completed the mosey process even if their acceptance to Redbud exceeds the cap. However, if the waiting list is exhausted and the house is not yet filled, the spots are opened up to anybody.¹¹
The number of undergraduate residents will not exceed 95% of the house occupancy at a time. The exception to this cap is in the case when there are unfilled openings, but the only people left on the waiting list are undergraduates. Priority will be given to people who have completed the mosey process even if their acceptance to Redbud exceeds the cap. However, if the waiting list is exhausted and the house is not yet filled, the spots are opened up to anybody.¹¹
The number of residents who do not identify as people of color will be less than half of the house occupancy at the time. The exception to this cap is in the case when there are unfilled openings but the only people left on the waiting list do not identify as people of color. Priority will be given to people who have completed the mosey process even if their acceptance to Redbud exceeds the cap. However, if the waiting list is exhausted and the house is not yet filled, the spots are opened up to anybody.¹²
People who already have house points are given priority according to the number of points they have.
People who identify as low income will have double the chances of being selected from a pool. Income status will not be shared with anyone but the president.¹²
Priority is given to those willing to live in a double with a roommate over requests for a single room.⁶
In the case that we cannot fill the house with residents that fulfill all four of our gender, racial identity, domestic, and undergraduate student ratios, priority will be given to maintaining the gender ratio, followed by maintaining the domestic resident ratio, followed by the undergraduate ratio, followed by the racial identity ratio.¹¹¹²

The selection process should generate a selection list. It is recommended that the mosey selection take place in a public location, so that the lottery can be monitored by other house members.¹³ After the selection, which current house members¹⁴ are invited to participate in, people are contacted and given two days to confirm they will move in. If they don't, the spot will be offered to others, based on the selection list. In the spirit of fairness, no current house member may try to push up a waitlisted member- the waitlist operates strictly on the ordered list.⁷ If the list is exhausted, admission becomes first-come first-served, and the Mosey requirements may be dropped.⁸

For the spring semester, the president fills any potential vacancies using the above guidelines, but generally a full mosey process is not conducted. It is suggested that in the fall, when filling spots for the spring, the President remembers to reserve spots for various student populations (international, graduate, and transfer students) in the tradition of keeping Redbud a diverse and international community and that the President keep members informed of the mosey process.⁹

Summer

In summer, past, present, and house members¹⁴ with future contracts are given preference for residing in the house. Remaining spaces may be filled on a first-come, first-served basis by non-house members¹⁴ who are affiliated with Cornell (e.g. taking summer courses, participating in a Cornell internship, involved in a Cornell-sponsored summer program, etc.) See Appendix A for summer housing contract and additional information regarding summer housing.¹⁰

This rule was established because of people with no true connection to the house causing damage or stealing. Exceptions to the rule should be undertaken only after discussion, by vote, and with some alternate plan to prevent problems.