The Department of Community Living (DCL) and the Student Union are asking students to provide input on two possible changes to the housing lottery.

The two proposals are separate. The first, which removes class distinctions from some dorms, would take effect for the housing selection process beginning next month. The second, which creates incentives for students who live on-campus throughout their time at Brandeis, could not take effect until the next year.

The current selection process “follows a set of guidelines established more than a decade ago with very few changes,” according to an email from DCL and the Union. DCL established student focus groups to discuss changes and review systems at other universities, but all students are now encouraged to provide feedback which help shape any implemented plans.

“The only way to have a system that meets student needs or desires is by students participating and providing their honest feedback,” said Emily Conrad ’17, Student Union representative to the Board of Trustees. “If more people vote, then we can get a better understanding of what change students do or do not want within our housing system.”

The Union will send out a poll for students to vote on the new proposals in a few days, according to the email

The first proposal eliminates class-specific housing, except for first-years or senior-only options. Sophomores, juniors and seniors will receive numbers from the same pool. Housing in East, Rosenthal, Usen Castle, Ziv, 567 South Street, Charles River, Ridgewood A and Village A will be available to them.

This would open up apartment-style housing options with kitchens to sophomores and allow upperclassmen to continue living in hall-style buildings, such as East, which costs $8,500 for a year, compared to Charles River which costs $10,300 for a single room in a suite. Under the new system, sophomores, juniors and seniors would be allowed to live together in most residences.

North and Massell quads would remain first-year-only housing and the Foster Mods and Ridgewood B and C will be senior-only options.

First and second-year students will still be guaranteed housing.

To ensure all sophomores receive housing, there will be beds set aside in most buildings, based on the number of sophomores who request housing and sophomores will be guaranteed a certain number of rooms in particular living arrangements, such as Ziv. Upperclassmen will not be able to select the sophomore-reserved housing, though sophomores can pull upperclassman into those rooms.

The first proposal would give students more options to select from, according to information provided with the survey.

Under the current set-up, underclassman housing is “dry,” meaning no alcohol can be consumed in the residences. Upperclassman quads are “wet,” meaning that residents over 21 may consume alcohol. If the new system of mixed-class residence halls were to go through, many quads would be considered “moist,” meaning that areas with a majority of upperclassmen would be considered “wet,” while others would be “dry.”

The second proposal, which would not take effect in the upcoming selection, gives priority in future housing lotteries to students who continue to live on campus.

“There would be two sets of lottery numbers, an on-campus lottery, and an off-campus lottery,” according to the proposal. Students who have ever lived off-campus would be entered into the off-campus lottery. The “on-campus” pool would contain the lowest numbers.

Time spent away from Brandeis while studying abroad would not affect your lottery pool; however choosing to move off-campus or “non-medical leaves of absence would terminate the incentive program,” according to the proposal.

The second proposal would not take effect in the upcoming selection process; however students’ choice to live on or off-campus next year would impact their lottery placement the following year.

Under this plan, students might be divided even more based on their ability to afford the cost of on-campus housing, according to a list of pros and cons for the proposal.

“This is your housing selection process, and your input is critical to providing ongoing efforts to make it as good as it can be,” said the message from DCL.