East Campus exclusion suite

The layout of an ECX suite. The top plan is of the entry-level floor. The bottom plan is of the lower floor, where all the bedrooms are.

An East Campus exclusion suite or ECX suites is a particular type of 5-person suite in the high-rise part of East Campus. Entrances to ECX suites can be found on every even-numbered floor from 8 to 20. There are 8 such suites per floor.

Description

All the suites are identical. They have two floors. On the entry (even-numbered) floor, you can find:

• a 286 sq ft lounge
• a 55 sq ft kitchen

A staircase leads down to a lower floor where you can find:

• 3 singles, each between 135 and 141 sq ft
• a 173 sq ft double
• a bathroom with 2 sinks, a toilet, and a bath
• 2 relatively large storage closets for everyone in the suite to use

Residents

Most ECX suites are occupied by 3 seniors or juniors in the singles and 2 sophomores in the double. Occasionally 1 or 2 juniors live in the double because they desperately want to live in a suite rather than Broadway, Schapiro or Wien. Even more rarely, a group of 5 seniors will take an ECX suite either in suite selection or senior regroup. Thus, 2 seniors end up in an ECX double. Most seniors find this highly undesirable because the double is only 173 sq ft. By comparison, some seniors live in singles of 170 sq ft.

Strategies

Some members of Columbia Hillel have made successful use of Same-Suite Selection with a number of EC exclusion suites. Suite members will recruit two Hillel members to live in the double of an exclusion suite. The following year, the group applies for same-suite selection, thus retaining the suite, and find two new group suite members to live in the double. This system ensures that interested Hillel members will be able to avoid the disasters of sophomore and junior housing by retaining EC suites and passing them on to new members as they graduate.

East Campus exclusion rule

If you want to try to get an ECX suite, you can invoke the rule during registration (and not later). Only the top 3 point values of the 5-member group will be averaged to calculate the group point value. However, the group will then only be able to pick an EC high-rise 5-person suite. If all of these are gone by the time the group shows up for their appointment time, the group will automatically drop to General Selection. If the group chose to stay together in such an event, each individual will receive a point value equivalent to the sum of the 5 point values divided by 5. E.g., 30+30+30+10+10 / 5 = 110 / 5 = 22. If the group chose to disband in the event of dropping to General Selection, each individual will receive their class point value, either 10, 20, or 30. Groups invoking this rule can have a maximum of 2 Barnard students, and their points will not count.