Even before students enroll, one of the selling points that Visitor Information Services and any number of University publications impress upon them is the strength of the residential experience. The message: that having roughly 95 percent of undergraduate students living on campus and in close proximity creates a unique atmosphere. The three years of guaranteed housing after freshman year carry a level of security that is not found in other college towns, where horror stories of draconian landlords become engrained in campus cultures.

There is a large degree of truth mixed in with the cheerleading–having the overwhelming majority of undergraduates sequestered in select, highly concentrated spaces helps makes Stanford what it is. But tour-guide rhetoric does not approach more grim truths about student housing at Stanford. One truth is that not all Stanford housing is created equal. The other is that good housing, generally speaking, begets good housing.

While it is a noble ideal, trying to underplay the disparities in student living spaces is nothing more than a pleasant fiction. With such a massive weight put on the communities built within residences, be it Rinc, Columbae or SAE, housing should be an issue about which all members of the Stanford world should become knowledgeable.

Student Housing is stocked with hard-working professionals dedicated to improving the student experience. They are tasked with the unenviable job of making sure that students’ fundamental human needs are not only met, but met in a way that lives up to the prestige associated with this school. Trying to cater to 11,000 different sets of needs and habits in a personalized way is no easy task.

A testament to the diversity of campus is the sheer range of housing options available, from co-ops to houses to quasi-apartments, which different students will be drawn to for unique reasons. A resident of Suites, perhaps, is looking for a different experience than a student living in French House, and no living space is the “right” choice.

But unfortunately, choices and preferences about such options still remain out of the hands of some students.

Today’s Daily story about the 39 undergraduates living in Rains graduate houses brings to bear the fact that we still have a way to go in providing optimal, equitable options to all students. With the Draw, the only reason beyond class year that Student A gets Mars and Student B winds up in Lantana is a randomly assigned number. People make the most of wherever they live, but to think for a second that the world of Manz is comparable to the Lower Row is borderline insane. The Draw should not be abolished; it is a bit of a necessary evil. But the acceptance of certain realities is no excuse for complacency.

While Stanford is still recovering from a massive endowment downturn, and every building decision must jump through an array of local and state codes, we must continue to make undergraduate housing a major issue. The price of going to Madrid in the fall should not be banishment to Escondido Village, Oak Creek or Rains. Particularly as new staff homes pop up along Stanford Avenue and Munger stands still fresh to the eye, the University needs to assess how to help improve the living situation of more Stanford students.