Room Draw 2010

The Mock Room Draw (The author still can't believe how grown up KEVIIans can be)

Ah. Room Draw. One of the most exciting events in the KEVIIan Calendar. As with all previous years, this year’s Room Draw was no stranger to suspense, negotiations, regrets, impatience and triumphant grins. More than just drawing a room using a pen and paper (literally. pun intended.), the KEVII Room Draw involved a lot of strategising, analysis of who’s going to be the neighbours and some considerations as to whether the boyfriend/girlfriend/crush is in the same block.

Room Draw, literally.

Leading the pack of outstanding male KEVIIans this year is none other than the dashing Yannick Ng. With his megawatt smile, no wonder this sportsman and head of AFK (go support the Hall Band at the Stardust Finals!  23rd May 2010, Republic Poly Cultural Centre) could easily top the list.

Yannick Ng dashing to the top of the list

The next 2 guys to draw were Jun Kiat (JK) and Louis Lim. Meanwhile, Hui Ning, Fang Chee and Geraldine Foo led the Hall beauties to draw their rooms before the crowd in the Dining Hall began to form.

The Top Darlings of KEVII Hall

As more and more people started to fill up the blocks, tension began to rise among the crowd as no one wants to be behind the person who’s going to be the last person to fill up a block.

Tension

Several negotiations and successful room swaps were made throughout the Room Draw, much to the agony of the 53rd JCRC who had to wait for the residents to make up their minds. Nevertheless, the Room Draw went on smoothly without much problems, thanks to the punctuality and cooperation of most of the residents.

E Block led the way to be the first block to close this year, followed by AB and F. As usual, the first few floors to be filled up were the ever-popular E8, E7 and B4. Competition was tough indeed as residents struggled to fill in whatever rooms they can in their favourite floors and blocks. As expected, ripples of havoc could be heard when the blocks were closed (and boos when some residents switched blocks, much to the embarrassment of the resident). Plans had to be switched and several phone calls were made by some residents to confirm whether the last-minute backup rooms that they want were away from the Sun, had no lizards (please inform the author where these rooms are) and were a good distance away from the toilet and kitchenette.

Havoc

After much suspense, at the end of the day at 12.00am, 119 Male Residents and 109 Female Residents drew rooms to be the Seniors of King Edward VII Hall AY 2010/2011. Of course, many deserving residents could not make it to this list of seniors due to the flaws of the RHAPS system but this shall be another topic of discussion at the Hall Forum. No matter what, the author hopes that the seniors of AY 2010/2011 will bring our beloved King Edward VII Hall to greater heights and to strive, seek and serve for the greater good of all residents.

Analysis of the Final Room Draw

To follow-up with more Room Draw updates, please remember to check out your favourite social networking sites such as Facebook and RenRen after you are done with your daily dose of studying. The author wishes everyone All the Best in the Finals!

Room Draw 09

Writer: Adrian Chia

The highly anticipated Room Draw Exercise finally took place on 15 April 2009. An annual ritual whereby all Hall residents continuing their stay next semester would choose their rooms, it was also a night with plenty of drama and action.

All the way leading up to the finale, there was a great build up of suspense and dilemma among many Hall residents as they made the very important decision. During the mock Room Draw Exercise, it was observed that there were a few clashes between the choices of some individuals. Undoubtedly, much brainstorming, negotiations and intelligence gathering must have taken place over the weeks. Weighing the pros and cons of each location, talking to seniors, or even scouting the rooms personally were just some of the methods employed to shortlist one’s choices. But ultimately, it all depends on the number of Room Draw Points one has – the higher one’s points, the greater priority one has to choose his / her room.

Thus, McVin Cheen, a current year 3 Pharmacy senior in Hall, had the honour to be the first guy to choose his room. The number of points he has? 186! (Try to beat that anyone?) His sense of achievement aside, he did not need to think twice to pick his new room A203. There are several reasons for his decision, but the main one certainly has to be his close relationship with his future neighbour, Eddie Tan, who happened to be the male freshie with the highest points (94). Eddie, the incumbent of room A202, decided to pick the same room again. Besides the obvious reason mentioned above, he found his room special because of its strategic proximity to the dining hall. One begins to wonder if there are more important reasons than this…

McVin & Eddie

On the other hand, Hui Ning, with 161 points, was the first girl to choose her room. She was certainly spoilt for choice as she was still undecided up to the last moment! She finally settled for E705, albeit feeling a bit sad and regretful to leave AB Block. Nonetheless, she would be seeking comfort from the nice sea view of her future room, as well as the long flight of stairs leading to E7, which she claimed would make her fitter. Anyway, she is also looking forward to having her Pharmacy classmates as neighbours. When asked about how she managed to get so many points, she revealed that she took part in 7 IHG Sports this season! Mae Yue, with 141 points, was ranked first among the female freshies, and not-so coincidentally, she took part in 6 IHG sports this year (joining sports certainly must have been very rewarding for them)! Being a staunch F-Block supporter, she showed her unwavering love for F Block by picking F403 as her future room.

Mae Yue & Hui Ning

Checking the latest updates

Real-time update on the projector screen

F Block CLOSED

The final decision

Alumni Comm's booth in front, Flag's booth behind

As the Room Draw proceeded, the process became more and more nail-biting for those who have yet to choose their rooms as their options were diminishing. This year, AB Block was the first to be closed after its quota for seniors was reached. E Block was the next to go as the rooms in E6,7 and 8 were quickly snapped up by seniors. However, it was certainly most puzzling and unbelievable that two double rooms in E7 and 8, traditionally being one of the most sought-after rooms in Hall for their superb view and breezy climate, were vacant by the time E Block’s quota was reached! As the room remained vacant after the first hour, it sparked a scramble among a few interested individuals to look for roommates at the last minute. However, somehow their efforts did not materialise and the rooms would therefore, most amazingly, be reserved for incoming freshies.

Empty rooms in E7 E8??

As more blocks became unavailable towards the end of the process, residents who initially wanted to stay in those blocks but have yet to choose were forced to compromise and many of them had to make the split-second decision of choosing another option. While they might have to cope with a new environment, it would certainly also be a good opportunity for them to know more people and make new friends.

The entire process ended at around 11.30pm. On behalf of KE Press, we hope you have chosen a room that you would be comfortable living in for the next semester!