It’s that time of year again…the University of Michigan has released its housing assignments to the incoming freshmen for the school year.  Those assigned to Alice Lloyd, Mary Markley, and the other dorms in the “Hill” area, as well as those on central campus cheered when they got their assignments.  Those who were assigned to live on North Campus, either in Bursley, or Baits 1 or 2 probably did not have the same reaction.  Having lived in Markley my freshman year, I do not know firsthand what it is like to live a bus ride away from the majority of the dorms, academic buildings, fraternity and sorority houses, and the Big House, as well as the heart of Ann Arbor, but since I take classes on north campus, I do know firsthand the difficulty of having to wake up a half hour earlier in subzero temperatures to make it to my voice lesson on time (North campus is home to the engineering and art schools).  Of course, living on north campus is doable.  I have many friends who made the trek to and from central campus every day and still were able to have social lives just like those of us who were lucky enough to live on Hill Campus.  It is certainly not the end of the world.  But my advice: If you were assigned to live on North Campus and you did not request it, go to the facebook group, and go on room swap to try to switch.  To me, it was worth it to live in a closet-sized room in Markley to be closer to the action.  If you cannot switch though, don’t be too disheartened.  I have plenty of friends who rode the bus every day for a semester, or a year, and survived.