Cornell freshmen will not be assigned to university housing in Collegetown and some residences on North Campus will house only freshmen next fall, Jean Reese, interim director of Campus Life, announced Nov. 21.

Reese's announcement included a number of changes that will be made in residential housing arrangements for the 1998-99 academic year, as the university begins adopting elements of the new seven-point action plan for campus housing unveiled by President Hunter Rawlings

Oct. 8. Rawlings, with the enthusiastic endorsement of the Cornell Board of Trustees, said then that the university would begin implementing many elements of the plan as early as next fall.

That plan is designed to provide a unifying educational experience for new students, while it preserves most student choice in housing and continues the current range of housing options, including traditional residence halls, program houses, cooperatives, fraternities and sororities and off-campus housing.

"It is important to note that for 1998-99 the number of spaces allocated to upperclass students remains unchanged from past years and there will be no changes in program houses," Reese said. "We hope that students will be pleased with the greatly increased availability of rooms in Collegetown and in the Gothic buildings on West Campus that are traditionally viewed as among the most desirable by upperclass students."

The new on-campus housing options and next year's room selection process are outlined in a new brochure, titled "Be a Part of it All . . . Live in a Residence Hall," that is being distributed on campus.

Reese said Mary Donlon Hall, Founders Hall, Mennen Hall, Low Rise 6 and units 1 and 3 of Low Rise 9 on North Campus will house only freshmen, beginning next fall, and the number of freshmen assigned to West Campus will be reduced.

Freshmen will not be housed in Sheldon Court or Cascadilla Hall in Collegetown, Reese said. In all, about 2,000 freshmen will be housed on North Campus and 1,000 on West Campus, compared with a 50-50 split now.

Students who are not permitted to return to their current residence halls will be given preferred numbers in the all-campus housing lottery, Reese said. In addition, there will be a cap on the number of returning students permitted in some residence halls in order to assure a sufficient number of rooms for freshmen. Students displaced from those halls also will be given preferred numbers in the lottery.

For the first time next year, students will have the option of reserving a block of rooms. Groups of four students will be permitted to reserve rooms in the Townhouses, and up to six students may reserve rooms in Sperry Hall and the Class Halls.