Well, it has been decided. The signups for the juniors’ service locations have all been assigned. While there are plenty of happy people, there are also those who are not. It is understandable, really, why some are upset. The process left a few people unsure and frustrated.

The original sign up night did not go as planned. The email was not sent out at the same time, and some people did not get the email at all and therefore did not have equal opportunity to sign up for the trips. The results were voided from the first sign-ups, to the chagrin of many, and Mr. Legner and his team started work on a new process.

What the people in charge came up with was a second online system. It was to be the same as the first, but the email was going to be sent by Mr. Legner. This did not go through because of games, meetings, and practices already scheduled on the same night, so the team in charge decided to go with “Plan B.” This involved the random drawing of names. Students filled out their top three choices and names were drawn. The order in which the names were drawn was of utmost importance because this was the order in which a student was to be assigned. When they had the list, the group of people in charge went through the names and looked at that person’s top three choices and assigned that person to the highest-ranked choice that was available. Nearly half of the class got one of their top three choices, but the last 30 people drawn had to choose from the remaining locations.

This system seemed to be the best and most fair method of signing people up, given the circumstances, and it worked well for almost everybody. There will always be a few unhappy people, no matter what system is chosen. But the one really important factor is that, in the future, the method that is chosen is fair.  The Lantern wonders what the Malvern community thinks about the resolution of the service sign-ups this year.