An e-mailer:

Emory’s not the first school to do this. In 1998, Tufts let incoming frosh
chat online via some AOL chatroom, and if kids hit it off, they got to room
together. By and large, it wasn’t much of a disaster — or nor more so
than your typical freshman flameout….There are two reasons:
1) Those who are your typical problem roommates are more likely to use the
system, and, being optional, remove themselves from the gene pool.
2) Those who choose their roommate are a bit too stubborn to admit their
mistake, and suffer through.
It’s funny, because us conservatives would normally hear the story and
instantly think that it’d be a Hindenberg in each and every dorm room, and
the kids wouldn’t take on the responsbility/outfall of their
actions. (Personal responsibility is dead, right?) But then pride kicks
in, to the same effect. Odd.