New Housing: Crumside Pup Tents by David Plante The administration is damn lucky that room choosing took place after spec weekend. If prospective students had been around long enough to witness what happened to the class of '00 and '01, I guarantee the number of incoming freshman next year would be about the same as the number of Swatties who hope that Sharples will be serving turkey meatloaf--zero. Obviously, this campus is overcrowded. As a member of the largest class in Swarthmore's history, I realize that I am a part of the problem. What worries me is the fact that as Swat's national reputation continues to grow, more and more prospective students will choose to come here. Unless we significantly increase facilities to accommodate this influx of students, Swarthmore could very well lose the very things which make this college exceptional -- namely the small class sizes and personal attention that have always been an integral part of its academic principles. Swarthmore's official policy towards on-campus enrollment is clearly outlined in the 1996-97 College Treasurer's Report, which states that "the official on-campus enrollment target established by the Board of Managers remains at an average of 1325 students for the year. However, with the addition of several temporary residence hall spaces, extra faculty for some course sections, and some added staff, we accommodated the fall ['97] enrollment of 1437 students without sacrificing the quality of the Swarthmore experience for those students." I'm a little confused--how can the administration claim that the quality of the "Swarthmore experience" is not diminished when lounge space is taken away and the lines at Sharples make the dining hall overly congested? This brings me to Swarthmore's newly expanded Swarthmore Scholars program. This program was implemented in response to financial aid increases made by certain Ivy league schools. These universities decided to increase the amount of financial aid given to middle class students, which I personally think is the right thing to do--there are far too many colleges whose idea of affordable tuition is 75% of a family's disposable income. What was bad about this situation was Swarthmore's response. It seems pretty clear to me that our administration simply panicked and decided that merit scholarships would increase matriculation enough to counteract the financial aid increases of these Ivy league institutions. My question is this--why are we worried about increasing our yield when Swarthmore is already too overcrowded as it is? The administration has claimed in the same Treasurer's report that they are "planning for a return to lower enrollment in future years," so why do we have to try to increase the size of the incoming freshman class with these merit scholarships? My main issue with the Swarthmore Scholars program is that it is going to divide the incoming freshman class as well as the college as a whole. Of those who receive financial aid next year, only Swarthmore Scholars will have their loans and summer work requirements replaced by grants. The rest of the Swarthmore student body on financial aid will still have to work during the summer--and the college will continue to happily take their hard-earned money. It seems to me that there are a lot more ways to entice students to come to Swarthmore which would benefit the entire student body, not just a select few. Swarthmore could significantly increase the quality of life for all its students at a fraction of the amount that it has recently put towards the Swarthmore Scholars program. Let students do laundry at no cost, improve the quality of the food at Sharples, expand Essie Mae's, extend (not merely change) library hours, keep the Kohlberg coffee bar open longer--the list is seemingly endless. We will all know by May 1 whether or not the Swarthmore Scholars program has truly had an effect on the number of incoming freshman. If we are again overenrolled, then the administration has to think long and hard about what it's going to do--and it has to understand that having large numbers of students living in the virtual retirement community of Strath Haven is not an acceptable long-term alternative.

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