The College may not be able to house more than 150 students for the 1994 Fall term, Housing Assignments Administrator Lynn Rosenblum said yesterday.
Only 145 students canceled their cluster assignment by the June 8 deadline, leaving 278 students on the College housing waitlist.
"We were a little disappointed with the number of cancellations," Rosenblum said. "We were hoping for at least 200 cancellations."
Rosenblum said she expected at least 100 more students to give up their room assignments when they are mailed in mid-July, despite the $100 cancellation fee. But this would still leave 178 students without College housing.
"I can see at least another 100 rooms opening up, but I don't know about 178 more after that," Rosenblum said.
Associate Registrar Nancy Broadhead said 3,904 students have registered to take classes in the fall, 144 more students than last Fall term.
Broadhead said the College used to cap enrollment for the Fall and Spring terms, but has not done so for the past two or three years.
"Basically, the big plus of the D-plan is the flexibility to choose your own enrollment pattern," Broadhead said.
Broadhead said more students are choosing to enroll Fall term, causing the housing crunch.
The College will do what it can to help students find housing if they are not assigned a bed in College residence halls, Rosenblum said.
The Office of Residential Life maintains an electronic bulletin board that students can use to find potential off-campus roommates, she added.
Associate Dean of Residential Life Bud Beatty sent a letter, dated June 27, to students still on the waitlist explaining their options for off-campus housing.
In the letter, Beatty said students could explore living in affinity houses, Greek houses and undergraduate societies.
Beatty was out of town yesterday and unavailable for comment.
Rosenblum she said she hoped that ORL would be able to house all students, but said she could not offer any guarantees.
"I have no idea whether we will be able to house the students," she said. "We were able to house them all every year I have been here."
Rosenblum, who has been at the College for two years, blamed student enrollment patterns for the housing crunch.
"I wish the College would manage the enrollment better," Rosenblum said. "It would seem like there aren't enough services for students. Students have difficulty getting into classes, too. There seems to be more students than we can accommodate."
Broadhead said capping enrollment for a particular term is nearly impossible.
"If we were to limit the enrollment, all that students need is a valid academic reason to petition enrollment for a specific term," she said.
"What we need to do is find a way to prevent everyone from wanting to be on during the Fall term," Broadhead added. "We need to put more parity in the enrollment."
