He asked for $15 million for the Beaver Stadium expansion. He asked for $4.5 million for the new School of Information Sciences and Technology. He asked for additional money for the all-around good that Penn State can bring to Pennsylvania.

But, once again, Spanier didn't ask for any additional funding directed specifically toward housing.

It's wonderful for Spanier to persistently fight for more money for Penn State which will keep the university's tuition from rising to an unreasonable amount.

However, with all of the new programs Penn State is creating and the new schools and buildings it is constructing, Spanier and university officials forget one thing: where are students going to live?

Presumably, creating a new school and buildings will allow more students to come to Penn State. With the increasing number of students accepted, one would wonder where the university is going to put them.

Dorms are overcrowded. People are shoved into study lounges and extremely small rooms. Students increasingly have to move off campus for comfortable living situations, but because State College Borough Council zoning ordinances may make it difficult to build more student housing downtown, students have nowhere to go.

Living on campus is a vital part of being a student. Making close friends and learning what it is like to live with a stranger is important for a complete education.

We just need more housing -- desperately. The last specifically undergraduate dorm was built in 1967. Since then, enrollment has risen from 24,042 in 1967 to 40,471 in 1997.

Specific steps need to be taken soon to remedy the housing shortage. It needs to be just as much of a priority for the administration as is the new School of Information Sciences and Technology.

Administrators should realize that if they want to increase programs for more students, they need to provide them with a place to live.

It just makes sense.