Of the 9,390 returning students who participated in the online housing contract request system, a striking 1,058 students have been offered supplemental housing for the 2003-04 academic year.

Although no one was completely denied on-campus housing, many are left with sub-par living arrangements in a study lounge with up to seven others.

Ryan Morgan, assistant manager for Housing and Food Services, said those students are given a $295 discount for the semester's tuition. We think that this does not compensate the loss of privacy and feeling of home a dorm room can better provide.

For some, it can be difficult to get along with one roommate in a dorm room. Imagine the difficulties these people will have when their problems multiply.

And let's not forget that entire dorm floors of students each year have their study lounges taken away from them. For as often as this happens, many students have lived in their dorms without being able to study in a room specifically designated for reading.

An alternative to living in supplemental housing is to live off-campus, which isn't the first choice of those given the option of supplemental housing.

Finding an off-campus apartment becomes increasingly difficult at this time of year, when others have already taken many of the apartments closest to campus.

We recognize and commend Penn State's effort to increase more undergraduate housing, such as Eastview Terrace. It will take pressure off Housing officials, who must satisfy more than 9,000 requests. It will also give returning students another on-campus living option.

Until its completion in Fall 2004, Penn State should better monitor how many freshmen it accepts, as each annual housing overflow is unfair to people who have already paid their dues to live on campus.