An undeniably integral part of the college experience is being a part of your school's campus. This in mind, I was looking forward to spending another year living on campus. But as the housing contract offering period draws to a close, I am one of 1,200 Penn State students who may be displaced in the upcoming year ("Dorm contracts fail to meet need," Feb. 1).

Students without contracts who want to live on campus are left with less-than-desirable options: Get on a waiting list for supplemental housing and hope for the best, or try to find an apartment off-campus. And as the prime window for securing an apartment for next year shrinks by the day, off-campus options are limited.

I, like many others, anticipated receiving a contract simply because there was little reason to believe otherwise. If students had been alerted to the foreseeable decrease in dorm availability as a result of continuing construction in North Halls, at least some of the surprise could have been avoided and the possibility of moving off campus planned for. It is clear that housing is only guaranteed through freshman year, but going from a supplemental waiting list of 14 to several hundred seems an almost irresponsibly large increase.