Just a few years down the road, the lines at crowded campus computer labs might become 25 percent longer.

An ITS committee is exploring the possibility of decreasing the number of computers on campus labs by up to 25 percent over the next five years.

Committee member Jon Holman said the move to decrease computers would be part of a reorganization of the open labs and had nothing to do with funding.

The move blatantly ignores the needs of a swelling university.

It hardly needs to be mentioned again that Penn State accepted the largest freshman class in history this year, last reported at 8,302 students. Next year, the number will be 7,000, Penn State President Graham Spanier said last week.

To accept such a large number of students and then decrease the infrastructure required would be inexcusable.

The plan also ignores those students who have no computer of their own.

The committee is examining how to modify the labs to accommodate how they feel students are using them.

They would be reorganized to include "collaborative space," where two or more chairs would surround one computer for students to work together, and "quick access machines," where students could access their e-mail while standing.

While the reorganization of labs will help students utilize computers better, it doesn't solve the problem. During the day, computer labs are filled with students doing work between classes, not just checking their e-mail.

If Penn State wants to be accessible to the average student, computer labs are a necessity.

Access to a computer is not merely an option, as our curriculum is becoming more and more online.

Computer labs are essential even for students who own their own computers.

Dorm rooms and other typical college living situations rarely afford peace and quiet to study.

While the idea to reorganize the labs will facilitate student needs in some ways, to reduce the number of computers in already overcrowded labs ignores the needs of a growing student body.