By Brian Martucci

Pomona College Pomona College will be sorely in need of about 50 beds next semester as a whopping 117 students return home from studying abroad, reports the Student Life. A record low of 50 students will be participating in study-abroad programs during the spring, forcing housing coordinators to scramble to find available rooms and beds. So far, the college has resorted to a lottery system for returning students, with those drawing higher numbers possibly being forced to live off-campus. Many students take issue with this, citing the inconvenience of finding shelter off-campus, so the ultimate solution may be an unpleasant one: stuffing some rooms beyond capacity.

Swarthmore College

Although his home university, Tulane, is opening for business in the spring, one student temporarily enrolled at Swarthmore College after Hurricane Katrina isn’t so sure he wants to return. The Swarthmore Phoenix reported this week that Nikhil Sharma, a freshman, was told after a hearing with the school’s administration that he had to return to New Orleans next semester. The ruling was difficult for Sharma because his first college experiences took place at Swarthmore, establishing him as an integral part of the college’s underclassman community. While the administration’s decision was final, he is not yet out of options–he plans to apply to Swarthmore as a transfer student next fall and is confident he will be accepted.

Colby College

Partygoing Mac dorm-dwellers have it swell compared to Colby students. The Colby Echo reported this week that plainclothes Waterville PD officers will begin attending student parties this weekend in an effort to catch underage drinkers in the act. A recent spate of underage citations as well as a prom that went sour after it was crashed by groups of inappropriately drunk students prompted the action, the police say. Legally, there’s not much students, or the administration for that matter, can do–the police are entitled by law to patrol and enforce laws on campus and are under no obligation to announce their presence. The reaction from the Colby student body was, predictably, one of shock.