Freshman choice choked

Three years ago, as a scared freshman not wanting to go to Wal-mart Midnight Madness alone, I introduced myself to a girl on my floor in Read Center. I just wanted someone to compare prices with, and now I'm getting ready to be a bridesmaid in my old floormate's wedding.\nI guess you could say I've gained a lot from living in the dorms. Some might say I owe my very existence to a dorm, as that is where my parents met. Okay, maybe we shouldn't dwell on that subject, but I met most of my friends during my first two years living in Read. \nI had abundant social opportunities living in the dorms. I never knew on a given day who I might meet waiting in line for my nutritious nightly meal of french fries and McFlurries.\nDorm life was an enjoyable experience for me, and therefore will be for all freshmen because all freshmen are like me. Oh, I'm sorry -- that is unfounded. Let's take a look at the statistics to prove this point. According to the IU Office of Communications and Marketing, students living on campus their freshman year are more likely to stay in school, participate in campus activities and graduate. \nNow I understand why it is necessary to make motivated, outgoing freshmen stretch to include on-campus living into their budget. Now it's clear why we should mandate motivated, outgoing freshmen, who simply don't like the idea of living in a residence hall, do something they don't want to do. IU has to increase its retention rate, and why not make a few extra bucks in the process? \nUnfortunately, in the proposal submitted by Chancellor Sharon Brehm to the board of trustees, she cites the cumulative grade point averages of students living in residence halls during the fall of 2001 and compares that to the cumulative GPA of students residing off-campus. Dorm kids received a 3.11, while others earned a 2.97. Not such a big difference is there? And that's not taking into account the misrepresentation of these statistics. We are mandating freshmen, yet the GPA of students living in the residence halls doesn't reflect just the freshmen residents. In addition, only a fraction of total IU students reside in the dorms, thus these numbers aren't comparable.\nPresident Brand told the IU Office of Communications and Marketing, "We're telling them (prospective students) that we care about students, that we are providing the best possible learning and social environment." \nAnd how exactly does providing equate to shoving down one's throat?\nThe fact is, we have freshmen living in hall lounges and will now be expecting 400 more students than usual. Even with the upcoming residence hall renovations, how will Residential Programs and Services be able to provide quality housing to the majority of the freshman class and all upperclassmen who want it? \nMy other question is, where will these 400 freshmen park during basketball games? Parking at the dorms is already crowded. There are upperclassmen that can't even get D permits. \nBy making freshman occupation of residence halls mandatory, we will be faced with over crowded dorm rooms and the resentment of those 400 students who do not wish to be there. In The Chronicle Review, Jonathan A. Waldman, Dartmouth alum, says of his dorm experience, "I felt confined, restricted, assimilated."\nWhile that is completely different from my residence hall experience, last time I checked I'm not Jonathan Waldman. No one, including University officials, can predict exactly what will make a student's freshman year go smoothly. Instead, IU and Residential Programs and Services should provide willing residents with the best, most economical living experience possible. Then some of those 400 freshmen might trickle in.