I received my invitation code for Google Analytics less than a week after signing up. Google must be opening the beta quickly. I have already been using Google Analytics for a few months now, but I did not have administrative privileges. Since it was AdminID's Google Analytics account, I could only see the reports. Now, I have full administrative privileges.

So, I woke up early this morning in preparation of being the first person to get two of 250 Goo Goo Dolls tickets for April 21st. I woke up a full 20 minutes before the tickets were to go on sale. I fired up my computer, went to the site, breathed a sigh of relief the tickets weren’t on sale yet. I signed up for an account to buy the tickets with a few minutes to spare. Then, I tried going back to the tickets page. CRASH! Oh No! At exactly 10 am eastern time, their website crashed. So, naturally I kept pressing refresh like a mad man. No use. Then, I called the 1800 number. BUSY! Double No! Redial, Redial, Redial. Next, I called the actual venue place. AUTOMATED MESSAGE! Triple No! God must hate me.

After being skeptical for months and not taking the plunge I decided to Go Green and switch from my Camel filtered to the Green Smoke's e-cigarettes. I can tell you right now that any one who doubts these things should have a bit of faith. It's just like smoking, except without the ash and dangerous chemicals. If you've never heard of electric cigarettes then you are in for a shock. Smoking electric cigarettes is great for those of us who just can't or don't want to quit smoking. For those who want to quit - you can use e-cigarettes as a means to quit without having to suffer from withdrawal! Really you got to try it!

Next fall, 200 more freshmen will be wandering around campus. The incoming freshman class is set to grow from 2,200 to 2,400 students.'It's an exciting opportunity for Tech to reach out to such a large group of students, and it will be interesting to see how they contribute to the Tech community,' said Amanda, an International Affairs and Modern Languages major.

Other students aren't as optimistic. They expressed concerns about limited housing space, financial aid, admissions requirements and increasing class sizes.

At the beginning of October of every year, 'it's the Provost, essentially, who draws in the staff people: myself, the director of admission [and] the director of enrollment services,' said Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and Undergraduate Studies Bob Myrtle.

'We look at the data of how many students are leaving …and look at other factors and make a decision about the size of the class…You have kind of an overall strategic plan but every year it's a matter of saying…where you want to hit the number,' he said.

The strategic plan, which aims to make Tech competitive with universities like the Massechusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford, calls for an overall increase in student population, focusing on a large increase in the graduate population and a smaller increase in the undergraduate population. It is unknown whether the increase in next year's freshman class will be temporary or more permanent.

A major concern for current students is availability of housing.

'Housing is already difficult as it is,' said Shuny, an International Affairs undergraduate.

However, the Associate Director of Housing for Residence Life said he is confident in Housing's ability to meet the increased demand.

Currently, the Housing Department's undergraduate capacity is 5,700. Of these, 1877 are held for Freshman Experience. Guaranteed housing is only available for incoming freshmen and rising sophomores.

'Our youngest students needed that guarantee more than anybody,' Myrtle said.
With the additional 200 incoming students, 'ultimately there will be 200 fewer upper-class students who will get a room,' Morrison said. Class designation is calculated based on the number of years a student has attended Tech.

Currently, there are no plans to increase the number of Freshman Experience participants. However, if the increase becomes permanent over the next few years, then Freshman Experience could expand on West Campus.

Another affected area is financial aid. One student said 'funding is already limited as it is. More students means less money for the rest of us.'

However, the director of student financial planning and services, Marie, said that current students will not be affected dramatically when financial awards are distributed.

She said the three most important factors that influence the renewal of funds for current students are reapplication, merit and financial eligibility.

'Unlike admissions…your financial aid application does have to be renewed each year…The single largest reason, we often see, for students not receiving funds for which they should have or could have been eligible is they just fail to apply for them,' Marie said.

'So many opportunities are missed because of failing to apply on time.'

Overall, there will not be any changes to the financial aid process. 'Our deadlines and timeframes will be the same,' Marie said.

A third area of concern is admissions requirements.

Some students like Electrical Engineering major Punna feel that 'accepting more students into Tech translates into reduced admissions criteria.'

However, Director of Undergraduate Admission Ingrid disagrees. 'We generally have more qualified applicants than we have spaces available. So, even looking a little further down into out pool for the students will not diminish the quality of students,' Ingrid said.

Class sizes are also an area that might potentially be affected by the increase in freshman class size. Myrtle said he believes there will be a slight increase in class sizes, particularly freshman courses like Calculus and Chemistry, but adding sections to compensate remains an option.

Most people know that once you start tattooing or piercing it's almost impossible to stop. After the last time I had my tongue pierced my Mother gave me a hard time for about 6 months - spoke a lot about how my future employers may not give me a chance. Of course I know plenty of people with piercings who do just fine but she's old fashioned and I can't convince here otherwise. I know the next six months won't be easy but I'm so impressed with my new belly button ring that I think I'll be able to weather the hard times and bad vibes. I just wish that she and the people in her generation would cut as techno hippies a little slack!