Campus Notebook

By Alan Wechsler - The Times Union

Dan Lundquist, dean of admissions at Union College, got a little national publicity recently. His comments about admissions led a short article in the current issue of Newsweek.

His point? Now that acceptance letters have been mailed out from colleges and universities around the nation, it's the high school students who have the power.

He calls it "seniors' revenge" -- the revenge being that if fewer seniors decide to enroll at Union than admissions officers expected, the result would be a smaller student body and less tuition income for the college. Of course, too many accepting students can also cause problems, including a housing shortage.

Lundquist, meanwhile, might feel a little closer to those students than in previous years.

Late last month, he finished signing about 500 acceptance letters for the Class of 2007. The task was completed about the time the war in Iraq began. He decided such important letters couldn't go out without a mention of current events. So he printed 500 new letters and signed them all again.

The revised version included these words of comfort: "Now, perhaps more than ever, our world needs good, smart adults. Your educational experience over the next four years will help prepare you for that role."