Undocked

A hot sophomore summer boiled over when the College removed the swimming docks on the Connecticut River. Lifeguards no longer patrol there, and swimming is now banned at the waterfront area where students have frolicked for decades. April Thompson, associate dean of the College for campus life, explained safety concerns in an e-mail to students June 23, citing currents, depth, murky water and "submerged debris" as reasons why "the docks are simply not safe places to swim." She did not state why these issues had never come up before or why students have always been permitted to swim in the past—or why the administration would pull the plug at the height of swim season. As temperatures soared into the high 90s in early July, students rose up in protest: They Facebooked, wrote editorials, considered swim-ins and demanded that alternative ideas be heard. The College offered free use of nearby Storrs Pond, which is family oriented as well as a bus ride away from campus. In the end, a joint task force of students and administrators was formed to discuss the issue further." We will be working with Student Assembly to identify a long term solution," the Dean of the College wrote in an e-mail to students.

DID YOU KNOW?

5 Rank of the College in terms of graduates' return on investment (12.4 percent), according to a new study by PayScale.

IQO Number of students who I OL participated in sophomore trips (also known as STRIPS) this summer.