Nearly 10 percent of first-year students either voluntarily decided not to return or were academically suspended or dismissed by the college after the fall semester.Guilford has the highest number of students who have been placed on academic probation or who were academically suspended or dismissed since the fall of 1996 and 1995, respectively.

Jim Hood, associate academic dean, explained that “in recent years, [suspensions have] been three percent, two percent, and one percent, with an encouraging decrease in the numbers since 1995.”

The administration surmises that there are several possibilities why this may have occurred.

First, the effect of Sept. 11 events may have impelled students to reassess whether they wanted to be in college at this point in their lives. The poor academic output of firstyear students may also be a result of their coping with the attack.

Second, there is a decreased number of staff in student life to help students who are in academic trouble, according to Hood.

“It’s possible that students came with different expectations,” Hood said. “They didn’t realize how difficult Guilford can be. It’s really academically demanding.”

Students also may have withdrawn because of dissatisfaction with housing conditions.

Binford Hall, the all-first-year dorm on campus, has reportedly been abused physically – “treated like a toilet,” Hood said – and that may have affected student morale. The building itself, along with much of the furniture and other equipment provided, has been vandalized and damaged all year long, according to Hood.

Joanne Toby, director of residential life, said that vandals have damaged Binford to the tune of over $1,000.

“I think there was some general unrest,” Toby said.

“I don’t think that it goes any deeper than the fact they realized that Guilford didn’t have what they were looking for, or they couldn’t hold their own in the classroom,” said sophomore Eric Schultz.

Sophomore Ricky Gandhi was more critical of the non-academic side of Guilford: “The academic system is great but it appears that people leave because of the social life,” he said.

The administration is currently investigating the problem.

“We’re looking at the profiles of students who were dismissed to see common trends,” Hood said. “We see some students who come from prep schools that have rigid structures and aren’t used to having all this freedom and just can’t manage their time.”

But Hood also said that “some students just didn’t fit in. We’re looking into these issues more, but have no real solid conclusions.”