Archived comment by Mike:
(making an effort to move away from yet *another* religious debate)
I think that all college campuses use the "no room" ploy as a default setting. Maybe they do it in hopes of having some parent offer up a bribe. When I came back to school this semester, I got the same story: "no rooms available, sorry, go find a hotel." Schools are generally incompetent when it comes to keeping track of their own resources. Luckily, I knew this. I had to ask specifically if there were any "off-line" rooms; I knew that the school regularly keeps some perfectly serviceable rooms empty for *no good reason*. Sure enough, there was an available room in the dorm I had been trying to get into; I got this information from the Dean of Student Housing, the same guy who earlier that day had looked me in the eye and told me that they were all filled up. I guess the point is that students have to take the initiative and demand what they need even when they are told that there is nothing they can do.
Ah, the Internet access speed in this room ROCKS. :^)