"It's really kind of campy," says Brown'sAssociate Dean of the College Armando Bengochea."We try to mix serious subjects and fun things todo without mixing signals."

And in second semester of the first year,Nathans says she is concerned about the closeproximity of concentration choice deadlines andthe housing lottery. She worries that students maybe more attentive to housing choices than theirconcentration decisions.

Nathans says she began discussing the subjectinformally with Dean of Undergraduate EducationLawrence Buell, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R.Knowles and Jewett during the summer.

"It's an extraordinary conjunction of seeminglyearth shattering decisions," the dean says."You've just gotten settled in here, and thenyou're unsettled."

When talking about the future, Nathans says sheis looking forward to reorganizing the FreshmanDean's Office.

Restructuring is necessary, she says, becausemany FDO workers have responsibilities elsewherein the University and because of budget cuts inthe Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

And then there's the matter of the FDO lounge,which may need more rearranging.

Says Nathans, "In time, we'll fill that roomwith contemporary magazines and newspapers, alongwith hot chocolate, coffee and cider.