“The surge is caused by the return of students who took time off during the pandemic, not the incoming freshman class numbering 600, Smita Ruzicka, vice president for student affairs, and Michelle McCauley, interim vice president, wrote in an announcement on Monday.”
Like everything else has, snapping back from the pandemic causes disruptions.
They can’t tell the displaced kids they can’t come back, and they can’t have a much smaller incoming class to make room because then the ripple effect on revenue and enrollment multiplies out over several years.
“Hey we will pay you to back off and give us time to figure this out” is probably the best solution, unless you are a competitive minded student who doesn’t want to have to explain to future employers/graduate schools why it took you 6+ years to graduate from Middlebury (you graduated high school in 202X, but graduated in 202X…)