irssi all the way \o/
why irssi?
some answers and features you can find here
http://www.garion.org/irssi/features.php

And to all of you who voted for bitchX.. my remark would be:
* I read BitchX.doc and now I use Irssi * ( dubkat )

try emailing some universities that have computer science departments as well.. maybe they'll accept if you tell them it'll help the students communicate easier between them or even for publicity. It's worth a try.