I think everyone has some sort of experience at some point during their life that makes them start reading everything they sign. This is probably yours!
While we obviously can't see your housing contract to see exaclty what it says, i'm sure that you signed on and that it stipulated this. A housing contract is essentially a lease. And it's binding, you just can't go breaking it. And if you're still a dependent, your parents probably signed it as well, so they're also legally bound to it.
When you say surcharge, what exactly do you mean? I'm assuming that your semester was already paid for before you moved in. Are they charging you $300 AND keeping all that money?
Contracts is one of my favorite classes (next to Torts), but i'm only in my sixth week of classes so I'm not nearly an expert. This also delves into Property laws.
I haven't heard the penalty fee being unenforceable law yet, but that doesn't sound right. Maybe in very particular situations it may not be legal, but in this case i'm not sure. It would also vary from state to state.
Essentially I think you're screwed, there's very little you can do with it. It's only a few months of your life, you can probably survive.
What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. And it can't be THAT horrible to absolutely positively necessitate you moving out. Try to work out whatever other problems you're having that make you not want to live there.
If you did move out, where would you go? An apartment? Living in the dorms can be so much easier sometimes. No utility and rent bills every month, etc. etc.