Monday morning the class of 2008 came together as a whole for the first time as they stormed the dorms with their families and belongings. Move-in technically began at 9:00a.m, but many students arrived on campus before then.
Cars on Church Street moved at a crawl as Public Safety officers directed traffic and pedestrians at the intersection by Weshop and in front of the main entrance to the science library.
According to New Student Orientation Program Coordinator Kathleen Norris, 729 first-year students and 57 transfer/visiting/exchange students were scheduled to move in on Monday.
Over 1,500 people, many of them strangers to campus, visited and settled their student relatives in their new homes with little confusion on Monday. A support staff made up of Head Residents (HRs), Resident Advisors (RAs), Community Advisors and House Managers (student Reslife staff for upperclassman housing), Orientation Leaders (OLs) and interns assisted in managing the event.
“What dorm are we sending you to today,” asked one cheerful OL as he approached a car near Foss Hill. He wore a bright red T-shirt that identified him as an Orientation Leader; the back of the shirt read, “New? We can change that. Orientation 2004.”
Other OLs helped unpack the new students’ cars and bring their belongings into their rooms.
“[The student staff] was great moving us in,” said Susan Jacobson P’05, P’08, who moved her daughter, Rachel Jacobson ’08, into her dorm room on Monday. “When we moved Jessie [Jacobson ’05] in, there was hardly anyone to help. It’s been a lot easier this time around.”
Unlike paid student Residential Life staff, Orientation Leaders volunteer their services.
“It’s so exciting,” said OL Letica Fox-Thomas ’05. “It makes me want to be a freshman again.”
“We’re sort of like academic RAs,” said Jeremy Marks ’07, describing the role of OLs after move-in day. “We’re here to answer questions about courses and registration.”
OLs are assigned to faculty advisors to help facilitate communication between the faculty advisor and their freshman advisees.
Many parents were brought to memories of their own college experiences as they moved in their children.
“It feels a little nostalgic, a little familiar and a little weird,” said Steven Greenhouse ’73 who helped move his daughter, Emily Greenhouse ’08, into a Nicolson dorm. “But I’m happy because she’s happy.”
Leslie Poniatowski, who arrived on Friday from the Bay Area in California with her son, Daniel Poniatowski ’08, was putting a down layer on the bed in her son’s Clark dorm room.
“Everything’s been wonderful, very organized, people are very helpful and friendly,” Poniatowski said. “We ate at the Tuscany Grill, and stayed over at the Inn at Middletown, which was very nice.”
Henry Tan ’08, an international student from Malaysia, arrived on Aug. 25 for a special orientation for international students.
“[The people at Wesleyan] are more friendly than I thought they would be,” Tan said. “The last time I was in America was long time ago, so I don’t remember it that well.”
Randy Wong waited outside the Science Center, which acted as the arrival site, for his older son, Jeff Wong ’08, to return with his registration packet.
“On top of all the things I’ve read and heard [about Wesleyan], to actually see it and meet the people is very reassuring,” Wong said.
At the Butterfield dorms on Lawn Avenue, a pink banner hung from a stone wall at the circle entrance which read, “3 Butts…1 Love.”
Butt C RA Sam Astor ’07 said that the new group of freshmen and their families were arriving in manageable stages and that they seemed to be getting along well.
“Everyone’s got their doors open which is a good sign,” Astor said. “The Butts have a reputation for being anti-social. We’re going to change that this year.”
In addition to the full support staff of HRs, RAs, OLs and student community advisors, other groups contributed in the effort to make the move-in as smooth as possible.
A team of roughly 18 students who work for Information Technology Services (ITS), walked through hallways trying to help the new students set up their computers.
“Our goal is to get everyone on line by the end of the day,” said Justin Rogers ’05, an ITS student staffer. “We start at 9:00a.m and we stop at midnight. Last year, we had 95% up by the end of the night. If we don’t do it the first day, we just have to come back.”
For the parents who came just to unpack and had to say good-bye to their children at the end of the day, there was support staff for them too—current Wesleyan parents.
Preston ’64 and Ellen Smith P ’06 of nearby Weston, CT, counted themselves among a group of nearly 20 Wesleyan parent volunteers who came to campus for freshman orientation and move-in specifically to help new Wesleyan parents.
“We walk around answering questions of parents like, ‘Where do you get a parking sticker?’ ‘Where’s the ATM machine?’ ‘[Where’s]the laundry?’” Smith ’64 P’06 said.
Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development Leilani Kupo, who trained the orientation interns this summer, said she was very pleased with the outcome of freshman move-in day.
“The Orientation Interns worked very hard this past summer to plan a successful week of events to welcome new students to Wesleyan,” Kupo said. “Their energy, creativity and dedication were vital in planning all orientation events and it was a pleasure working with each of them.”