Aside from several minor inconveniences, Freshman Move-In Day 2007 was a smooth operation that was capped off by an ebullient speech from President Roth (or “Rothie” as he referred to himself) that held the class of 2011 in rapt attention.
“In 1971 I came to Wesleyan, a small boy from the wilds of Long Island,” he said, leaving the podium and pacing back and forth across the basketball court. “I was the first person from my high school to get in. I might have been the first to apply.”
Roth recalled his own move-in day experience.
“I went to my dorm on Foss Hill and met these other people who were so smart, so talented and so capable,” he said. “I asked myself, ‘What the heck am I doing here?’”
The Class of ’11, which is comprised of 739 students, started filtering in around 8:00 a.m., checking in at Exley Science Center and advancing on to their respective dormitories. Tori Amoscato ’08, an orientation leader who worked a booth at Exley, made sure to get a good look at the incoming class.
“Some are tall, some are short. Some have blond hair and some have brown hair,” she said. “I saw a redhead. The international students are rad.”
Anya Olsen ’11 had a relatively easy day as she moved her belongings to the third floor of Butterfield A.
“The hardest part was carrying all the stuff,” said her father Warren Olsen P ’11.
The only problem for Olsen was that the MacBook Laptop she ordered through the school and expected to receive on move-in day did not show up.
“I’ll just go to the library,” she said.
ITS employee Adam Nikolich ’08, who busily helped the incoming freshmen with their computer issues throughout the day, said that around 30 students did not receive the MacBook laptops that they ordered through the school.
“They haven’t even given a definite time period so people don’t even know when their computers are coming,” he said.
There were other problems. The Middletown Police confirmed two car crashes on campus, one on Church St. and another at the intersection of Pine St. and Lawn Ave. The police said that they did not have any more details at this point. As far as other issues, apparently one incoming freshmen is now without his or her clothes.
“One student had their things lifted by another parent who I presume though it was their son’s or daughter’s,” said Public Safety Officer Jake Fortier. “Either way, someone wound up with another person’s clothes.”
Overall, Gabe Tomasulo ’11, a resident of Albany, New York, thought move-in day was an easy process.
“Everything was very easy and it seemed well-organized. People were friendly,” he said. “There was one guy who was a parent-volunteer who was probably excessively friendly.”
Tomasulo says he is excited for being treated as an adult at college.
“I’m excited about learning things as opposed to the general high school experience,” he said. “I’m looking forward to something new.”
Montclair, New Jersey resident Katherine McDonald ’11 felt a little stunned as she reflected on her first day, eating a mozzarella salad for dinner on the track area outside Freeman.
“This is kind of overwhelming in a good way,” she said.
Before dinner, Dean of Admissions Nancy Meislahn provided facts that illustrated some of the incoming class’s unique characteristics.
“There are more Daniels and Elizabeths in this class than any other first name,” Meislahn said. “There are more students from Hawaii than Rhode Island.”