Even though long lines for elevators and increased traffic on Commonwealth Avenue may have given students and parents the impression of mass hysteria, many of them said move-in weekend was surprisingly smooth.
With approximately 4,500 new students from all 50 states and 106 foreign countries, a few minor snafus were to be expected. But aside from a brief shortage of carts and working elevators, students in the freshman class and their parents said, for the most part, they didn’t mind the delays.
Briana Suarez, a College of General Studies freshman from New Jersey, said her move-in was easy, and thankfully not overly emotional.
“After putting away my stuff, my parents were pretty much like ‘See you,'” Suarez said, laughing. “But I’m definitely going home to visit.”
Suarez also spoke highly of her first weekend in Warren Towers.
“I really like it here so far,” she said. “Almost everyone from my floor has stopped by to introduce themselves. It’s very social.”
However, she said she thought the security system and strictly enforced guest policy in the larger dormitories would be a downfall.
“One of the guards was mean to me because I couldn’t swipe my ID card right,” she said. “It wasn’t very nice.”
College of Communication freshman Shannon Moore said, despite her short drive from Maynard, it was still a momentous occasion.
“I’m at ease for the most part because I’m not too far from my family,” she said.
Accompanied by her mother, Colleen, the two were taking a break from the morning’s busy activities in a fourth floor lounge in Warren Towers.
“We got everything into her room after two trips up,” Colleen Moore said. “It amazes me that the University can be dealing with this many incoming students and still be so organized.”
And while it seemed as if a heartfelt goodbye was imminent, Moore said
she was confident her daughter will be just fine.
“We’ll see her in a couple of weeks anyway,” she said. “She’s ready for this.”
Some students, like Andy Park, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman, chose to move in following the final summer orientation session that concluded last week. Since Park was already at BU for orientation, he was allowed to move back onto campus before most freshmen.
“I had no problems at all moving in,” Park said. “When I arrived on Wednesday, there weren’t a lot of people here yet.”
His roommate, Rich Korman, a School of Hospitality Administration freshman, also said the move-in on Wednesday was easier.
“Besides some slight elevator problems, we did okay,” he said.
Park and Korman, both from New Jersey, said leaving their parents was not an entirely unemotional ordeal but was slightly upsetting. They both said adjusting to life in Warren Towers has been fairly stress-free.
“So far it hasn’t been noisy or crazy at all, but we already got yelled at once by our RA to turn down the stereo,” Park said.
While meeting new people and adjusting to dorm life were concerns for the two, Park said his greatest worry was to maintain good grades and keep up with his courses.
“Everyone in the dorm has been great so far,” Korman said. “I hope my professors are, too.”
Helping the thousands of freshmen and their parents with the weekend were the move-in coordinators. Wearing bright red shirts, the coordinators assisted students in retrieving carts, unloading vehicles, giving directions and helping calm anxious parents.
Liz Annino, a move-in coordinator and SHA junior, said, while there were a few difficult families, most of the students she helped move into Towers were no problem at all. She said the only real drawback of the day was running out of carts and losing track of carts assigned to each building.
“There were some kids who you knew were freshmen, because their parents took in five to six cartloads of stuff, only to come out putting about three carts’ worth back into their vehicles to take home,” she said. “Next year they’ll realize they don’t need to clean out the dorm section at Target to be comfortable at school.”
After the cars and carts were unloaded and unpacked, saying the final goodbye proved more emotional for some than others,” Annino said.
“Some parents seemed a bit overly happy to leave,” Annino said. “And I never once had to pry any hysterical mother off their kid.”
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