Plymouth State University celebrated the largest move in day in its 137-year history on Sun. Aug. 31. Despite the large number of students moving onto campus, the process moved swiftly.
First year students made up the majority of those who moved in on Aug. 31. While the actual number of first year students will not be officially known until early Oct., it is estimated that approximately 1700 of the 2500 students who live on campus moved in on Sun.
This is the second year that both first year and sophomores are required to live on campus.
Both student and staff volunteers as well as the phenomenal weather played a role in the exceptional move in conditions, “It was a beautiful day which kept everyone moving,” University Police Colonel Creig Doyle said.
Temperatures stayed in the mid 70’s, an improvement over past years, when it has been known to rain.
Traffic looked to be a minor inconvenience early in the day. By 9 a.m., cars were lined along side High Street, stretching almost to the rotary.
“People came in spurts,” Doyle said. By ten o’clock most of the traffic on High street had dispersed. “I think the real key was the football team and the wrestling team helping to unload the cars,” Doyle added.
The football team was positioned in the core area of campus in the morning; they helped unload cars heading to the historically crowded busy areas of Blair Hall, Samuel Read Hall Hall and Mary Lyon Hall. The wrestling team helped students and families moving into Smith and Grafton residence halls.
Officers from Plymouth, as well as Holderness were called into the area to help with the increased traffic flow during the morning hours, “all extra officers were sent home at 3 p.m.,” Doyle said. University Police as well as student volunteers were then able to handle the arriving students and families.
Student Orientation Leaders were strategically placed around campus in order to assist the new arrivals. Many leaders were placed around the residence halls, as well as along High street in order to direct traffic into specific buildings.
Other Orientation Leaders congregated in and around the HUB, offering direction and advice to the new comers.
“We had a phenomenal group of Orientation Leaders this year,” Terri Potter, director of the Orientation Leader program said. “Forty-two students acted as Orientation Leaders during the summer months,” Potter said.
Along with helping students and families find their way amongst their new surroundings. Orientation Leaders also helped first year students who had not yet attended a summer orientation session.
“300 students still needed to register for classes,” Potter said. Along with helping many first year students register for classes, Orientation Leaders also conducted forty-four library tours.
All of this occurred in the first few days of the semester. “Orientation Leaders went above and beyond,” Potter said.
University staff was also on hand to make move in day a success. “The key to the success is there were a lot of people pitching in,” Frank Cocchiarella, director of Residential Life said, “The campus was working together in order to make the best for students and families,” Cocchiarella added.
“What really helped was the work Physical Plant did in the summer,” Cocchiarella said. Physical Plant staff worked to clean the residence halls over the summer, but their hard work did not stop once the summer ended.
“Staff members were in the residence halls working to keep the hallways clear,” Cochiarella said. “There was not a single crisis issue with a parent complaint about a room,” he added.
This was also the first year in recent memory where a residence hall was not in the middle of a major renovation project during move in day.
“Last year was Mary Lyon, and the year before that it was Langdon Woods,” Cocchieralla said. The lack of construction was good news for students, “More students are living on campus then ever,” he said.
Six students were assigned to temporary hotel rooms. By Thurs., Sept. 4, all displaced students had been placed in residence halls.