Move in goes smoothly at SRU
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — After pulling up to an open space by the curb, vehicles were swarmed with several people who would remove boxes, furniture and personal belongings from the inside before placing them on dollies and hauling them indoors.
More than 500 volunteers helped move about 1,550 freshmen and transfer students into the dorms at Slippery Rock University Thursday, Aug. 17, by forming “pit crews” who would help keep the parade of minivans and moving trucks going throughout the day.
David Wilmes, chief student affairs officer at SRU, said the “Stop, drop and go” method has helped make move-in day at the university efficient for decades.
“We send hang tags to them in the mail ahead of time that has their building number on them; that way our police and ROTC cadets can direct them,” Wilmes said. “We get them to the building, we have the vehicle completely unloaded — that’s the drop part — then we have them park. While they are parking, our volunteers move the items into the room, and usually by the time they return from the parking lot, all their stuff is unloaded.”
By around 1 p.m., the student move-in volunteers stationed at Building E estimated they had unloaded about 100 cars.
“Every time I come down here, there is a whole new line of cars,” said Aundalynn Aljoe, a sophomore at SRU.
Aljoe said she had been counting down the days until she could return to school from her home in DuBois, because she enjoys being a college student. Although it was tiring work, she said she looked forward to helping out with move-in day.
“Getting to meet the freshmen, getting to be a friendly face and comforting them so that they’re not as nervous,” Aljoe said. “I like hearing about their majors and what they are nervous about and comforting them that way. It’s always interesting to see where they are from and what clubs they are interested in joining.”
Organizing her belongings inside the dorms was Katie Weiner, a freshman elementary and special education major from Philadelphia, who said the course load she is taking this year is actually lighter than it was in her last year of high school.
“I’m excited right now, but I’m sure it’s going to hit me after a little bit,” Weiner said. “I’m excited for the new experiences and to have less classes than I would have in high school.”
Being the first of their children to leave for college was “nerve-wracking” for her parents, Brian and Christina, but they planned to stay in town until the next day.
“I’ll probably be a mess later after we leave, but keep it together until then,” said Christina Weiner.
The number of students moving onto campus this year was near the school’s capacity, according to Wilmes, and one of the biggest crowds the university has had in several years. About 800 upperclassmen are scheduled to move in on Sunday, according to Wilmes.
“This is the biggest we’ve had in years,” Wilmes said. “We had the COVID years, which were a bit lighter; this is the biggest move in we’ve had probably since 2017.”
Brian Weiner complimented the unloading and moving system, facilitated by the university crews throughout the day.
Naydelin Hernandez, a junior at SRU, said she has helped with move-in before, and has always found it to be relatively simple, even for the volunteers.
“Taking the pressure off their families to help them move in and make it a nice process,” Hernandez said. “Everyone is really friendly. The families are very grateful for the help, and it’s a fast process.”
After moving in, students had plenty of events and school functions to go to Thursday evening and through the weekend. Wilmes said because staff and student volunteers would be the first people new students would interact with in their college journey, move-in day and the weekend are an important first impression.
“We get lots of compliments from parents and families about this process, and the reason we do is because we have so many volunteers,” Wilmes said. “The students, faculty and staff come together and volunteer to help. We couldn’t do it without the volunteers.”
