Move In Day dodges weather bullet
Kayleigh Zyskowski/Activities Editor
Issue date: 8/21/09 Section: News
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This can only mean one thing: Move In Day is officially here.
Mark Hudson, director of Housing and Dining, said about 2,000 students moved to campus on Thursday and 500 more students are expected to arrive through the weekend.
After a strong storm came through the Charleston area Wednesday evening, Hudson said he was bracing for the worst, but the day went smoothly.
"It was a terrific day, it was a forecast for storms all day, but it all went away and ended up being a gorgeous day," Hudson said. "You can't beat temperatures around 70 with a little breeze."
Many students found themselves asking for more breeze, though.
Most of the residence halls have elevators to take the students to their floors, but the south tower of Taylor Hall has five floors, with stairs only.
Kristin Bowns, a desk assistant for Taylor Hall, is well adapted to the idea of not using the elevator.
"I lived in the south tower last, and move in was the worst, but after that you just get used to it and it's a good work out," Bowns said.
Kyle Bakke is a freshman resident of the fifth floor of Taylor Hall and he said moving in was not difficult.
"So far it's been pretty easy," he said. "We got a parking space right away and the volunteers have been really nice and very helpful. I also packed light so it isn't bad at all."
Tara Dawson was a Panther Pal for the south tower of Taylor Hall. Dawson ran down the stairs out of breath and a bit sweaty, but with a huge smile, found another confused family with a blue cart and ran back up with another arm load of belongings.
"So far it hasn't been so bad," Dawson said. "They split us up into groups and said we could switch if we got tired. I think I may be doing that soon."
Carman Hall has two towers, nine floors in the male tower and ten floors in the female tower, and while elevators are used to climb up to the floors, the line is what gets the new Carman Hall residents down.
Elevator lines wrapped around the north side of the building and down past Carman Pond.
Olivia Angeloff, a freshman resident of Carman Hall, waited in line for 15 minutes before getting up to her room.
"I chose Carman because when I came for a tour, the guide said most freshmen live here," Angeloff said.
Hudson said although it may seem all freshmen live in Carman, only 40 percent of the freshmen live at Carman while the other 60 percent live in the other buildings on campus.
Kaitlin Szymanski, a junior business management student, moved into Stevenson Hall for her second semester.
"I had to move back into the dorms again because my mom made me," Szymanski said. "I am excited but it would also be nice to eventually have my own place."
Stevenson Hall houses only juniors and seniors, Hudson said.
With so many different people moving into such a small area, many families believe it would not be possible without direction and help, which is what the Panther Pals offer for the incoming students every year.
Since 1982, the Panther Pals have helped about 50,000 students make a chaos-free move in.
Many sororities and fraternities help with this event. Alyssa Gifford, a sophomore from Alpha Gama Delta, was one of the Panther Pals at Andrews Hall.
Throughout campus, 600 to 700 people helped with move in day.
Kayleigh Zyskowski can be reached at kzyskowski@eiu.edu or at 581-7942.
Slideshow audio by Sam Sottosanto
Slideshow photos by Audrey Sawyer
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