Move-in complete (almost)

Hal writes:

*whew* Over the last three days, 380 students joined Anna and I in Southwest Hall. Around the building we have a small (12 car) parking lot and a fire lane that runs around the building. We mapped out a plan to get people moved in and it was as effecient as possible. I had great Welcome Crew members assisting my RAs moving people in. We have some people flustered (parents who wanted everything to stop so their child can move in) but when people realized that all they had to do was pull up and my staff unloaded everything into WalMart carts and brought it up the elevator (so they didn't have to lift a thing), their mood shifted to the better (90% of the time). With the dissatisfied parents, I simply asked if they could see a better way, and that usually kept them from talking because nobody had any ideas to more faster than we could.

It's a little sad to see the newness of the building wearing away. The building had a "new car" smell (which I would tell people is the "new hall" smell) that is no gone and will not return. The past two days it has been raining, so the carpets are full of mud and grass from students ignoring the sidewalks and taking more of a direct path. Along the way there has been garbage left in the halls and a few marks on the walls, but it still is a nice building.

And, in what was to be anticipated, the alcohol violations began last evening. My building led the way with five incidents, one of them involving 15 people. The suite style arrangement allows for more people to fit comfortably in the room. Unfortunately for the students, that also means it is easier to hear when they are making noise. So, after one night my conduct case load is set for about the next two weeks.

I'm excited to send them off to class tomorrow...