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Arrival Survivor Team eases campus move-in Click here for photo album
4:30 p.m., Aug. 31, 2005--Members of the Class of 2009 got a warm welcome Saturday, Aug. 27, as 700 upperclass students, UD staff and community members volunteered time, guidance and strength to the daylong move-in effort. The 700-plus volunteers from the University known as the Arrival Survivor Team braved heat, humidity and steady traffic to help more than 3,500 freshmen and their families haul duffel bags, mini-refrigerators, bikes, crates and computers across lawns and up stairs to residence halls that will serve as home for the next year. Judging from the turnout of UD volunteers--a record number, according to Catherine Skelley, assistant director of Residence Life--the welcoming spirit ran deep and cut across all walks of campus. There also was representation from the city. “It’s important for the City of Newark to project a positive image to the students of the University,” Newark Mayor Vance Funk IV, a two-year veteran of the Arrival Survivor Team, said. “They will be our guests for the next four years and will contribute tremendously to our community, so the more new arrivals I meet, the better.” City council members Paul Pomeroy and Kevin Vonck, who also is a UD grad student, and many other community members also served as Arrival Survivor Team members. Student volunteers, who were rewarded with a 2005 Survivor Team T-shirt and the opportunity to move in early, turned out in record numbers for three-hour shifts, and several UD employees who felt compelled to boost their contribution showed up with teenage sons in tow. Strong showings came from the student organizations Hillel, Blue Hens for Christ, Baptist Student Ministries and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, and strong employee representation came from Information Technologies units, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Office of Residence Life, Housing Assignment Services, the Office of Judicial Affairs and the Facilities Planning and Construction unit. Student Arrival Survivor team members Matthew Reichert, from Moorestown, N.J., and Justin Scott, from Haddonfield, N.J., both sophomores majoring in chemical engineering, devoted their morning to heavy lifting, stair climbing and even the occasional odd jobs in the Rodney Complex. “So far, we’ve moved refrigerators, televisions, microwaves, computers and crates, and a few times we’ve been asked to help with wall-jack connections,” Reichert said. “We’re finding it’s not too bad if we’re out of the heat, but we’re also finding that the better packed something is, the easier our job is. And, sometimes people haven’t packed things in boxes.”
With energy running high and hand trucks and labor evenly shared, the mood was generally festive, however, and breaks between trips back and forth to the car gave new students and parents a chance to meet and chat informally. Nicole Medina, a freshman from Union, N.J., with an intended major of marketing, said that talking on the phone ahead of time with roommates eased the agonizing packing and move-in process, as well. One of a triple, Medina said that careful coordination avoided the common pitfall of equipment overload and crowding in tight quarters. “We’re three in a double, and we’re all from out-of-state, so one is bringing a refrigerator and one is bringing a television,” Medina said. Helen Grymes, who stood guard at the car as daughter Jae Grymes, a freshman from Washington, D.C., did the grunt work, said that it was clear her daughter planned to stay awhile. “Jae packed everything with her but the kitchen sink,” Grymes said. “Her move hasn’t been difficult at all, though. It took us only about two hours to make the drive, and the information the school provided to parents ahead of time was a tremendous help.” Parental move-in concerns also were eased with the campus safety seminars organized by Residence Life and mediated by officials from UD’s Department of Public Safety.
“Because we worked so closely with the University on this project, we wanted to come out to see how move-in went,” J. Eric Moss, principal architect, said. “A lot goes into a project like this, and our intent with the design was to create a sense of community and boost incidental contact. With [Read], we directed vertical circulation into common areas to encourage student interactivity, RA contact and general good citizenship.” Moss, who graduated from UD himself in ’79 with a bachelor’s degree in urban geography, said that the Read Hall project was particularly engaging. “[Ayers/Saint/Gross] has a long history of working with the University, but this project was especially inspiring,” he said. “Part of the architectural challenge with residence halls is to integrate the group-living experience with the rest of the college environment, so the design needs to be very powerful in grouping students and staying aligned with the overall institutional mission.” Read Hall roommates Margo Price and Leah Roth, both freshmen from Wilmington, were not blind to these efforts. “We feel very lucky to have ended up here,” Price said. “We may have a longer walk to classes than some students over on East Campus, but we have air conditioning and a beautiful, brand-new building.” Article by Becca Hutchinson To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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