The silence of Laramie summers is either serene or eerie, depending on the person. However you felt it, the silence was shattered on Friday as almost 2,000 students flooded onto campus with their loved ones for Move In Day. Everywhere, from downtown to Walmart, lit up with life as the Resident Life and Dining department attempted to move the populace into five dorms constrained in three blocks. Pat “PC” Call, who oversees the process, said things have, (“knock on wood”), gone well in all his four years at UW.
“It’s amazing what planning will do for you,” Call said.
His department begins planning in December to focus on the one day where they attempt to move thousands of young adults into what he has said is probably the most concentrated living area in the state. By 1 p.m. on this Move In Day, 68 percent of dorm students had been successfully moved into the dorms. Call said the day’s success could be attributed to the organization and coordination skills of the multifaceted teams involved. A leadership team made up of Resident Life’s business office, dining leadership, residential leadership, facilities team and marketing folks coordinated with a task force specifically focused on the opening. This staff, Call said is, “frontline and in the trenches” for the day.
“If there’s anything, it’s our anxiety that makes sure everything is right and ready,” Call said, with a chuckle.
The volunteer team, which Call said consists of around 400 volunteers, is supposed to be like “a swarm of locusts,” helping students to have an easy move-in, whether directing them to the appropriate department or facility or just carry heavy stuff to the students’ rooms. Dollies and carts were available to students, time stamp cards regulated parking and volunteers pitched in to expedite, which Call said made for an efficient operation.
Call, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, said he estimated this year to be his 25th opening day, as he had been working in residence life at various institutions since 1987. In his experience, Call said UW has an exceptionally efficient move in process. Most institutions, in his experience, do not provide carts or other amenities to make the process quicker and easier for students.
“One of the interesting pieces we have here, is [that] all of our residence halls are concentrated in a small area, so we really have to have our plan synced and organized-especially with limited parking,” he said.
William Evans, in his third year as Associate Director of Resident Life, said people tell him every year that it’s the smoothest move in they have been through.
“We all pull together for opening,” Evans said.
Call said he receives almost unanimous positive feedback for the Move In Day program.
“When I talk to students and parents to ask if they are happy and things are going well, they always say, ‘Yeah everything’s great,’” Call said.
Todd Bullerdick, helping his son, Matt, a 19-year-old Business major from Cody, Wyo., praised the efforts of the Resident Life staff he encountered during his move in.
“Everybody has just walked up to you if you need help everywhere we’ve been,” Bullerdick said. “We’re very pleased.”
The biggest challenges faced on Move In Day, Call said, usually relates to traffic and parking. While the department tries to engage every student in encouraging “communal” behavior, there are students who will engage in inappropriate behavior.
“It’s not a terrible problem, but it does happen,” he said. “Students come here to learn, but it’s the fringe groups who will test the boundaries.”
There are a lot of benefits for students who live on campus, Call said. He said almost 10 percent of students tend to attain better GPAs, retain their full-time student status and graduate on time when living on campus. He said this is because the Resident Life department spends “so much time getting [students] grounded.”
“This is a great institution and that’s why we spend so much time engaging students,” Call said.
