Fall semester is right around the corner, and with that comes on-campus moving.
According to Kelsey Prather, communication and marketing specialist with Auxiliary Services, they will move in approximately 5,000 students over four days.
"[We] try and facilitate the parents, make them feel good about their kids moving in," Prather said.
She said volunteers are needed during two of the dates, Aug. 7 and Aug. 13, from 6:45 a.m. to noon for Move-In Mania. Since both of those days are during the work week, she said they will be relying on student and faculty volunteers.
"We've had a lot of groups wanting to participate, like Project Uplift, NPHC, Greek Life," Prather said
Prather said they will be providing snacks, Chik-fil-A breakfast, water and a free T-shirt to volunteers.
Prather said it's good for student group to have their members volunteer because it gives the group good exposure.
"Groups like Project Uplift, SGA, they can all say, 'Well have you thought about this, have you thought about that,' make those connections early on," Prather said.
Resident assistants will have training the week before move-in, and Housing is trying to place students until one day before move-in to ensure the moving process goes smoothly, according to Prather.
"We hope that there's no issue with keys, we hope that the RAs are positioned with all their paperwork, they're familiar with it, they know all the procedures, doors are unlocking, no unforeseen surprises," Prather said. "Ideally, it will be a well-oiled machine."
Prather said freshmen should not stress too much and be sure to put as much of their belongings in boxes as possible to move quickly.
"I know that it's hot, there's a lot of cars on campus, there's a lot of moving pieces and parts, and we have done our best to make it the less stressful environment as possible," Prather said.
Bryan Cotney, interim director of University Housing, said they began planning this year's Move-In Mania as soon as last year's was over. He said they changed how traffic will flow because Mell Street was supposed be closed. He said people should arrive early and prepared, and stick to the allotted 15 minutes for parking.
"Somebody's going to deal with bags, get them to the room, and somebody's going to deal with the car," Cotney said.
Cotney said they accept volunteers from everywhere, including businesses, but do not allow solicitation or vendors during moving because that would slow down the process.
"It's really to help the students out," Cotney said. "The moving in process is not the main focus."
Don Andrae, manager of Parking Services, said Parking Services coordinates registration for move-in spots. Students are eligible for certain zones to park and unload their belongings based on their residence hall. They register for time slots, and can come park and unload during that slot.
Andrae said his office worked to determine locations close to residence halls where people could park.
"We make a determination of how many vehicles can fit at one time," Andrae said.
This system has been in place for three years, and will be expanded to include Cambridge residence hall this year.
Andrae said this system helps make the process move more smoothly because it is more spread out.
"What we used to have is everybody at one time," Andrae said.
Andrae said they the time slots cut off at 12:30 p.m. because of the heat. He also said they will change move-in days if there is rain.
Andrae said other events, such as Successfullt Orienting Students and Panhellenic recruitment, as well as the regular work week, complicates moving.
"We hope that faculty and staff will be understanding," Andrae said.
Move-In Mania is a collaboration between several departments, including Residence Life, Housing and Parking Services, according to Andrae.
"It's all of us working together, coming up with a plan," Andrae said.
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