More than 900 freshmen make dormitories home
CALIFORNIA – Despite construction and new traffic patterns at California University of Pennsylvania, move-in day for new students appeared to go well Thursday. “We had to do some additional planning for students to drop off their luggage because of Third Street being closed and a different traffic pattern,” said Barry Niccolai, the university’s director of student life. “The folks that got here early in the morning had to wait a little bit, but since then, everything seems to be going smoothly.”
Parents and students shared that opinion as well.
Gayle Lopez of Bethel Park had been concerned about the process of moving her son Pedro “Pete” Lopez onto campus for his freshman year. Her older daughter, Pilar, lived at home while attending Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC).
“We’re first-timers, so we didn’t know what to expect. It went really smoothly,” Gayle Lopez said.
Elisa Karafilis, a junior transfer from CCAC who is majoring in English with a journalism concentration, said the process wasn’t difficult.
“We’re on the first floor, so it was easy moving. I can’t complain,” Karafilis said.
Cal U police officers kept traffic moving, making sure that only vehicles unloading student belongings were parked in the lots near the dormitories, and that a driver stayed with each vehicle at all times. Other motorists were directed to the new parking garage adjacent to the dormitories or to the river lot on the lower campus.
There were 912 first-year students moving into the Cal U dormitories Thursday. Niccolai said students with last names starting with A through M were asked to move in between 9 a.m. and noon, while students with names starting with N through Z were asked to move in between noon and 4 p.m. Brent Shultz of Gettysburg sat with his belongings on the lawn of one residence hall, waiting for his roommate to arrive.
“He’s an ‘S’, Shultz, so he can’t move into his room until this afternoon. His roommate is an ‘L’, so they’ll be here soon,” said Dianna Shultz, the mother of the freshman physics major.
Niccolai said students are given room keys early if they ask, but Dianna Shultz said the two boys wanted to move in at the same time so they decided to compromise with a late morning move.
Students used some creative methods to move their belongings, including stacking items on skateboards and borrowing carts from the custodial staff. There were also approximately 160 volunteers, mostly sorority and fraternity members and peer mentors, who helped the new students move their belongings into the dorms.
“It’s obviously a team effort,” said Leslie Loase of the Student Development office. “Every year there are always little hitches, but this year went exceptionally well. We were a little uncertain how it would be with traffic and parking.”
Members of California United Methodist Church were also on hand near the doors to each dorm, handing out cold bottled water, candy, chips and cookies.
The university also offered a free lunch to the new students and their families Thursday, with AVI Foodsystems handing out hoagies, salads, cookies, chips and beverages. AVI Foodsystems director of hospitality Farhad Shahbazian said he prepared food for 1,000 but had plenty of extra meals on hand to take care of the students and those helping them with the move.
Upperclassmen return to the campus starting Sunday. Niccolai said the older students tend to trickle in over a period of time, so the campus doesn’t experience the congestion problems that can arise with the influx of the new students.