Many find move-in less stressful this year

Now that students have finally moved in, chaos has left the University. With the beginning of move-in on September 2, the campus was transformed into a mad scene of sweating parents and students lugging heavy television sets, bags of clothing and even pets. But with the first day of classes yesterday, a sense of stability has finally returned to dormitory life. And, as hectic as move-in may have seemed, Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said it actually went very smoothly. "It was the best move-in I've ever seen," she said. Simeone added that there was never a long waiting period, and that Residential Living received a lot of compliments and very few complaints. She attributed the relatively easy move-in to the fact that students arrived at varying times so that there were "never any times when there was a terrible, terrible wait." Simeone also said the cooperation of those who worked on move-in day -- including University Police -- contributed to its success. Wharton freshman and Quadrangle resident Jennifer Gransey agreed, adding that the student workers were "very nice and very helpful." But Wharton freshman and Quad resident Daniel Ohgi's move-in did not go as well. "It was pretty crazy around here -- there was stuff all over the place," he said. "Everything was empty and it was sort of depressing." But Ohgi was not depressed for long. "Triple [rooms] are awesome," he said. "We were totally impressed by the room?it's just amazing." At least one other student was less than excited about his bedroom. Wharton junior and High Rise North resident Michael Graviano retained his room from last year, and expected to keep his bedroom. But two transfer students who had also been assigned to his suite arrived before he did -- and one of them claimed his bedroom, not knowing it had been his last year. Wharton senior and High Rise South resident Samuel Kwon had a similar experience. He said that move-in was not exactly a "disaster" -- although it didn't help that one HRS elevator was broken. Residential Maintenance Associate Director Alan Zuino said the amount of maintenance request forms his office received was typical -- it received nearly 3,000 between August 28 and September 5. So it is no surprise that College freshman Meera Patankar's desk has not yet been fixed. She said she filed a maintenance request form on September 2. Zuino said Residential Maintenance prioritizes maintenance request forms as they come in. A computer classifies the request on a scale of one to nine -- one being the number to which the department responds most quickly. These "emergencies" can include anything from a clogged toilet to lack of lighting. With this priority system, a broken desk may take more than two weeks to fix, according to Zuino, but an emergency will be fixed immediately. Zuino noted that serious emergencies or chronic problems should be called into Residential Maintenance. On a typical day, Zuino said his department receives an average of 75 to 100 calls. He also said that all phoned-in emergencies will be responded to that day -- although they may not all be fixed immediately -- depending on the severity of the problem in relation to the department's work load.