U. groups to pay for early move-in

University-sponsored activities requiring their participants to move in earlywill have to pay an additional fee next fall, under a decision recently made by the Department of Residential Living. But many University groups are unprepared to pay the $30 per participant fee. According to Assistant Director of Residential Living Services Nancy McCue, each group that requires undergraduate students to move in between August 21 and August 26 will be charged. Such groups include orientation programs, some fall sports, and move-in volunteers. McCue said Residential Living has never before asked groups to share the expenses of early move-in, which include security, room readiness and housekeeping costs. "We can not continue to accommodate the growing number of requests without finding a way to cover our expenses," she wrote in a memo to group coordinators last month. "We feel that the group fee is modest for what is provided in return." And Associate Vice Provost for University Life Larry Moneta said he hopes the fee will do more than simply cover the monetary costs of early move-in. He said more time is always needed during the summer to repair and renovate residences, adding that he hopes that early move-in fee will deter students from moving in unnecessarily early. "The residences are not in the shape they should be for a world-class institution," Moneta said. "We never have our residences quite ready for early move-in." He added that the fee is "very much a fair thing." But many group leaders have expressed their discontent to the VPUL, explaining that they did not have enough notice to work the fee into their budgets. Coordinator of New Student Orientation Laurie Reed said she understands the reason for the fee, but added that it would leave less money for orientation programs like PennQuest and PennCorps. "We could have tried to work it into our budget," she said. "But it kind of came at the 11th hour." Janet Ansert, who coordinates the Center for University of Pennsylvania Identification, voiced similar concerns. "We have to plan for these things 18 months ahead of time, not in the middle of a budget year," she said. But she said she does not expect the 100 students involved with CUPID to pay the fee out of their own pockets. "It's uncomfortable to ask them to pay a fee to do something for other students," she said. Ann Kuhlman, who directs orientation programs for international students, said she also hopes that the more than 200 students involved in international programs will not be affected by the fee. "We have not budgeted for accommodation expenses based on our past experiences," she said. She added that the University has always encouraged orientation programs that may involve early move-in. Coleman and other group organizers hope that the fee will be clarified and waived. In addition to the per-participant group fee, an increased nightly fee of $50 will be charged for students not associated with University sponsored programs who opt to move in on August 26 or 27. McCue said this offers students two more days of early move-in, but charges them $20 more than the normal $30 early move-in fee that is charged August 28 to 30.