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Despite the standard travails, freshmen took their places in the new college house system. Members of the class of 2002 took the first major steps of their young college careers this weekend, settling into campus dormitories in what they described as a relatively smooth move-in. Students comprising the first freshman class to enter Penn under the University's new college house system had a generally high opinion of dormitory staffers, who they praised for being well-organized and helpful. They were less confident, however, about what the college house plan would mean for them. Several students said they knew few specifics about the plan, while others were skeptical about whether they would participate in many dorm activities. The college house plan, announced last October, calls for the reorganization of the University's residences into 12 multi-year residential colleges with added programming, staff and academic support. In the Quadrangle -- which has been reorganized into Ware, Spruce Street, Goldberg and Community houses -- several students credited the move-in staff with helping them find their way around the buildings while making numerous golf carts available for students and parents overburdened with luggage and furniture. "There were a lot of people willing to help," College freshman Megan Kasnicki said. "Getting a flat tire on the way here was stressful, but not moving in." One factor contributing to the relatively stress-free weekend is that numerous students decided to beat the rush and arrive early. In the Quad's Goldberg House, for example, most of the students in College senior and resident advisor Melissa Oretsky's hall moved in by Friday, with some arriving as early as Sunday, August 30, Oretsky said. Still, some students said their move-in to the dorms was not quite a walk in the park. "It was hectic, stressful, hot," said College freshman Maryam Arfaania, who added that carrying her belongings up four stories after shipping items from the West coast was "such a hassle." In comments that were echoed by several other students, Arfaania said she knew the name of her college house but little else about its programs, staff or activities. "[The University] hasn't given specifics of what college house community means and what the benefits are," said Jamie Beller, a College freshman living in Hill House. But despite their professed lack of knowledge about the college house plan, some students said they were looking forward to the experience. "The college house seems like it will be a lot of fun," Ware College House resident and College freshman Gerianne Kauffman said. She added that activities like trips and tours sound "neat." Other students pointed to the increased social opportunities afforded by the plan as one of its best features. Specifically, some students said they were looking forward to meeting other students of varying ages and classes. The plan allows increased numbers of upperclassmen to live in the Quad, while opening the high rises to freshmen for the first time. Although the three high rises will continue to be primarily upper-class dormitories, many of the freshmen living there said they did not anticipate any problems with their older dormmates. "I think I'll like it better [than a freshmen dorm]," said Omar Bassal, a Wharton freshman in Hamilton House, formerly High Rise North. "I kind of like the privacy." Michele Walsh, a College freshman in Harnwell House, the renamed High Rise East, added that living in an all-freshman dorm might actually limit students' social horizons by only allowing them to fraternize with students of their own age.

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