VSU primary 'Move-In Day' is August 10 and includes specialcampus-wide effort to welcome new students

Valdosta State University will welcome to the Main Campus more than 1200 new first year students on Wednesday, August 10, the primary "Move-In Day" for Fall Semester 2005. Students participating in the Emerging Leaders program will move into residence halls on August 8 and upperclassmen and transfer students are scheduled to move in on August 12. VSU classes begin on Monday, August 15.

The August 10 "Move-In Day" this year is scheduled to officially begin at 10 a.m. and last until 5 p.m. Six Main Campus residence halls will be open to students this fall with Patterson Hall closed for renovation. Freshmen will be moving into Brown, Lowndes, Hopper, Georgia, Reade and Langdale Halls. Converse and Centennial Halls are restricted to sophomores and above, except for a few students in Centennial who need to be on campus during the holiday break in December and January.

"Move-In Day on campus is always exciting," said Dr. Kurt Keppler, VSU's vice president for Student Affairs. "The entire VSU community welcomes our new freshmen and we are committed to making the move-in process as comfortable as possible."

Keppler said Move-In Day is "the kickoff to our Fall Explosion celebration which includes a series of social, educational, and get to know you activities, aimed at making the transition to VSU easier for all involved!"

A number of campus organizations and departments are again involved in providing a special team welcome on Move-In Day. This includes support staff provided by the Division of Student Affairs, Athletic Department, Division of University Advancement, Parking and Transportation, University Police and other campus units. In addition, student volunteers from various campus organizations, sororities and fraternities will be available to assist with unloading belongings, carrying them to rooms. The Athletic Department is setting up three refreshment tents on campus and VSU staff will be handing out free soft drinks and water at the tents. Other staff and administrators will be in the various parking lots to assist with the moving and traffic flow during an anticipated traffic congestion period on August 10 and August 12. New students to VSU will be arriving from around the world and from throughout south Georgia, with about 50 percent from the Metropolitan Atlanta area. Some local merchants are preparing a special welcome to the students, their parents and relatives. Once the Move-In takes place there will be the need for extra supplies for the room and maybe one last meal at a local restaurant with the family before the rapid pace of Fall Semester begins.