WCU freshmen will move onto campus Friday, Aug. 15. Here, faculty, staff and students help last year’s freshmen get settled into their dorms.

Download the Move-in Day 2008 Map (PDF)

Walker and Scott residence halls will be the busiest places on Western Carolina University’s campus Friday, Aug. 15, as freshmen unpack their bags and prepare for their first year as Catamounts.

Upperclassmen will begin arriving the morning of Saturday, Aug. 16, with fall semester classes beginning Monday, Aug. 18.

This year, WCU’s expanded residential transition program, called Western PEAKS, concentrates 90 percent of incoming freshmen in two residence halls, Scott and Walker, which accommodate 700 and 400 individuals respectively. The buildings, in central campus, are adjacent to each other. On move-in day, which begins at 7 a.m., their proximity “should greatly help with the distribution of manpower and the efficient use of our sweat,” said Keith Corzine, Western’s director of residential living.

Approximately 300 of Western’s faculty, staff and students will help the class of 2012 settle into its new digs. Volunteers will keep traffic flowing with quick curbside unloading, and will then help freshmen tote belongings to rooms. Drivers will park unloaded vehicles in the lot near the Catamount Athletic Center and Catamount Softball Complex. A shuttle will run from this lot to Walker and Scott throughout the day.

“Life will be much easier if everyone listens to the parking people who are directing traffic,” said Ernie Hudson, assistant chief of the University Police.

Move-in day can be stressful for families, and apprehension on the part of both parents and students is normal, Corzine said. Last year, Corzine saw a large family huddled together after moving in a student. “They were actually having their moment in the parking lot before the family left,” he said.

The freshman move-in should be complete by 5 p.m., when Freshman Convocation begins at Ramsey Regional Activity Center. Convocation will include a faculty procession, remarks by Chancellor John Bardo and Provost Kyle Carter and music by WCU’s Pride of the Mountains Marching Band. Winford Gordon, a psychology professor, will speak to the freshmen about themes from their summer reading selection, “Three Cups of Tea,” the story of author Greg Mortenson’s mission to build more than 50 schools in Central Asia.

Of the approximately 1,300 freshmen expected for fall 2008, about 1,225 will live in student housing, with approximately 1,000 of those individuals arriving on move-in day, Corzine said. (Some freshmen, including athletes and band members, arrive on campus before the official move-in date.)

Including freshmen and their families, Corzine estimated the area could experience an influx of about 3,500 people on Friday. The University Police will offer information about directions and traffic patterns with signs on N.C. Highway 107 near Sylva and Cashiers and with announcements on Department of Transportation-sponsored radio and Western Carolina University’s Power 90.5 WWCU-FM.
While the great majority of freshmen will live in central campus, those moving into residence halls in WCU’s historic hill area (including Reynolds, Albright/Benton, Buchanan, Central Drive and Harrill) will be routed to campus via Old Cullowhee Road.

Freshmen moving into Walker will access campus via the main entrance, off N.C. Highway 107, while those moving into Scott will access campus via Forest Hills Road, off N.C. Highway 107 and adjacent to the Ramsey Center. All vehicles proceeding to Walker and Scott will be routed to University Way (between the H.F. Robinson Administration Building and the Fine and Performing Arts Center), which will be designated one-way for the day.

Freshman move-in day will affect parking for employees with offices in the Robinson Administration Building and Scott and Walker residence halls. These employees will all park in the H.F.R. lots, accessing them from Centennial Drive rather than University Way, which will be inaccessible to local traffic. University Police will notify students and employees prior to move-in day with parking instructions, and personnel will be in place to direct traffic.

Shuttles from the university’s free, on-campus transportation service, Cat-Tran, will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, said Don Taylor, WCU’s transportation supervisor. Purple and white signs mark designated stops. Cat-Tran’s regular operating hours (7:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Monday through Friday and 7 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday) will begin Sunday evening. The Cat-Tran route is posted online at http://www.wcu.edu/9018.asp.

Freshmen are invited to participate in a First Night celebration sponsored by the Resident Student Association at 9 p.m. Friday on the A.K. Hinds University Center lawn. Saturday activities include a 2 p.m. women’s soccer team scrimmage against alumni at the Catamount Athletic Center and Valley Ballyhoo, an annual back-to-school celebration beginning at 4:30 on the U.C. lawn. On Sunday, the opening of WCU’s new, $16.7 million, 73,000-square-foot recreation center begins at 1 p.m. At 9 p.m., students can watch the horror movie “The Strangers” on the U.C. lawn. For a complete online schedule of fall semester kickoff events, go to www.wcu.edu/9787.asp.

Download the Move-in Day 2008 Map (PDF)

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Last modified Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008.