A sweltering welcome

Changing clothes, changing lives and changing homes.\nIncoming students and their parents were introduced to IU Wednesday -- student move-in day -- with sweltering heat. As they carried mini-fridges, TVs and piles of clothes into their new rooms, sweat dripped from their foreheads.\nOrientation assistants, wearing red shirts, crowded the walkways to help bewildered parents and new students.\nDespite temperatures near 90 degrees and slowed traffic, more than 9,900 students moved in to campus and everyone said it went off without a hitch. \n"The move was not as bad as I thought it'd be," sophomore Asia Harman said as she rested on the lawn outside the Collins Living-Learning Center.\nThe ease of the day can be attributed to the many people who spent the $20 to $25 a day to move in early. \nFreshman Adam Rich said the fee to move in early was "well worth it." \nRich is a member of Straight No Chaser, a campus a capella group, and said he had to be on campus earlier than other freshmen to work with the group. \nRich's roommate, junior Mark Fowler, said he was also happy to move into Wright Quad early. Amid the heavy lifting and honking cars other students had to deal with, both were able to relax in their dorm room all day, keeping cool with several fans.\nIU Police Department officers pitched in to help maintain control during the hot, hectic afternoon. Their duties ranged from directing traffic to simply guiding a lost student.\nOfficers Latoya Hooks and Tim Roberts directed traffic at the intersection of 10th Street and Woodlawn Avenue.\nRoberts said the traffic was running pretty smoothly all day. However, the heat was still a major factor, Hooks said, especially under the officers' two layers of clothing.\nOfficer Sara Presley was patrolling the area outside Briscoe Quad throughout the day.\n"It's not bad; not as bad as when I was a freshman," she said.\nShe said other years Fee Lane is backed up to the Ind. 45/46 bypass. "Fortunately that wasn't the case this year," said Presley.\nAssistance with parking was also on hand as resident assistants helped write temporary parking passes for Parking Operations.\nSophomore Christina Allegree, who was handling parking at Foster Quad, said she was busy for most of the morning, but things slowed down later in the day.\nParents who had trouble moving heavy microwaves and mini-fridges were even given some relief. Orientation assistants were ready at people's car doors to lend a helping hand.\nSophomore Brian Matzke, an OA, was drenched in sweat but still brimming with enthusiasm. As he finished delivering some furniture to the fourth floor of Collins, he said he hadn't dropped anything -- but had some close calls.\n"I'll probably keep going 'til I drop," he said. "I hope I make it 'til noon."\nFamily members were also on hand to help their students move in to the dorm. The side streets near Wright Quad and Teter Quad were filled with abandoned minivans and sport utility vehicles. \nA mother stood outside a dorm surrounded by piles of appliances and clothing, guarding boxes, bags and laundry hampers as the rest of the family were inside the main entrance to receive their key and room number.\nEven with all of the help available on campus, Allegree said she laughed at some of the inter-family conflicts.\n"It's funny to watch the parents argue with the kids," she said.\n-- Contact staff writer James E. Klaunig at jklaunig@indiana.edu.