More than 4,000 students set to descend on dorms

Today is the official annual -- and notoriously frenzied -- move-in day when thousands of students will pile their belongings into IU residence halls. Tuesday's early move-in day attracted approximately 3,500 students and conditions were already hectic, but approximately 4,500 students and their families will flood the halls today.\nDana Wilson, a freshman who moved in to Briscoe Quad on Tuesday afternoon, said her move-in experience was very stressful.\n"There were too many people to check in and (Tuesday's) not even the bad day," her father John said. \nBoth her parents said they thought the early move-in day would prove to alleviate stress but found it was not as easy as they expected.\nWith more than 4,000 students moving into residence halls within 24 hours, the IU Police Department and Residential Programs and Services are working around the clock to make the day run smoothly. And a smooth move-in will include approximately 50 extra IUPD officers on duty, IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said.\nMinger said that without IUPD, the campus would become gridlocked in a short time.\n"No one could move anywhere," he said. "If there was a critical incident ... (officials) probably couldn't (get through)."\nRPS Director of Residential Operations Bob Weith said he even recommended those moving in today to be in line at 6 or 7 a.m. in order to get in the door at 8 a.m. when the centers open. Ashton residents were also asked to arrive as early as Sunday because of demolition going on in Ashton.\n"We've got a bunch of Gator (utility vehicles) helping them move their stuff into the center because it's so torn up over there," he said. "It's not like they're climbing over debris, but it means they have to move things farther than they normally would move them."\nWeith said parents who try to stay involved with the move-in process eventually inhibit its ability to move along. His best advice to those moving in was to simply follow the directions given.\n"I think we've tried to post clear signs and give specific advice about parking and not staying in parking zones for more than 15 to 20 minutes," he said. "I'm not sure how you say, 'Please do what all these guiders around tell you to do.'"\nResident assistants from several dorms emphasized having patience while dealing with long lines.\n"There's nothing you can do to speed up several hundred people moving in," Foster RA Alex Hilt said. "We're working as fast as we can to get people through the line."\nEigenmann RA Jason Autry stressed the importance of effective communication during the chaotic process.\n"I think the big thing is clear:short communication so the residents don't come in confused," Autry said.\nThough two separate required move-in days for students could be an option, neither RPS nor the University are seriously pursuing the idea right now.\n"It's not solely an RPS decision; it's an institutional decision," Weith said. "In the event there was a recommendation by the University to try that, I think we'd be more than willing (to give it a look)"