Students moving into residents halls, like Shuttles, had only 48 hours to settle in before the start of classes. (John Schreiber)
Roommates Cody Meador and Rachel Porter said they are still struggling to finish moving into their efficiency-style residence in Moore Hall.
“We didn’t feel like we had enough time between move-in day and the start of classes,” said Meador.
In years past, upperclassmen and first-year students who did not attend Mustang Corral were allowed to move in on Sunday and began classes four days later.
This year, the official move-in day was changed to Tuesday, Aug. 21 and classes began only two days later, the following Thursday.
Not only were students given less time, the move-in day was changed to a weekday.
“My dad and my boyfriend, who were supposed to lift all my stuff, had to work,” said Meador, “So me and my tiny sister moved in everything.”
The weekday move-in also proved problematic for Meador’s roommate since both her parents work.
“I had to bribe my brother, and he did not come free of charge,” said Porter, who shelled out money for an energy drink and lunch to get her brother out of bed.
Dr. Doug Hallenbeck, executive director of Residence Life and Student Housing, explains the reason for the delay.
“Part of it is an attempt to provide Corral participants with the greatest benefit by letting them move in early,” said Dr. Hallenbeck.
When New Student Programs decided to cancel the Week of Welcome program, SMU students’ back-to-school calendars were shifted up by two days. Mustang Corral participants are typically allowed to move in on Thursday, a week before classes begin. This year, they moved in on Saturday.
And instead of allowing upperclassmen and first years who did not attend Mustang Corral to move in on Sunday, as in years past, RLSH decided to push the official move-in date back two days as well.
“Once you open the doors for the upperclassmen, you have to open them for all first years as well, so you lose that edge,” said Dr. Hallenbeck.
RLSH maintained the same schedule as in years past, which allowed Mustang Corral to maintain its “edge” of offering an earlier move-in date. And because of the calendar shake-up, the Mustang Corral participants got an additional advantage. Their move-in date fell on a weekend.
About 1,300 of the 2,000 students living on campus are first years, and at $150 per Mustang Corral participant, having an “edge” can prove lucrative. However, with the money typically used for Week of Welcome events, New Student Programs awarded 73 students with scholarships to attend Mustang Corral.
Maintaining Mustang Corral’s “edge” inconvenienced more than just Meador and Porter.
There were approximately 700 upperclassmen and 350 first years who did not attend Mustang Corral who live on campus, and were thus affected by the shift of the official move-in date.
Out of the students who were affected by the change, all 12 said they preferred a weekend move-in date, and 10 of those 12 said they wanted more time to get settled in before classes began.
