Campus Life

Volunteers Give Students Helping Hands On Residence Hall Move-In Assistance Day

August 10, 2017

Move-In

By Elena Watts, Texas A&M University Marketing and Communications

Residence Hall Move-in Assistance Day is one of the ways that students, staff, faculty and administrators will put their core value of selfless service into practice this year. More than 400 volunteers will help throngs of Aggie students unload and move their belongings into their residence hall rooms on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station on Sunday, Aug. 20, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“It is, as they say, ‘many hands making light work,’” said Carol Binzer, director of administrative and support services for residence life at Texas A&M. “There are Aggie faculty and staff volunteers who have been participating annually for more than 10 years, helping students and their families to move in.”

move in module and screen shots

A state-of-the-art module, a feature of Texas A&M’s mobile phone application designed by Modo Labs, also will help students with the process of moving onto one of the largest university campuses in the nation. The mobile application, which allows users to toggle between “Welcome” and “On Campus” personas, will feature a special “Move In” icon in the top left corner of both screens. The application plots important locations on a campus map that are relevant to each residence hall on move-in day.

Information includes temporary, long-term and handicap parking zones for each hall; locations in each hall where students check in with proof of identity to pick up their room keys; recycling bin locations near each hall where students should deposit their flattened cardboard boxes; and information and refreshment stations nearest each hall. Students will have access to two EMS posts at opposite ends of campus.

The volunteers will wear neon green T-shirts so they are easily recognizable, and they will help students unload their vehicles in the designated temporary drop-off zones as quickly as possible so they can move to their cars to appropriate long-term parking lots. Transportation officers will help to keep traffic flowing and parking security officers will monitor parking times. Only one residence hall has an elevator, so students living on upper levels and their helpers will need to prepare for climbs accordingly. Some volunteers will have carts to help with the heavy hauls, but students will benefit from bringing their own dollies to expedite the process. The facilities and operations office and transportation services will be fully staffed and operating on move-in day.

At least 10 campus food and beverage establishments will open for move-in day:  Sbisa Dining Hall; Aggie Express and Starbucks in Hullabaloo Hall; Papa Johns and Smoothie King in the Underground Food Court; Panda Express, Rev’s American Grill and Smoothie King in the Memorial Student Center; Starbucks in the Corps of Cadets complex; and Dining at the Commons and the Commons C-Store at The Commons. A full calendar of dining establishments and hours of operation for the fall semester is available at dineoncampus.com.

Offices of residence life, recycling, transportation services, student life and utilities and energy services as well as the University Police Department, University Dining and the Corps of Cadets plan the mass move-in for most of the year and coordinate its many aspects the actual day of the event.

Move-in Assistance Day segues into Howdy Week, Aug. 20-27, which features eight signature events among more than 115 others that students can enjoy. The main attractions are the ATC Backyard Bash, Aggiefest, GatheRing and Yell Practice, the Ice Cream Carnival, MSC Aggie Cinema Movie Night, the StuAct Block Party, Rec-A-Palooza and the 12th Man Jam.

Students can take advantage of other social activities, such as Pizza on the Plaza, the Connect Retreat, the Lemonade Passout, the Howdy Cookout, the Hillel Open House, the VET Camp for new student veterans, and the VIP shopping events at Barnes and Noble, and Bed, Bath and Beyond, among many others sponsored by various university offices, colleges, student organizations and campus ministries.

Informational and educational meetings on topics ranging from money management, student employment and repaying student loans to safe drinking habits, understanding student rights with law enforcement, and SHARP, sexual harassment and rape prevention, are also on the calendar. A complete list of the activities planned throughout the week is available at studentlife.tamu.edu/howdyweek.tamu.edu.

Official move-in for the university apartment properties, The Gardens Apartments and White Creek Apartments, begins Tuesday, Aug. 15, by appointment. Residence life is supplying Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits, fruit and coffee at White Creek that morning because of limited dining options nearby. Pepsi is providing complimentary bottles of water at both apartment complexes.

Fall 2017 semester classes at Texas A&M begin Monday, Aug. 28.

Related Stories

Recent Stories