WHAT: Move-in day for incoming students at Washington University in St. Louis. Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will lead university staff members and upperclass student volunteers in an early-morning pep rally (cheers, dancing) as they prepare to welcome the new students and assist with move in.
WHO: Some 1,600 freshmen, 100 transfer students and 40 exchange students are arriving for the 2013-14 academic year that begins Tuesday, Aug. 27. Though many students already have arrived for pre-orientation programs, most new students will arrive at the South 40 residence halls on Thursday, Aug. 22. A team of 420 students, faculty and staff will help haul everything from refrigerators and microwaves to carpets, bicycles and stereo systems. Trucks, vans, minivans and U-Hauls will line the South 40 driveways.
WHEN: All day Thursday, Aug. 22. The pep rally begins at 7:30 a.m. New students and their families begin arriving at 8:30 a.m. The heaviest move-in volume is mid-morning, around 10 a.m. By 3 p.m., most students will be settled into their new home.
WHERE: Washington University’s South 40
PARKING: Media parking is NOT available on the South 40. Free parking is available nearby in the Danforth University Center garage and throughout the Danforth Campus. No permit needed.
Live TV trucks may park in the First Congresional Church lot at 6501 Wydown Blvd., directly east of the South 40. Enter lot from Wydown
Boulevard at Wallace Drive. Please call 314-974-4238 in advance so we
can secure space.
OF SPECIAL INTEREST: At 7:30 a.m., Chancellor Wrighton will lead the volunteers in his “Peel the Banana” dance, a crowd-pleasing move-in day tradition.
Upperclassmen assisting the incoming students are called WUSAs (Washington University Student Associates). These student volunteers help, not only with move in and orientation, but they are paired with incoming students for the entire first year. Washington University’s WUSA program is viewed as a model program nationally. To learn more move-in day and orientation, visit: Bear Beginnings: Orientation by the numbers.
NOTE: Please call (314) 974-4238 or (314) 935-5230 if you plan on coming to the South 40 so that someone from the University News Service office will be there to assist you.