A wintery mix hit UConn move in weekend causing an inconvenience to student life. When paired with the temperatures, students received a fridgid welcome home. (Kevin Lindstrom/The Daily Campus)
Many University of Connecticut students took advantage of the early opening of UConn residence halls Saturday, according to resident assistant Mario Rivas.
“I know of the 46 new residents that were moving into (my floor in Garrigus Suites), about half came on Saturday, which turned out to be a nice day,” fourth-semester physiology and neurobiology major Rivas said. “From what I heard going on on my floor, there was definitely a substantial amount of early returnees in the building.”
Move-in, originally planned for Sunday, Jan. 20, was moved up to Saturday, Jan. 19 due to a winter storm.
“To help ensure your safety and that of the campuses as a whole, the University is changing those schedules in light of the forecast for snow and sleet this weekend,” an email sent from Dean of Students Eleanor J.B. Daugherty said last week.
The decision came, in part, due to a change.org petition created by UConn student Grace Brangwynne to open the residence halls early.
On the other side of campus from Rivas, RA Natalee Brenner from North campus said it was a good move by UConn to open the halls early. The process went smoothly, Brenner said.
“I think it was wise of the University to do so,” fourth-semester allied health sciences major Brenner said. “Personally, if I wasn’t required to move in early as an RA, I would have moved in on Saturday to be on the safe side.”
There were no issues with students moving in, Brenner said, but there were problems with the building.
“Since it was the first snow of the semester, some leaks became evident on my floor,” Brenner said.
Overall, it was a good decision to move-up the move-in, Rivas said.
“I’m very glad about the switch of the day. I think it made for a very safe move in process to begin the semester here at UConn,” Rivas said. “Without it we would have been very worried for our fellow Huskies returning for Sunday, and things may not have went over as smoothly.”
Luke Hajdasz is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at luke.hajdasz@uconn.edu.
