By Thomas Gillen
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Post opened up its doors on Tuesday, Sept. 6, to 1,000 freshmen and returning students who will be dorming on campus for the coming year, according to Michael Berthel, director of Campus Life.
“Kings Hall and Queens Hall serve as the first-year residence halls,” Berthel said. “Post Hall serves as Honors College housing and South Residence Complex is home to Greek Housing and 21+ housing.”
The move-in process this year was spread over a week to allow residence assistants to get trained and prepare for the coming semester, according to Tim O’Connell, a junior biology major, who is one of the resident assistants in Riggs Hall. This is O’Connell’s first year as an RA, and as a result, he had to move in on Aug. 20 for Campus Life staff training, held from Aug. 21 – Aug. 31.
“As an RA, it’s my job to check people in, make sure their finances are in order, and help them adjust to residence life,” O’Connell said. He doesn’t know the total number of resident assistants, but stated that the number of RAs per building is based off of the building’s population. This semester, Riggs Hall, Post Hall, Brookville Hall, South Residence Complex, Queens Hall, and Kings Hall are open while Nassau Hall and Suffolk Hall are closed.
On Sept. 6, most parking lots were full as parents helped their kids move into their new home for the coming year. Along with cars, some students used U-Hauls and other trucks to transport their items to the residence halls around campus. While most students carried one or two suitcases, others opted to use carts provided by Post to transport their belongings.
After an orientation session in the Hillwood Lecture Hall on Sept. 6, students were separated into different parts of Hillwood Commons, the Fishbowl, Lecture Hall, and the cinema. There, the students were given briefings on their MyLIU accounts, Greek Life, an overview of campus programs, and campus and commuter life. The Orientation Leaders and RAs gave campus tours to the freshmen and their families to finish the day.
Ben Brinton, a senior double-major in political science and musical theater from Nashville, Tennessee, also moved into his dorm on Aug. 20, as an RA and orientation leader. Since he has been dorming for four years, Brinton always packs a few special items in his suitcases. “Some out of the ordinary items I bring with me every year are a water jug, Playstation 4, and a fridge for leftover food.”
Freshmen Brenden Murray traveled all the way from Portland, Oregon to attend Post. “I decided to attend Post because I wanted to major in musical theater and I know that the school has a great program,” he said. “Another big factor in coming here was that Post is a short drive away from Manhattan, which you can’t beat.”
One special item Murray brought with him this year was his hair dryer because he “has to keep his hair up to standards.” During this first semester, Murray just wants to “gain a lot of experience in theater and have fun.”
Carlos Abreau, a senior marketing major and an office assistant at Campus Life, said that this year’s move-in was better than other years. “It helps that the RAs get to move in first to help the other students and it makes the campus less crowded when the freshmen and returning students move-in,” he said. Abreau believes that the move-in process can be even further improved in the future. “One improvement that can be made is if there are separate days for the freshmen and the returning students to move in, since it would make the process less hectic. I also think there should have been an earlier day for returning students to move in while the freshmen could move in last.”
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