MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Thousands of students are moving into residence halls, apartments and houses this weekend for the start of the Fall 2022 semester at West Virginia University.
WVU Dean of Students Corey Farris said the campus and community will go from the emptiness of summer to the bustle of classes and activities in a matter of days.
“Traffic is going to step up and we know we have a lot of downtown visitors,” Farris said Thursday on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.” “Part of that is the Morgantown hospitality that we all have to help people out.”
Thursday, Friday and Saturday students and families will be moving in, getting acquainted and settled. Residents should expect a larger than normal crowd at their favorite place to eat or shop as well as people not familiar with navigating Morgantown.
“We will have that running for the next three days to get our students safely into the residence halls. So that’s where the congestion will be in the next few days. But, we know the rest of the students will be arriving across campus, shopping and things like that,” Farris said.
There are many things that were ushered in during the pandemic and are now part of our normal lives. Farris said asking students to designate their move time makes the process go faster.
“That actually helps spread out when people are arriving. They’re not arriving at the same time and there’s no congestion around the elevators or parking lots,” Farris said. “We actually started that a couple of years ago and we’re going to continue that.”
Each day hundreds of people will be rushing to complete the move within the designated time. Some of those people are going to distracted and carrying heavy, bulky items that could obstruct their view.
“The extra eyes on people who may be crossing the street because they’re familiar how on campus or in a new community,” Farris said. “Just show them courtesy.”
Farris noted the general demeanor of the city and asks people to always be helpful first.
“If we see them walking on the street welcome them,” Farris said. “If they have that map out, find out how we can help them find the destination they’re looking for.”
The first day of classes is next Wednesday, Aug. 17.