It is that time of year again when the car is loaded and I drive nine hours down from Maryland to Greenville, SC. As a senior, this process has become routine. I know exactly what I need and how to do to get ready for Furman again before classes start. Nevertheless, one thing remains different every year: the initial check in process for returning students at Furman.My freshman year, the check-in process was with my RA in the dorms on the same floor. It was simple and easy: I checked in with my RA, signed the room assignment sheet, and got my keys. As a sophomore, instead of a direct check in with my RA, I had to seek out the RA office. Come junior year, I had to go to Estridge Commons in order to check in to my apartment. I went through the same process, signing in with an RA and getting my keys, but I ended up in a different location since I had moved across campus to North Village.
Coming in as a senior, I knew the process of having to sign a piece of paper in exchange for my keys, but I still had one big resounding question: Where should I go? Having gone to J to return my keys at the end of my junior year, I did not know whether the check-in process would happen in Estridge or in Apartment J. I was moving in for the fourth time, and yet I did not feel like a senior. I did not feel as if I had gone to this university for three years already. Instead, I felt lost and confused.
Given that the beginning of the year check-in is a very simple process, there is no reason for students not to be informed beforehand where to check-in. Also, without any clear signs leading returning students to the correct check-in places, I wonder how any upperclassmen figure out where to go.
If the housing department intends to create quick and easy check-in procedures for incoming students, the assumption that students will simply figure out where to check in is not helpful. It would be far better if housing had one designated location for each of the housing locations that dealt with anything to do with housing. That way, by the time a student became a senior, the check-in process would need no explanations and upperclassmen could help new students find where they need to go. Despite Housing’s attempts to make moving in easier for people in the past, students really need a notified check-in location for each housing area before arriving on campus. Simply, the process is relatively straightforward, yet each year’s scavenger hunt for the check-in location has not been helpful. A notice concerning move-in details would be greatly appreciated.
