Armed with hammers for lofting beds, mattress toppers and carts in hand, students began moving onto campus last Wednesday, marking the beginning of the annual five-day move-in period at UNC.
Carolina Housing and the Department of Transportation and Parking at the University organize the logistics of 1,500 move-in appointments on each of the five days.
Executive Director for Carolina Housing, Allan Blattner, described the move-in process as “coordinated chaos.”
According to Blattner, Carolina Housing accommodated students on the housing waitlist and reached out to students who canceled their allocations. He said 70 dorm rooms are still available.
For first-year students like Luka Skinner, this year marks their first time living in a dorm with roommates. Skinner, who lives in Craige Residence Hall, said he would miss his hometown of Missoula, Montana .
“Everybody I've talked to has been from North Carolina, and so far everybody has a person from their town, or a couple [of] people from their high school or even an entire friend group that's moved over here,” he said.
According to Avery Cook, UNC's Counseling and Psychological Services director, students may suffer from homesickness and adjustment but may benefit from self-care, socialization, campus and community involvement and utilizing support resources such as therapy. CAPS also encourages incoming students to attend Weeks of Welcome events.
Lillian Hanks transferred to UNC for her junior year. Hanks, who is a wheelchair user, said she found the move-in process to be slightly more challenging.
“Having a disability like I do, it's definitely been a journey getting everything in my room set up,” she said. “So it's been a very gradual process of moving everything in tote by tote, and then unpacking everything and finding a place for it.”
