With her hair pulled back and arms wrapped around a Dell computer, Jessica Katz and two of her friends battled the warm Friday sunshine as they moved her belongings from her over-booked triple room in Abbot Hall into her new room in Mason Hall.
While most incoming freshmen were adjusting to the stress and anxiety of moving into dorm rooms on campus, the no-preference freshman had to deal with it twice.
"I have been living out of a suitcase for the last couple of days," said Katz, who had been staying with friends at Gilchrist Hall until her new room was ready.
Katz decided she would be the one to move out of the cramped quarters and put in a request for another room.
"I kind of volunteered," Katz said. "I can deal with it, and it seemed like the right thing to do."
While Katz seemed adjusted to the situation, certain aspects of moving twice did bother her.
"It was kind of frustrating because I couldn't just sit in my room, watch TV and hang out with other people," she said.
Paul Goldblatt, director for the Department of Residence Life, said he hopes problems such as the overbooking of rooms will hopefully be remedied by the end of this week, as soon as the number of empty rooms due to no-shows is determined.
"Some room problems can occasionally happen because there is a mix up with students who didn't send in information on time," Goldblatt said. "We would like for every student to be able to live on campus because it is important to have that experience."
Goldblatt said other common problems that arise when students move in include complaints about lumpy mattresses or students dealing with the depression of homesickness.
University Housing Director Angela Brown said the process of moving students back into the dorms requires time and effort to make sure things run smoothly.
"We had it started the minute students left," Brown said. "Moving about 15,000 students back onto campus in two days involves a lot of communication and an all-around big effort from everyone."
"Thousands are involved in preparing for move-in," Brown said. "This is a campus-wide effort."
Brown said the recent student complaints about campus Ethernet have had nothing to do with the number of students who hooked up their computers when they moved in.
"The Internet problems are, in part, due to a nationwide virus that came through the network attacking the system," she said.
Students can install a patch on their computer to alleviate any problems attributed with the virus, Brown said.
Theater sophomore Jennifer Broadwell, who lived in Shaw Hall last year, said moving into a residence hall was much simpler the second time.
"It was definitely easier because everyone was more lenient with parking this year," Broadwell said. "Last year, it was crowded and there was no place to park."
Katz said the information sent by MSU can only do so much to help the incoming freshmen deal with the change of moving away from home.
"There is no amount of stuff they can send in the mail to prepare you for moving in," Katz said.
