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Friday Exodus Arrives With Freshman Move-in Day

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Freshman move in to dorms on Friday.

by Madison Lewis Fisler

Aug. 15, 2014. If you’ve noticed traffic getting a bit heavier this week, it’s not just you. This week marks the official start of student move-in for Appalachian State University students, which means more than 17,000 students will be flocking back to the institution for yet another year of college. With those students comes some 900 academic staff and more than 1,500 members of full-time staff to get all those students settled in for the fall semester.

Freshman move in is scheduled for all day on Friday, Aug. 15, between the hours of 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 1 p.m.-4 p.m. while the rest of the returning students will move in over the weekend.

Only 19 of the 21 residence halls from last year will be in use for incoming students this year. Belk Hall is currently undergoing renovations and Winkler was demolished over the summer to make way for a new “greenspace” on campus according to the website.

With that being said, watch out for traffic throughout the weekend, especially around campus and the downtown area, as students move into their dorm rooms and apartments. While the Appalachian State University Traffic and Parking officials will be on hand to direct traffic, and plenty of volunteers will be on hand to help with the move-in process, the massive influx of students will make potential traffic issues hard to avoid.

Questions and concerns about on-campus parking and traffic problems and conditions can be directed to ASU Department of Parking and Traffic available here.

Classes for the upcoming fall semester will officially begin on Tuesday, Aug. 19.

The students will witness many changes this year, not the least of which will be the new chancellor, Dr. Sheri N. Everts, who took the reins at the helm of the university July 1. This fall will mark the first official semester with Everts in charge.

One of the most exciting changes to come to Appalachian will start to take effect this fall, with ASU’s move into the Sun Belt Conference. As far as football is concerned, ASU will play its first game as a new member of the Sun Belt Conference against Michigan in Ann Arbor Aug. 30 at noon. In addition to football, the Sunbelt Conference also sponsors nine other men’s sports and 9 total women’s sports for Appalachian.