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Inside Iowa State, a newspaper for faculty and staff, is published by the Office of University Relations.

Aug. 9, 2007

Students who arrive early in Ames

by Anne Krapfl

Sure, there may be a few students who slide into Ames at dusk the night before classes begin Aug. 20. But there are many others who nearly need their second Ames haircut by the first day of fall semester. For lots of reasons, students arrive in town early, so don't be surprised to see lots of them in the weeks between summer commencement and Aug. 20.

For example, team workouts for student athletes competing in a fall sport begin sometime between Aug. 1 and Aug. 9. The 330 or so students who make up the 2007 Cyclone Marching Band begin a six-day "band camp" Aug. 14. And international students, who by law may enter the country 30 days before school starts, start trickling back to Ames in mid-July. They'll arrive by the dozens the weekend of Aug. 11-12, in time for three days of orientation to Iowa State Aug. 13-15. About 500 international, first-time students to Iowa State are expected on campus this fall; about half of them will participate in the orientation program this month, said Becky Zama, a program coordinator in the Office of International Students and Scholars.

Greek community

When recruiting is complete later this month, Iowa State students affiliated with a Greek fraternity or sorority will hover around 2,300, according to Tara DeBartolo, vice president for recruiting for the College Panhellenic Council, the umbrella organization for sororities. The heart of the fall recruiting effort falls between Aug. 11 and Aug. 16, but she said the chapter houses south of campus open the first weekend in August and nearly all returning members move in then. About 80 percent of Greek members live in a chapter house.

"We haven't seen each other for three to four months. Everyone just wants some time to hang out together," she said. Most of their August activities and events take place in or near their chapter houses, not on campus, she added.

Residence halls

An estimated 8,500 students will live in university-owned residence halls and apartments this fall, up from about 8,100 a year ago. Demand for campus housing on the west side is so great that all of Helser Hall is open, offering just over 700 beds, and a full-time hall director is back in place. (The northernmost wing of Helser was demolished in 2001, and the building was offered as temporary fall housing for a few years, a concept residence director Pete Englin has ended.)

"There's a lot of interest in living on campus," he said. "We don't have the fall attrition rates (as many as 200 students) we had several years ago, which also means we don't have the flexibility to be moving people around once classes begin." He said students who don't show up for school or want out of their housing contract at the last minute now number fewer than 50.

Residence hall and apartment student leadership staff, about 140 of them, arrived on campus last weekend and began training Aug. 6. Another 320 returning students who will volunteer on move-in crews that assist first-time students will arrive on campus Aug. 12-13. First-time students attending Destination Iowa State orientation events move in Aug. 14 or 15 and begin two and a half days of activities on Aug. 16. The residence halls open to other returning students on Aug. 16.

Summary

Like to lunch at UDCC?

The high student demand for on-campus housing, particularly in the southwest corner of campus, means the Marketplace in the Union Drive Community Center also will be busier when school starts. So, during the first few weeks of school, ISU Dining is encouraging faculty and staff to have lunch at one of the two dining centers on the east side of campus (Oak-Elm or Maple-Willow-Larch). That strategy should ease the anticipated crowds at UDCC and give everyone -- students and employees -- a better experience. Lunch at the two east dining centers will cost $5 ($4.50 if you do payroll deduction). ISU Dining also plans to set up a barbecue cart outside the Marketplace at UDCC that will accept cash payment.