Freshmen arrive in Morgantown

More than 5,000 freshmen sweated in the hot sun Friday as temperatures reached a scorching 80 degrees during residence hall move-in day.

Many of the workers who were there to help freshmen unload their belongings into the dorms remarked on how this year's move-in day went smoother than in years past.

Tasha Frazie, a resident assistant in Brooke Tower, said the warm weather made the day a lot more pleasant.

"This is my third year moving people in, and it's gone a lot smoother," Frazie said.

"We have good weather this year. The last two years it rained and that just caused problems."

Members of Student Government Association who were volunteering at Towers agreed with Frazie.

"Last year, everything wasn't as organized," said SGA Governor Rashad Bates.

Bates noted the number of RAs and "hot shot" volunteers, or upperclassmen who move into the dorm, had increased this year.

The Downtown Campus proved to be one of the busiest areas in town as a steady stream of cars parked to unload.

Morgantown and University police joined forces to direct traffic and offer directions.

Julia Barry, a sophomore speech pathology major, was taking a break from being a hot shot. Barry said she signed up to be a hot shot to help out families with the move-in process.

"It's nice to get in a day early," Barry said.

"There's not a big crowd, and you have a day to get your books."

Parents said their good-byes to their sons and daughters after getting their dorm room furnishings unpacked and organized.

For parents such as Laurie and Kenneth Knox, they will be more than 21 hours away from their daughter, Alli.

Alli, a freshman psychology major from Houston, said she chose to come to WVU for a change in scenery.

The hot weather did not bother her during the move, she said.

"To us, this is cool weather," she said of the 80 degree temperatures.

Many parents, such as Debbie Gomke, spent the day seeing WVU through the eyes of their children.

Gomke rode the PRT for the first time.

"It's kind of like a big roller coaster," she said.

Moments before, Gomke's youngest son Aaron was shut out of the PRT by its closing doors.

"Hopefully we can meet up later," Gomke joked.