By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – Students and parents unloaded cars filled with crates and mini-fridges outside Watterson Towers Wednesday morning for the first day of move in at Illinois State University.

Over 6,000 students will return to the dorms this week, with the bulk moving in Wednesday and Thursday, according to Director of University Housing Stacey Mwilambwe. She said there aren’t any drastic changes for this years process, but preparing well beforehand is always key.

“It’s important to communicate with families about what students should bring before they pack the car and hit the road. Then the other part is making sure people show up during their assigned move in time. We don’t want people to wait around because it’s to crowded,” Mwilambwe said.

Incoming ISU freshman Jessica Aguilar from Glen Ellyn said she’s excited to be on campus, but wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I thought the whole moving process was going to be chaotic and difficult, but honestly it has been pretty easy,” said Aguilar. “Even getting prepared before the move in, the school had lists online of what to bring and that helped a lot.”

A record number of volunteers are on hand this week, one of them being Vice President of Student Affairs Levester Johnson. He’s experiencing his fourth ISU move in and said it continues to run like a well-oiled machine.

“That’s the beauty of this, we tweak it, but it’s still the efficient operation I witnessed my first year here,” he said.

To answer questions, university staff are encouraging families to use the move-in guide on the ISU app.

Temporary traffic patterns and some street closures will be in effect until Friday.  North Street will be one-way east from School Street to Fell Avenue; Fell Avenue will be one-way south from Mulberry Street to College Avenue (only move-in traffic allowed); Fell Avenue will be closed between College Avenue and North Street; and Fell Avenue will be closed for all northbound traffic.

The fall semester starts Monday.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]