Indiana University is welcoming back thousands of students, as they return for another school year. Classes start next week.
About 9,800 first-year students are moving in this week. The largest number will move into housing on campus tomorrow and Wednesday. IU’s Office of Student Life and its community partners have been preparing for move-in since last fall.
“Show the Hoosier hospitality that I know our campus can exude,” said Lamar Hylton, vice chancellor for student life. “We are tremendously excited to see the activity rise again on campus after the lull of the summer, and so I hope that it will be something that students and their families and our community members more broadly will gravitate around.”
Hylton said the move-in strategic committee made some changes to improve flow and consistency during the busy week; that includes identifying traffic patterns and increasing communication.
“We've hosted a number of know-before-you-go webinars,” he said. “There have been countless emails and other types of communications that have gone to students, that have gone to their families, ensuring that they kind of know when they arrive, where to go, how to get there, how to connect, who to go to for questions.”
Instead of Welcome Week as has been the case in the past, Hylton said the campus is launching Hoosier Welcome, a new initiative that will host events through the beginning of October.
“Being extended to eight weeks now allows for us to really do intentional engagement, promoting the academic success of students,” he said, “and also helping them to find community, for them to find connection, and for them to find outlets where they will be able to thrive and grow as they begin their time here.”
With a busy week ahead, IU’s police department will be more present on campus to help direct traffic and keep people safe. Public Information Officer Hannah Cornett expects 6,000 students to arrive tomorrow alone. That’s why more police will be visible at welcome events and on the roads.
“We are bringing in a lot more officers just to help with move-in specifically,” she said. “And so, across IUPD, no one is really getting their days off. It's all hands on deck so that we can make sure our campus is safe and secure as everyone's coming back.”
Various roads will be impacted during move-in, with police helping direct traffic in specific areas.
- Walnut Grove Street will be one way south from 17th Street to 13th Street
- Fee Lane will be one way south from 17th Street to 10th Street
- Campbell Street will be reversed from one way north to one way south
- Sunrise Drive will be one way south
- Rose Avenue will be one way north from Third Street to Seventh Street
Cornett said the police motorcycle unit is doing more traffic enforcement, specifically on the bypass.
“They've been pretty prevalent on the bypass throughout the summer, just trying to slow people down, which is our goal,” she said. “We want to make sure people aren't driving distracted, they're not driving impaired. Really doing everything we can to keep our roads safe.”
Cornett recommends people arrive early and eliminate distractions while driving around campus, where both pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be heavier.
“Safety is everyone's responsibility,” she said. “We are going to do everything we can to keep this campus safe, but we can't do it alone. So, if you see something suspicious, say something. We're here 24/7.”
Fall enrollment numbers will be released in September.
