By The turn of a new semester brought hundreds of incoming students to the Cal State Long Beach campus a week prior to kicking off the fall term. CSULB’s annual “move-in” event on Saturday stretched from the early morning to the afternoon, with incoming students arriving at staggered times to unload and strap in for the upcoming semester.
While new students and their families checked in for their move-in times, the CSULB community gathered in Lot 14C for a morning of tabling, outreach and assistance. Various student and campus organizations such as Associated Students Inc., Beach Athletics and the University Police Department were in attendance to welcome incoming residents.
Freshman student Dacia Maldonado checked in to her Parkside College dorm at 9:30 a.m., and afterward explored the Earl Burns Japanese Garden with her parents and brother before saying goodbye. Maldonado’s family drove her from Moreno Valley and she said this is her first time really living “on her own.”
“I’m kind of sad that I’m leaving my family and friends,” Maldonado said. “But it’s also exciting? I want to meet new people.” Despite knowing that she would miss her kin in Moreno Valley, Maldonado said she was pleased that all dorm students were able to move in a week prior to the semester starting.
“I don’t want to get lost once [the semester] starts.” Maldonado said.
The festivities in Lot 14C raged on while students, family and a mess of luggage was moved through lower campus dorms.
Bobby Yagake
University Police officer Rodney Dickerson pets Avery, an explosive-detecting dog, at Move-In Day Saturday.
Making her debut at the annual move-in was UPD’s new K9, Avery — a certified “bomb-sniffing” hound who, according to her partner Sergeant Ray Gonzalez, will be spotted frequently around campus once the semester begins. Avery is UPD’s first trained K9 and Gonzalez said she was brought in as an extra safety precaution — but he’s never found a better partner.
While UPD socialized and offered coffee to students and their families, community service sororities such as Alpha Omega tabled to spread awareness to first-time college students, recruit for the upcoming semester and pass out Hershey’s Kisses to anyone who stopped by their table.
The early move-in day allowed new students to adjust to their campus environment, and dormers will have the week to explore CSULB as well as the city of Long Beach itself.
