CLIMBING THE TOWERS: STUDENTS MOVE INTO SEMO DORMS

The crush of vehicles turned Southeast Missouri State University and surrounding streets into a parking lot at times as about 1,200 freshmen, loaded down with everything from clothes to computers, moved into residence halls Thursday.

By Sunday night, when all the returning students are settled, the dorms will be crowded to capacity with more than 2,300 students.

Southeast is bracing for record enrollment of more than 9,000 students for fall semester classes, which begin Monday.

About 425 volunteers, most of them returning fraternity and sorority students, helped out with Thursday's moving frenzy. They directed traffic and struggled under the weight of dorm residents' belongings.

School officials said staggered move-in times and better traffic control made moving in easier this year.

"It's a lot more organized," said Tye DeCramer, a senior and one of several members of Delta Chi fraternity who helped freshmen move into the Towers high-rise residence halls as rock music blared from outdoor speakers near the front of the complex.

The volunteer help surprised freshmen roommates Robert Jarvis and Hirschell Parker. The two 18-year-old Ironton, Mo., residents said it took only 10 minutes to move all their belongings into their room from the time they pulled up in front of Towers.

"It's been great," said Jarvis, who counted video games among his most important belongings.

Donna Evans of St. Louis helped move her grandson into a Towers room. "It is wonderful," she said of the volunteer movers. "It is very nice of these kids to help."

Even with the aid of volunteers, it took about an hour and a half for Sarah Fedak of Troy, Ill., to get moved in.

"She has a lot of junk," said Beth Dolansky, Fedak's mother.

Fedak, 18, hauled many of her belongings up the stairs to her fourth-floor Towers East room, avoiding a wait at the elevators.

"This seems like chaos to me," she said of the move-in process.

But Jim Settle, director of Southeast's campus housing, said the move-in went well.

He said many students arrived with two carloads of belongings. Some even had three vehicles crammed full of possessions.

"We are stretching it to accommodate 3,000 cars moving through campus," he said.

OPENING WEEK ACTIVITIES

Today

8:15 a.m. Convocation for new students at the Show Me Center

7 p.m. The Great Ice Cream Pig Out at the Student Recreation Center

8 p.m. hypnotist Jim Wand

10 p.m. to midnight Coffee House entertainment at Towers complex

Saturday

9 a.m. to 4 p.m. E-mail and Internet training in the Towers computer lab

1-3 p.m. Student tours of campus

3-4:15 p.m. Bootcamp aerobics at the Student Recreation Center

8 p.m. Movie on Academic Terraces

Sunday

Morning Campus ministries worship services at various locations.

4 p.m. Welcome back picnic at Capaha Park.