SHOW ME CENTER TO BE SITE FOR SOUTHEAST STUDENTS TO CHECK-IN

Southeast Missouri State University officials hope to minimize traffic congestion and provide more services to students moving into campus residence halls by having students check in at the Show Me Center.

Students will be able to check in from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Show Me Center.

Students who arrive on campus Saturday or Sunday will check in at their dormitories.

Classes begin Monday.

"This is the first time we have organized check-in for all the residence halls at one location," said David Ruhman, assistant director of residence life at Southeast.

The Show Me Center will serve as the check-in site for students seeking to move into the seven, regular residence halls. Students moving into the fraternity and sorority houses on campus are being handled separately, he said.

Ruhman said about 1,700 to 1,800 students are expected to move into the residence halls Thursday and Friday, with the bulk of those moving in Thursday afternoon.

In all, about 2,200 students will live on campus this fall. "We are full for the fall semester," said Ruhman. Some rooms will have only one person in them instead of the normal two, but that's because those students are paying for private rooms, he pointed out.

Over the last few years the Show Me Center has been used as a staging area to help alleviate traffic congestion associated with students moving into the dorms.

But the actual check-in still occurred at the residence halls, said Ruhman. "This year, we are actually distributing (room) keys down there," he explained.

"In the Show Me Center we will have one or two staff members from every building checking out keys, giving out instruction sheets and maps," he said. Staff members will also hand out meal passes.

In addition, 18 campus offices from admissions to textbook service will have representatives on hand at the Show Me Center to assist students. The university's public safety department will be issuing parking permits and alumni services will sell tickets to fall events. University sports schedules will also be available.

"It is just designed to give them as many resources there as possible, just a one-stop shop," said Ruhman.

Having a central check-in should help students get to their residence halls and avoid having students and parents driving around campus trying to find the right building, he said.

It will also allow traffic to be routed to the proper buildings. "We are going to create lines of traffic as they come in (to the Show Me Center site). People will park in different areas depending on what building they are going to," he said. There will be parking attendants on the scene to direct traffic.

Residence Hall staff members will be on hand at each of the residence halls to assist students in unloading their belongings and moving in.

After a car has been unloaded, parents and students will be encouraged to drive back to the Show Me Center and park the vehicle. They will then be able to return to different areas of the campus on a shuttle bus, Ruhman said.

The whole idea, he said, is to reduce traffic congestion on Sprigg Street.

In 1989 traffic was lined up on Sprigg Street from the Towers complex back to Independence, said Ruhman. "The police came by and said, `Get these people off the street.'"

In 1990 the university began using the Show Me Center site for traffic control about an hour after students began moving into the dorms.

Last year the center was used for traffic control from the very beginning, but students were still no closer to getting checked into the dorms. "A lot of parents legitimately had the complaint of, `What am I doing down here?' It really was a madhouse for the first hour," said Ruhman.

Still, he said, the staff received praise from many parents and students for what they felt was an effort to improve the check-in process.

Ruhman said it's hoped the one-stop check-in this year will make things less chaotic for students, parents and staff.