Summary: A new crop of Fighting Scots mooved on to campus on August 24.
Imagine the general feeling of unease felt by the parents of college freshmen when the time comes to drop their freshman off at an unfamiliar college campus thats often hundreds of miles away from home.
Now picture this instead.
When the car pulls up to the entrance to the college the family is greeted by the sounds of the schools pipe and drum corps and the sight of the school mascot and scores of cheering upperclassmen, faculty members and alumni.
That was the scene alone Beall Avenue on August 24 when the College of Wooster held its second annual Moove In Day for the incoming Class of 2015.
A play on words on the schools initials, Moove In Day is the concierge service inaugurated last year to make the 574 first year students immediately feel welcome on the colleges campus.
The tongue in cheek reference to the schools name continued on the shirts worn by the scores of volunteers standing by to assist the new arrivals.
According to the College of Woosters John Finn, a Nike-like swoosh emblem with cow spots was adopted as the logo for the event to remind anyone who might think about standing still for too long to Just Moove It.
With the Beall Avenue closed to thru traffic between Pine Street to Bloomington Avenue through the heart of campus, a long line of cars containing the families of incoming freshman and other first year students were guided to their dorms by hundreds of volunteer students, faculty members and alumni.
As cars reached one of the first check in points parents rolled down their windows to snap pictures of their students being greeted by College of Wooster President Grant Cornwell, Dean of Students Kurt Holmes, Provost Carolyn Newton and the colleges mascot.
Amid shouts of welcome by scores of upperclassmen, the arriving first time Scots were also greeted by the distinctive sound of the colleges famous bagpipe and drum corps.
When they arrived at their assigned dorms, dozens of volunteers descended the cars and quickly unloaded the cargo inside. Within a few short minutes each vehicle was empty, its contents whisked away to the students new home for the next nine months.
According to Finn, after dropping off their precious cargo, parents headed to a designated parking area to drop off their cars and were shuttled back to reunite with their student.
Once the moove was complete, students and family members strolled through the center of campus visiting informational booths and snacking on corndogs, donuts, ice cream and beverages before headed to Kittredge Hall for a pizza party.
The objective of Moove In day was to make moving to an unfamiliar campus as easy and stress free as possible for parents and students alike.
We realize that this can be a very stressful time for students and their families, so we hope that this service takes some of the anxiety out of it," said Associate Dean of Students Christie Kracker, who brought the idea to COW last year.
This is our way of greeting new students in the most welcoming way possible, Kracker added.
When it was time for the parents to depart for home the following day, the college hosted another event designed to make the final separation easier.
According to Finn the college hosted a half hour period for Hugs and Goodbyes to help students and their parents make a clean break.
While much of the day was spent helping students adjust to their new lives as college students, the college also provided anxious parents with reassurance in the form of Dean of Students Kurt Holmes annual "Letting Go" session.
