by Joe King
Bill Finucane remembers the bad old days.
Those August afternoons when the campus was utterly unprepared for the onslaught of students, their families and the mountains of belongings that they brought with them when they descended on DeKalb prior to the start of fall classes.
“I recall one year when the line of cars stretched from Stevenson South to the tollway,” Finucane said last Thursday when he addressed some of the hundreds of volunteers who will be on hand this Thursday to ensure that things go much more smoothly for Opening Day 2009.
The chaos of those long-ago days has been replaced by an all-but-trademarked process that this year will be handled by nearly 200 faculty and staff who will pilot a fleet of 120 golf carts, which will be loaded by an army of nearly 500 students drawn from student organizations, all operating with the assistance of nearly 300 volunteer student guides.
And, said Phyllis Dupre, event and marketing coordinator for Housing and Dining, every one of those individuals should be smiling.
“This is a great marketing opportunity,” she told attendees at the Aug. 13 Red and Black Reception for volunteers. “The experience that we give those families is something they will be talking about for weeks, and we want them talking about us in the best possible way.”
Usually that has not been a problem.
Feedback from parents since the formal move-in assistance program began 12 years ago has been overwhelmingly positive. Parents who recall the nightmare that was moving into their own residence halls, or who have been through the process elsewhere with older children, speak in glowing and almost-awestruck terms about the organization on display, the helpful volunteers at every turn, and the back aches avoided thanks to all of that help.
Most who volunteer have equally great memories of the day. A show of hands at the reception found most in the crowd were Opening Day vets, with a few participating all 12 years.
Student Affairs is still accepting volunteers interested in working Opening Day, and is particularly in need of faculty and staff to work the afternoon shift which starts at noon.
Faculty and staff also are being recruited to participate in the House Calls program being conducted by Student Affairs.
That program involves teams of faculty and staff visiting residence halls, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25, and touching base with all new students. The goal is not only to answer any questions that they might have, but also to help them establish a contact with at least one member of the faculty or staff as a way of making them feel more connected to the university.
To volunteer for either Opening Day or House Calls, visit www.housing.niu.edu and click on the “Volunteer” link.