U of M Student Move-In Open Thread.
Sitting at Pizza House in my MGoBlog Dad Bod T-shirt after having just moved in 2023 UM Grad for his sophomore year. Living at the Landmark. Doesn’t feel like a quintessential college living situation but he is very not social and found three nice kids to live with...so there we are.
Anyone else moving in their MGoKid? Any students on here moving in?
August 24th, 2020 at 7:38 PM ^
Just moved into my dorm today. Been waiting for the day I could move in for years still a weird experience though.
August 24th, 2020 at 8:10 PM ^
It feels like the all-dorm meeting on the first day was just yesterday and not 23 years ago. I still remember being amazed that there were more kids in W. Quad than in my entire hometown.
August 24th, 2020 at 8:48 PM ^
I don't remember an all dorm meeting in Alice Lloyd, maybe I skipped it.
August 24th, 2020 at 9:32 PM ^
Me either. I was 3rd Palmer.
August 24th, 2020 at 9:40 PM ^
Nothing but animals in Palmer
- 2nd Adams
August 24th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
4th Klein in the House!
August 24th, 2020 at 11:47 PM ^
4th Hinsdale!
August 24th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
3P! I was 4th Angel (24 years ago) had some friends on 3rd Palmer though.
August 25th, 2020 at 12:49 PM ^
5 Hinsdale in '86. Don't think I attended anything I was supposed to all year long.
Just moved my daughter into the dorms at PSU. Man that town is still in denial about JoePa...tons of signs to "bring back the statue" of JoePa.
August 25th, 2020 at 11:26 AM ^
I met my wife the first day I moved into the dorms. Keep your eyes open and your head on a swivel.
August 24th, 2020 at 7:39 PM ^
June Cleaver used to think Eddie Haskell was a nice kid.
Just sayin.
August 25th, 2020 at 9:43 AM ^
"How nice you look today, Mrs. Cleaver."
-Eddie Haskell
August 24th, 2020 at 7:51 PM ^
Covid has killed a great once in a lifetime experience for many.
August 24th, 2020 at 8:26 PM ^
I move in on Wednesday. As thrilled as I am, I have had to temper some of my excitement given the current circumstances. I am just hoping to have the opportunity to meet some people and have a good time this semester while adhering to all guidelines established for us. It will be different, but I’ll be in Ann Arbor, and that fills me with so much joy. Go Blue!
August 25th, 2020 at 10:06 AM ^
Have fun and be safe. My welcome week was 22 years ago, and it was a weird fun week. Days seemed so long. Just know that no matter how confident you think other freshman are, they aren't. Just enjoy getting to know some cool people from different places.
August 24th, 2020 at 8:34 PM ^
Drove by Bursley earlier. 100's of people eating each other's asses really seemed to slow down the move in process.
August 25th, 2020 at 9:00 AM ^
Yeah... that sounds about right. The dining experience at Bursley really went downhill after the university cut their budget in the early 2000s.
August 24th, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
I didn’t move in because I’m not in college.
August 25th, 2020 at 6:56 AM ^
Sound reasoning.
August 24th, 2020 at 11:00 PM ^
Moved my son in today. My guess is second week in September, they will announce all classes will be virtual only. I wish it wasn’t so, but not everyone is taking the covid situation seriously.
August 25th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
Let’s hope you’re wrong. I know they (the University/Ann Arbor) are trying to keep the parties down. If they were going to go online in a week or two is going to look really bad. Plus it will be another huge financial disaster added to the other financial disasters that have taken place.
August 25th, 2020 at 7:43 AM ^
It'll look a lot worse if they wait until after the deadline for disenrolling when you can't get back the full tuition you paid.
August 25th, 2020 at 5:17 PM ^
He’s lucky to have any in person classes now. Wonder how much of the course catalog is Remote at this point?
August 25th, 2020 at 10:40 AM ^
Moved my daughter into her house for Sophomore year this past Friday. She has 5 housemates who are all friends from Freshman year.
It has been a rough start. She is concerned about the virus and doing the right things. She is having trouble with the peer-pressure element as friends are coming over and not wearing masks inside the house. Tons and tons of questions about what is the house "group" and does it even make sense to isolate if you're interacting with kids from other houses.
Having ground rules, agreeing to them as a house, and then living up to those agreements is a challenge... four days in to the year. Going to be hard to set and keep any discipline when everyone has different ideas about what is important. I think all the classic traps: magical thinking, feeling invincible, familiarity and frequency biases, etc. are all at play here.
These are all friends, all good kids, and all concerned about each other. But it will be exceptionally hard for all of them to be adults all the time. It is a tough challenge for people with three times the life experience to manage; perhaps impossible for college kids.
August 25th, 2020 at 12:11 PM ^
She sounds very responsible, but Welcome Week is likely the super-nova of Covid spread. Unfortunately, those frat parties are all about exchanging droplets - singing, dancing, yelling, etc. Tell her to stay in her house for the next two weeks and require visitors to have their temperature taken at the door before entry. No random strangers allowed inside and friends with symptoms are turned away at the door. Be vigilant and safe as possible.
I feel sorry for her as college in this environment must be a downer and a bit frightening.
August 25th, 2020 at 12:36 PM ^
I think one of the issues is that people treat two different elements as if you can only think one is relevant or important:
- Young people are unlikely to die or have serious consequences
- Some relatively simple actions can limit the spread of the virus but require constant vigilance
Both things can be true. I think figuring out how to navigate all of it is a challenge for everyone.
August 25th, 2020 at 12:19 PM ^
there are essentially two effective response to the COVID pandemic, on one end is China, on the other end is Sweden. Personally, I will take Sweden’s approach in any given day, that is, let the low risk population get it and protect the high risk population.
August 25th, 2020 at 12:26 PM ^
I moved my sophmore daughter into a house on Sunday. She is right across from Schembechler Hall and Yost. She is getting Covid tested and then must quarentine (4 of the 6 kids living in the house are on the M Varsity Cheer Team). Sucks for her that there will be no game days this fall but hopefully basketball can be salvaged and the NCAA Cheerleading Championships will take place next April. Wear your masks!!!
August 25th, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
As an Ann Arbor resident with knowledge of city government goings-on, I can say that the university is losing a decent amount of goodwill over the re-opening. The parties and irresponsible behavior have already started and are on display for anyone driving around town, and spurred City Council to pass a more strict mask and social distancing policy at last night's meeting. Many of the older residents were already predisposed to disapprove of 'typical' college behavior, and now many young families are also frustrated because UM's opening is frequently cited as a reason why we have to have all-virtual K-12 education this year (I, for one, will have to 'virtual' homeschool my Kindergartner's very first experience with 'school'). And the inevitable outbreaks from UM students will push back even further any opportunity for K-12 kids to get back to normalcy. I suspect it's not 'one or the other' with UM vs K-12, but what the undergrads are going to cause in the community, like most other big state schools have been dealing with over the last few weeks, is certainly going to suck for those of us that live here and have been working hard all summer to get and keep our numbers low. That said, these kids have leases that they can't get out of, the administration said it's fine to come back, and it's probably a small minority that are being irresponsible. But, that's all it takes. I have high hopes but low expectations for how the next few weeks will go. Best of luck to everyone!
August 25th, 2020 at 5:11 PM ^
My son drove back up Sunday. He is in The Courtyards next to the NCRB. (Sign his lease before COVID with no break clause of course.) His apartment-mates have arrived too.
We watched all his classes shift to remote through July - August. One discussion section (the Bacon class taught by Michael Spath this semester) shifted back to in person and now back to remote.
He is a Senior. All of his 400 level engineering classes are remote - finally get small class access to the best professors but no.
Covid informed was a predictable farce, and why I am paying an extra Covid fee when he has no reason to set foot on campus?
Have a senior in high school too. Told them both this sucks, just focus on moving to the next step and get through it.