For many University students, Wednesday was just another day. But for more than 2,000 freshmen, Sept. 19. was the first day of their new college lives.
Arriving when the doors opened meant getting up early. But for many newcomers the sleepy start was worth it, especially if it resulted in beating the crowds, choosing a bed first and being one step closer to independence.
Michael Eyster, director of University Housing, said this year’s occupancy is the University’s highest since 1996. There are about 3,200 students living in University housing this year, 75 percent of which are freshmen.
In order to accommodate increased demand, University Housing offered fewer single rooms. Eyster said temporary housing has been set up in the lounges of the Bean complex, but it will probably not be used.
Parents asked the housing staff a variety of questions that ranged from curfew to safety concerns.
“At first it is overwhelming,” Eyster said. “In no time at all, students are old pros.”

Eager arrivals
8:56 a.m. Even this early on Wednesday morning, the parking spots are already full. In grand September tradition, blue covers the sky and a slight breeze ripples the green leaves. A girl carrying several bags drops one and clumsily attempts to retrieve it.
About 20 freshmen and their parents line up outside Dunn Hall waiting to get their contracts and keys. Standing next to her mom in line, freshman Kerry Dillingham has just spent two days in the car.
“I’m feeling very chaotic,” she said. “I don’t like having to drag my bags up the stairs.”
Having moved from Los Angeles, Dillingham will now be living on the fourth floor of Robbins Hall. But Dillingham said she doesn’t know her roommate or any other students, and her biggest concern is her shyness.
“I won’t be the one to go up and introduce myself most of the time,” she said.
Gail, Kerry’s mother, said she is excited for her oldest daughter to be living on her own but is also worried about “drinking, drugs, sex, and making stupid mistakes that have consequences for the rest of her life.”
9:12 a.m. A little tired, a little anxious and very excited, students begin lugging backpacks, computer boxes and duffle bags up the stairs. On the second floor of Dunn Hall, John Baston and his roommate Ross Bowman rest on a bed. The two friends from Sprague High School in Salem decided to live together. Baston, who brought an MP3 player, a stereo and a computer, wanted the side of the room with the phone jacks. Bowman complied.
Baston said while he brought just about everything he owns with him, his football tickets are sitting on his desk at home. But the conversation is interrupted as the two freshmen are called outside to continue unloading boxes from the car.
Marty Fraser, Baston’s step-mother, said college was the best experience of her life. And while she is happy for John, she said she would be losing his help at home.
9:35 a.m. On the fourth floor, Dunn Hall is quiet. A small yellow sign labeled “Respect” hangs above every door.
9:40 a.m. In a second floor room, teacher Karen Andrade hoists up an armload of shirts, steps fully into the closet and hangs them up.
“He needs training,” she said. “I’m too old for this.”
Andrade’s son Ryan is a recent graduate of Mountain View High School in Bend. Because Karen Andrade works in Eugene frequently and has a cell phone, she plans to stay in close contact with her son.
“He can run, but he can’t hide,” joked his father, Tom Andrade.
Andrew Kicza from Pullman, Wash., walks into the room and introduces himself to his new roommate. “Hi,” Kicza said. “Nice to meet you.”
While the Andrades move in more supplies, the Washington native shares his feelings. “My biggest worry (was) that I wouldn’t like him,” Kicza said. “But I got him in August, and we’ve been talking since.”
After pulling a feather bed over her son’s mattress, Karen Andrade jumps on it. She sinks down, but despite its alluring fluffiness, she manages to get back to work.
10:13 a.m. Inside one room in Robbins Hall freshman Katherine Koppel is taking a break from moving in with the help of her father, Greg.
Three days earlier, the pair left their home in Long Beach, Calif., to Katherine’s residence hall in the more temperate Eugene. Like many freshmen, Koppel was ready to leave her high school and home state. University of California Santa Barbara accepted her, but she didn’t like the campus. Plus, she said she likes the University’s football team and journalism program.
Koppel is leaving her three younger siblings and her two parents, who are both deaf, in California.
Her father Greg signed, “Of course I will miss her, but I’m excited for her and her adventures. She’ll have a good time here.”
Although she has not received her computer yet, Koppel is planning on keeping in contact with her family through e-mail. In the meantime, she said, “They’ll just have to wait.”
10:29 a.m. Resident Advisor Josh Christiansen sits in his spacious room on the first floor of Robbins Hall. He is excited about helping new students and University housing.
“The first weeks are the most important,” he said. “You can shape how (the residents) are going to act toward you and others. You can instill respect in them.”
As Christiansen plays a song by the Spin Doctors on his computer, students and parents walk across the lawn.
“It’s like moving into ambiguity,” he said.