Nearly 900 students moved on campus Saturday, Aug. 13, during what one organizer called one of the smoothest move-in days in UALR history.

The day went well thanks to the hard work of the Office of Campus Living staff and a high number of volunteers, according to Marc Glidden, UALR director of campus living.

“We got a lot of feedback about how things were running so smoothly, and that it was one of the best move-in day we have had in a while,” Glidden said. “That is especially thanks to our staff who stayed out so late the night before to get things ready and the many volunteers who came to help the students and their families.”

Campus living staff stayed on campus until 2 a.m. the night before move-in day. The staff was back and ready for action at 7 a.m. They were going strong until the last student checked in at 9 p.m.

In addition to the staff, more than 150 volunteers arrived on campus despite the rainy weather. Some of the largest groups of volunteers came from organizations such as Chi Alpha, the Chancellor’s Leadership Corps, and the university’s Greek community.

Mark Harris, acting director of the Missionary Baptist Student Fellowship, brought several members of the organization to volunteer Saturday. While the rain kept some people away, the weather was not about to keep Harris from volunteering.

“The rain dampened a whole lot of response,” Harris said. “As a parent of two college students, I have been on the receiving end of that kind of help. When you bring a carload to a college campus, it sure is nice when there is a gang of people to help carry stuff to the dormitories.”

At lunchtime, Dr. Brad Patterson, vice provost for student affairs and dean of students, manned the grill, cooking hot dogs and hamburgers for the masses of hungry students and their families eating a free lunch at the Trojan Grill. UALR Dining Services provided the food for the cookout.

UALR staff had an elevator maintenance person on site, who was quickly able to repair an elevator in North Hall, thus saving students, parents, and volunteers the hardship of many extra trips up the stairs.

The UALR Department of Public Safety was also prepared with an extra 10 officers on duty.

On social media, move-in day was a popular topic on Snapchat. A Snapchat geofilter created by a campus living staff member had more than 18,000 views on Aug. 13.

In the upper right photo, two UALR students move into the residential halls during move-in day Saturday, August 13. Photo by Lonnie Timmons III/UALR Communications.