By Lucas Wimmer

A change in the move-in date for freshmen will cause some changes on campus beginning in 2014.

Freshmen will move into their dorms Sunday, Aug. 31, instead of the usual Thursday date.

A number of issues brought up at the Oct. 23 Whitewater Student Government meeting by UW-Whitewater Provost Beverly Kopper made this change necessary.

Some students would move in on Thursday and leave to go back home Friday, which would prevent them from attending weekend events that UW-Whitewater had spent large amounts of money to host, Kopper said.

Another issue was because the move-in date was during the week, some parents were unable to be there to help their child move into the dorms, Kopper said.

This can be an important and emotional part of a parent’s life.

Fifth-year senior and elementary education major Sarah Fisher was a freshman at UW-Whitewater the last time freshman move-in day was on a Sunday.

Both her parents were able to attend, and it allowed the event to be an emotionally special experience for her and her family, Fisher said.

Fisher said having freshman move-in day on a Sunday made the decision of whether to stay at school for the orientation and welcome events easy.

“I think Sunday would work because it is the weekend, so there’s probably not as much going on,” Fisher said. “Otherwise, it’s the weekend and everybody goes home.”

Director of Residence Life Frank Bartlett said some other underlying issues may have included issues with alcohol in the dorms.

Other than the change in date, differences around campus for freshman moving in should be miniscule, Bartlett said.

Orientation and welcome programs, such as Club U Dub Dub and the Week of Welcome will still be held and will be pushed back to Monday or Tuesday. Student volunteers will still be available during move-in periods to help the freshman get into the dorms as well.

Bartlett said as with any campus change, some problems may arise.

The change has been made in part to accommodate parents moving their children into the dorms  Putting it during Labor Day weekend may prevent some parents from being there as well.

“When we had openings on Wednesdays and Thursdays, there was a huge turnout of parents, so clearly that was very doable,” Bartlett said. “But this will be doable as well.”

All of the campus offices are open during Thursdays, which was a benefit of opening on a Thursday, Bartlett said. These offices typically are closed on Sundays.

Bartlett said he is not sure if these offices will open with the change.

All offices on campus, especially their office, are going to help accommodate to the change in date.

“We are campus players,” Bartlett said. “We are going to do whatever it takes to be successful.”

Assistant Director of Residence Life Terry Tumbarello voiced some of the same concerns.

“It’s my belief that when the residence halls open, the university has to open,” Tumbarello said. “If the opening is on Sunday, we’re going to need other offices to be open as well.”

Although there are concerns, the change in date will definitely help some families, Tumbarello said.

“Everyone’s situation is so vastly different,” Tumbarello said. “For some of our families, coming on that Sunday will be much easier than coming in during the week.”

Tumbarello echoed Bartlett’s sentiment that the main goal is to make the move-in process better for everyone.

“As a department, Residence Life will do everything in our power to make opening 2014 better than opening 2013,” Tumbarello said.