Campus fills with energy as newest students move in

Thousands of students, parents, build new homes in residence halls

a student smiles — A student enjoys a laugh on Move-In Day. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

August 20, 2019

New students roll belongings into the residence halls on Move-In Day. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

Move-In Day is the best day of the year for Chancellor Carol Christ, who spent her morning walking the residence halls and greeting Berkeley’s newest residents as they adjusted to life at UC Berkeley.

“It is so exciting,” Christ said, as parents wheeled carts filled with linens, pillows, desk lamps and shower totes, while anxious students carried suitcases packed with clothes. “For everyone in higher education, this is the best day of the year.”

Across campus in the courtyard of Unit 1, Tommy Joseph, 18, of Thousand Oaks, was standing with his dad, Tony Joseph, as they mulled over how to fit all of the new student’s belongings into a tiny room.

“I’m a little excited, a little nervous,” said Tommy Joseph, an intended computer science major. “I’m entering a completely new time in my life, of independence.”

people gather on the sidewalk — Students and parents gather outside the residence halls for Move-In Day. (UC Berkeley photo by Dean Allen Poblete)

a group selfie — Chancellor Carol Christ takes a photo with a group of fellow administrators and staff members. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

a man talks to a driver — A staffer helps direct Move-In Day traffic. (UC Berkeley photo by Dean Allen Poblete)

two people stand with carts — Students and parents used big laundry carts to help roll belongings into residence halls. (UC Berkeley photo by Dean Allen Poblete)

people talk to each other at a desk — Resident advisers and other student and staff helpers were standing by to welcome new residents to Berkeley. (UC Berkeley photo by Dean Allen Poblete)

three people in a dorm room — Sumanth Gurram, 17, helps his family unpack belongings in his Blackwell Hall room. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

a student on the phone — New students will spend next week at Golden Bear Orientation, getting even more acquainted with the campus and the Bay Area. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

two people take a selfie — A student takes a selfie with Chancellor Christ on Move-in Day 2019. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

two people on a bench — These two students are among the estimated 6,400 first-year students joining the campus community for fall semester 2019. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

Jacob written on a paper and pasted to a door — Student names could be found on each door in the residence halls. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

two people at a table — Students check in on Move-In Day. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

a group rolls carts — Students and families wheel and lug belongings into the residence halls. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

a student smiles at the camera — Marie Bellevue, 18, a first-year student at Berkeley, had fun with her mother unpacking belongings in Blackwell Hall. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

Joseph is one of roughly 6,400 first-year students coming to Berkeley this fall, and almost three-quarters of them are California residents.

The youngest is 15, and the oldest first-year admit is 28. Roughly 18% are from underrepresented minorities, and 22% have parents without a four-year college or university degree.

This year, Berkeley has distributed almost $230 million in financial aid to its undergraduate and graduate students, up $35 million compared to last year.

Among them is Marie Bellevue, 18, of San Marcos, one of 800 new students to receive a prestigious Regents’ and Chancellor’s Scholarship. On Tuesday, she was struggling to fit bed sheets on her twin bed in Blackwell Hall.

“I feel like it’ll be awesome to finally start meeting people and making friends,” she said.

A student unloads a carful of dorm room essentials on Move-In Day. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

The new students will spend the next week in Golden Bear Orientation, a class-wide introduction to all things Berkeley and the Bay Area that includes classes on safety, team-building exercises, meetings with advisers and a giant group photo in Memorial Stadium.

Jordan Jomsky, a third-year student and data science major who heads the Resident Hall Assembly, a student body that governs life in campus residence halls, said Bellevue’s attitude was exactly the spirit Berkeley’s newest bring to life on campus.

“Berkeley is where I found myself,” he said. “Berkeley is where I found out who I want to be. It can be a big and intimidating place, but that’s the point. That’s how you find yourself.”