Students Move-In ’24 in Photos: The Hill Welcomes Our Newest Cornellians Stories You May Like For Half a Century, the U-Halls Shaped the Campus Experience Move-In ’23 in Pictures: Students Make Homes on the Hill Remember Arriving on Campus? Now, Move-In Is a Major Event With the annual caravan of vehicles and a parade of fresh faces, another school year gets underway By Joe Wilensky In mid-August, thousands of first-year and transfer students and their families converged on the Hill for the start of the fall semester. And while rain was forecast—and made several unwanted appearances early in the week—the energy and excitement of the annual rite of passage shone through. Staffers offered Big Red welcomes and a celebratory atmosphere at the mall check-in center. A former department store space at the nearby Ithaca Mall was once again transformed into a colorful welcome and-check-in center. There, new Cornellians received their ID cards and room keys, and ecstatic families posed for photos amid festive balloons, decorative backdrops, and large video screens displaying Cornell student stories. This year, there was also an additional family lounge space, housed in another nearby storefront. From the mall, streams of cars, SUVs, and minivans—as well as Ubers ferrying solo students and their belongings—headed to the North and West campus residence halls, program houses, and co-ops. New students chat with Ryan Lombardi, VP for Student and Campus Life, at a welcome event. En route to the residences, an army of volunteers—plus professional movers wielding wheeled bins—helped direct students and their families in unloading their cars and moving into rooms. The newest Cornellians include 520 transfer students as well as the 3,574 members of the Class of 2028. Stories You May Like For Half a Century, the U-Halls Shaped the Campus Experience Move-In ’23 in Pictures: Students Make Homes on the Hill Those first-years come from every U.S. state and 57 countries, and 16.3% of them are first-generation college students. Among the new arrivals: 20 veterans of the U.S. military. For a number of first-years, the official Move-In and New Student Orientation activities weren’t their first taste of Cornell, since they’d attended summer programs, pre-Orientation outdoor adventures, or service trips. Interim President Mike Kotlikoff poses for a selfie with a parent in Willard Straight. The week’s festivities also included a Big Red Welcome Party for new Cornell families in the Straight—where they were greeted by Interim President Mike Kotlikoff—and a bevy of receptions, socials, and more. Top: A family photo in Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall on North Campus. All images by Cornell University photographers Alex Bayer, Lindsay France, Noël Heaney, Sreang Hok, and Jason Koski. Published August 22, 2024 What do you remember about your arrival at Cornell? Comments Elizabeth Hoare Cowles, Class of 1982 23 Aug, 2024 Clara Dickson Hall had a floor called the Living Learning Center. We had great times together and made lifelong friends. As my father (class of 1956, MBA ’57) said when he left “These will be the best four years of your life.” Reply Leslie Starr, Class of 1976 27 Aug, 2024 I’ll never forget beginning to meet other incoming freshmen who lived in North Campus 7. I asked people where they were from, and I got answers “the city” and “the island.” I innocently asked “which city” and “what island”? They looked at me like I had green antenna. When they asked me where I was from, and I said “Chicago,” to which they replied “oh, you are from our WEST!” (I’d always thought of California being “out west,” but I guess it’s all in your perspective.) It seemed so odd to me that these folks were so NYC-centric that they must have thought everyone was from there. But I quickly learned which city and which island people meant. Reply Karen Viglione Lauterwasser, Class of 1976 6 Sep, 2024 Yep. I found the same responses, having come to Cornell from Cleveland, OH. I eventually met folks from Montana and Idaho, and we reveled in being thought of as being from the same “out west”. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Alumni Alum’s Bakery with a Hollywood Following Hits a Sweet Spot Alumni Following His Foodie Dreams, Engineering Alum Sells Asian-Inspired Snacks Students For Guiding Eyes Volunteers, it’s a Labor of (Puppy) Love