Centenary College Freshmen Move In, Complete with Tech Gear

Moving into college on a beautiful day like Saturday -- clear skies, mid-70s -- almost seems unfair.

It also doesn't hurt to have campus golf carts and more than 100 volunteers help you carry your boxes, bags, TV and mini-fridge.

Campus staff and volunteers at Centenary College lugged plenty of students' needs-and-wants up dormitory stairs Saturday, including more flat-screen TVs than in previous years, as bulky tube models become passé.

In fact, some tech-crazed students have two flat-screens, one for TV and one for simultaneous video game play, said Neil Andrito, director of resident life.

Technology plays a multi-faceted role in campus life these days, including academic study, entertainment and, in a notable trend, social comfort.

First-year Centenary student Morgan LaRiccia, of Verona, got to check out and confer with her new roommate and fellow equine studies major, Natalie Fabiano, of Manalapan, on Facebook ahead of move-in day. A resident assistant in Reeves Hall, their dorm, created a mock-profile of himself out of paper and posted it on the dorm's bulletin board to introduce himself.

College President Barbara-Jayne Lewthwaite said a large group of first-year students created a Facebook page, without goading from the college, to become acquainted ahead of classes.

They got to meet each other face-to-face Saturday. Officials said 267 first-year students and more than 200 transfer students moved in with the help of 111 student volunteers and about 30 faculty/staff volunteers.

"It's an all hands on deck kind of thing," Lewthwaite said. "We really want them to feel welcome. It's that old first-impression thing, and most of the parents are impressed."

Two first-year students, Jeanmarie Rivera, of Hamburg, and Ashley Russo, of Franklin, knew each other at Wallkill Valley Regional High School and decided to be roommates at Centenary, so they didn't need to get acquainted. Rather, they figured out where to put the TV and looked ahead to classes.

"I'm nervous, but excited," Rivera said.

Fellow freshman Bryanna Montague, 18, of Burlington Township, said she noticed all the usual accoutrements expected of tech-savvy freshman on move-in day, including cell phones, iPods, gaming systems and stereo equipment. But her most-valued item?

"My clothes," she said.

Students at Centenary today will be issued IBM Lenovo laptops, which can they can use on a campus-wide wireless system and even take home during semester breaks, said Chris Campesi, an IT security engineer at Centenary.

Officials said issuing computers the day after move-in is a more comfortable, step-by-step process.

Move-in itself has a staggered schedule, with students on top floors asked to arrive earlier than first-floor residents. That way, volunteers will not have to carry materials up the stairs by the time fatigue sets in, said Kristen McKittish, director of co-curricular transition.

Rachel Montague, Bryanna's mother, said the college's streamlined system made a major life change easier on everyone.

"That's my best friend," she said, motioning to her daughter. "It's very emotional for me right now."