New students play human foosball during the Week of Welcome at Eastern Oregon University on Sept. 22, 2022. Eastern Oregon University Foundation disburses $850,000 in scholarships each year to help students fund their education. The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2023.

LA GRANDE — The hustle and bustle of campus life has returned to Eastern Oregon University with the arrival of the new students Sept. 21, followed by a full week of welcome to ease people in college living.

Around 115 new students arrived on campus for move in day, according to Eastern’s Residence Life Housing Director Jeremy Jones. There were also about 100 new students who moved in early for football season or the summer bridge program.

“We really felt like it went well,” Jones said.

The flow of move in day was designed to be as stress free as possible for arriving students and families, said Jones. The year residence life had specific time slots for move in and worked to optimize the flow of traffic. This helped speed up and streamline the whole check in process.

“We got great feedback from students and families,” Jones said.

Someone from the university was with each family every step of the way. As people pulled up to campus in cars and trucks — trunks packed tight with everything needed for the school year — volunteers directed them to parking spots closest to the dorms they were moving into. Everyone then flowed into the quad between North and Daugherty Halls where staff and students got new students checked in. Members of Eastern’s football team then stepped in — helping families unload and carrying everything inside.

Student staff from residence life got to relax between check ins — listening to music, playing cornhole and hanging out, said Jones.

“Honestly, it seemed like it went so well that there were times I felt like I was just twiddling my thumbs,” Jones joked.

The past few years’ move in day has felt substantially different due to the pandemic, according to Jones. In comparison to last year new student arrivals were higher this year.

There is a little bit of extra space in the freshman residence halls, but Jones feels that actually works out for the best. He anticipates seeing more issues around social anxiety and

“I’m happy with where we landed,” Jones said.

Eastern organizes a week of welcome to help new students transition into campus living. The week is packed full of fun events that help students make friends and get more comfortable on campus, said Eastern Director of Student Success and Transition Kathryn Shorts.

Students get fully outfitted with team gear and then compete in a number of activities — human foosball matches, an obstacle course with the Outdoor Adventure Program, a cornhole tournament and more.

“I feel like I’m pushing students to their social limits,” Shorts said.