U of A sees students flock to on-campus housing

TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) – From big boxes on wheels to just a few bags, hundreds of U of A students hauled their possessions into their new homes Thursday.

"Just piling it all in, got a microwave and everything," said U of A freshman Michael Miramontez.

"This is my last one, so this is my empty nester here," said his mother, Carol Miramontez.

Plenty of students showed up with their parents. But some like arrived solo.

"I just left home, this is completely new to me, I don't have any friends here, so I'm just looking forward to meeting new people," said freshman Patrick Balaguer who just arrived at Arbol de la Vida residence hall from Austin.

"We've mostly encountered excited, we've been asking people if they're excited on a scale of one to ten and we've been getting a lot of nine's," said resident assistant Meme Bill as she checked in residents.

Patrick Balaguer welcomed not only a new room but the fact that he had one.

"I'm just glad that I didn't end up in a temp room," he said.

The university expects about 6400 students to live on campus. Residence Life estimated to have about 150 to 180 more students than rooms. Those students will live in study areas that have been converted to rooms until regular rooms become available.

"We're waiting to see if some people don't show up or decide college isn't right for them, so, we wait for a little bit, probably in the next couple weeks," said resident assistant Raj Lodhia.

He showed Balaguer some of the "green" features of his room in the new Arbol de la Vida.

"So when you leave the room, the lights will turn off," Lodhia explained by the light switch.

Moving day offered plenty of new experiences and challenges. But for those seeking a change, everything was welcome.

"It's stressful and kind of annoying but in the end, it's worth it because it's beautiful here and far from New Jersey," said freshman Colby Levy, from New Jersey.

"I'm having fun already," Balaguer said.

In addition to the Measles, Mumps, Rubella immunization that the university requires of its students, U of A Campus Health Service also recommends a bacterial meningitis immunization for students who will live in the residence halls and Greek houses.