A line of cars crept up the side of Franklin College’s Elsey Hall on Wednesday.
New students and their families emerged with TVs, furniture and appliances, an indication of late August and the start of another fall semester.
As people headed into the residence hall, they donned masks, a reminder of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the rise of the Delta variant that prompted college officials to reinstate a mask mandate, regardless of vaccination status.
Unlike last year, though, there aren’t as many capacity restrictions, meaning other students helped freshmen move in, offering a helping hand to parents. One of those students was Ty Wright, a sophomore, who moved in last year without assistance from fellow students or college personnel due to the pandemic.
“I’m just here trying to help make sure everyone is situated and moved in to have a great welcome week,” Wright said. “I got here around 8:30 (a.m.). I just wanted to be a good teammate. We already know how to do this so we’re able to help them get established.”
Mitch O’Mara, a freshman from Avon, came to Franklin College to pursue college basketball, O’Mara said.
“There’s a lot of new chapters and different things going on. I’m definitely excited and a little anxious to start this journey,” O’Mara said.
Students will continue moving in throughout the week. Classes are set to start Monday. Students’ first week on campus includes a viewing of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” with President Kerry Prather and his wife at the Artcraft Theatre, a welcome bash, educational programming, a session on diversity, equity and inclusion, a session on stress management and a resource fair, said Andrew Jones, the college’s dean of students.
The first part of that week — move-in — requires a lot of teamwork, he said.
“Almost 100 faculty, staff and students are helping with move-in,” Jones said. “It’s kind of an all-hands-on-deck effort to make sure things are as smooth and easy as possible on campus.”
The move-in process put freshman Lilly Daniels in a state of mixed emotions, as she left her home in Lapel.
“It’s stressful,” Daniels said. “I’m excited to do new things, but I’m going to miss my home.”
Daniels plans to study exercise science and play softball, she said.
Freshman Austin Dwenger of Shelbyville chose Franklin College because his sister went to the school, he said.
“It’s been a little stressful leaving home,” Dwenger said. “I just really love the campus and I’m going to play tennis here. It’s the right campus for me, I think.”
Despite reminders of pandemic life, the start of the school year is always exciting, Prather said.
“I think on the one hand, everybody is a little disappointed we’re still contending with the COVID challenge. On the other hand, we’re now so used to it that there’s at least kind of a default approach. Everyone kind of knows the deal,” Prather said. “I haven’t seen among the campus community — and I don’t think we’ll find among the students and their families — that that diminishes the excitement of this journey. We’ve all got to hope that the environment improves so we can continue to make our way toward a more traditional experience.”
