By Flash Steinbeiser

Feature Editor

Staring at an incoming freshman’s four-foot safe, Luther Masanto had only one question.

‘Where am I going to put this?’ said Masanto, a Goon Squad veteran.

After serving for two years with the Goon Squad, a volunteer move-in service for incoming freshmen, Masanto thought he had seen it all. In the fall of 2009, he said items were never bigger than the occasional flat-screen TV.

But never had Masanto seen a four-foot safe, which required two people to be moved in.

‘I don’t know what she would need a safe for, only for a giant diamond or something,’ said Masanto, a junior environmental engineering major.

As roof rack wielding Honda Elements and overstuffed U-hauls backed their way into Syracuse University’s residence halls, the Goon Squad members said the incoming freshmen are basically bringing their entire bedrooms along for the ride. Facing a monsoon of cardboard boxes, members are quick to notice the load being heavier than in years past.

‘Someone came in with a U-haul packed full with tons of boxes,’ said Gina Biascoechea, a sophomore Goon Squad member stationed at Sadler Hall. ‘I see a lot more stuff than I ever remember packing.’

Several Goon Squad members said some incoming freshmen have decorated their dorm rooms with high-end furnishings. Forget beanbags and movie posters: Framed artwork, ottomans and even miniature aquariums will soon define the typical freshman dorm room.

‘I was unloading this car, and this student was like, ‘Can I put my fish aquarium in my bin?” said Chelsea Marion, a sophomore Goon Squad member stationed at Booth Hall. ‘And he has this fish tank with him, so I said, ‘You can carry that up to the room.”

Incoming freshmen packed more electronics than Goon Squad members had ever seen before. Mini-fridges, printers and copious amounts of flat-screen TVs were shuttled into dorms.

‘I haven’t moved in a person without a fridge, TV or computer,’ said Laurel Griffith, a junior Goon Squad member stationed at Sadler Hall.

After moving two refrigerators and TVs into the same room, Masanto said the freshmen could have easily coordinated with their roommates to avoid an overpacked room.

‘I think that they’re so nervous that they’re not talking to their roommates much,’ Masanto said.

In a new environment with a fresh set of faces, incoming freshmen are looking to bring the comforts of home to their new campus habitat.

‘They’re all really nervous and they’re trying to hoard with them as much as possible because that will be more comfortable,’ said Biascoechea.

Masanto said he is happy to help out, but other Goon Squad members wondered if some of these comforts were practical.

Adriana Gonzalez, a senior Goon Squad member stationed at Oren Lyons Hall, had to tell one father that she could not fit any more furniture into the already camped 272-square-foot room. After handing back the pink butterfly chair, Gonzalez said the father merely shrugged, and put it back in his car.  

‘They’re bringing in a lot of unnecessary stuff, and they’re going to find they don’t need it,’ Biascoechea said.

Watching two suitcases of clothing, a 16 cubic feet refrigerator, a TV and a microwave being unpacked from a U-Haul trailer attached to her Chevy Suburban, incoming freshman Madison Fiore knew she had brought more than she needed for her split double dorm room in Lawrinson Hall.

‘Once I moved in, I realized I didn’t need half the stuff,’ said Fiore, an aerospace engineering major.

And just when Masanto thought nothing could possibly top a four-foot safe, his expectations were once again blown away. While he had never brought in a brand new dresser before, he said, some parts of freshmen never change.

‘They’re ready to get out there and see what’s going on,’ Masanto said. ‘One of the first questions I heard from a student was, ‘Where are the parties?”

ansteinb@syr.edu

 

 

 

Published on August 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm