Like so many other traditions that needed be modified because of COVID-19, Brock University’s annual Move-In Day is being held in a whole new way this year.

Instead of a single day when hundreds of student volunteers would help move 2,400 mostly first-year students into Brock’s on-campus residences, this year’s Move-In Day has become Move-In Weekend.

In order to follow public health guidelines and allow for proper physical distancing, students have been separated into cohorts based on their residence building and floor and received a specific time slot over three days from Saturday, Sept. 4 to Monday, Sept. 6. They can each bring two ‘helpers’ to help move all of their belongings into their residence room. Move-In hours are also being expanded from six hours to nine each day, starting at 8 a.m.

“We have COVID-19 mitigation measures in place and we’ve tried to be as proactive as we can in preparing our residences,” said Jamie Fleming, Director, Brock Residences. “We think the three-day move-in plan will work well for spreading out students’ arrival times given we will not have the normal hundreds of volunteers.”

The on-campus residences will be operating at approximately 85 per cent capacity and, like all Brock students, faculty and staff, those living in residences will need to be fully vaccinated.

New this year is a block of rooms that were set aside for second-year students, who didn’t get the traditional first-year experience in 2020-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Department of Residences staff have been on campus all summer, preparing to welcome students into their residence houses, halls, courts and blocks. Orientation activities planned by Residence Life Staff, Brock University Students’ Union and the University itself are also being modified this year to be delivered in a largely hybrid format, and are being stretched from a single week into multiple ‘Welcome Weeks.’

For more information about the programming being offered or to sign up, visit Badgerfest.ca and brocku.ca/orientation