MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The dormitory streets of Morgantown are clogged with traffic from parents moving their children into West Virginia University.
Move-in day saw more than 5,000 students and their parents descend on parts of downtown Morgantown — including Beechurst, High Street, Maiden Lane, and University — as they packed the halls of Dadisman, Stalnaker, Boreman, Summit, and Seneca. Additionally, the Evansdale Campus also saw significant traffic as students moved into Towers, Lincoln Hall, and Oakland Hall.
“It took about an hour to get from [University] to here,” said Lisa Gatling, who was moving her freshman son Christopher into Boreman Hall.
Move-in weekend officially began Friday with the arrival of 925 students to the honors college.
“When they say you need to have patience, they were not joking,” Gatling said, laughing. “I need to have a drink.”
The Gatlings drove just under four hours from York, Pennsylaniva to move their son into Boreman Hall, the first of seven children who chose not to stay local.
“Didn’t even make it out of the hotel before I cried,” she said. “I cried all the way down the elevator.”
In 2016-17, 49 percent of the student body came from outside of West Virginia.
“This is absolutely a blind pick for him. He has no friends that are coming. He wanted to do it all by himself.”
Lisa plans to familiarize herself with the area by coming to see the Mountaineers play on Saturdays — as long as she follows one stipulation set by her son.
“He said I can not tailgate with him,” she said, laughing again.
As with many parents: she has an idea of what she’ll say to him before she and her husband return home.
“I want him to do great, but I will be here almost every weekend if I can.”
As for the rest of Morgantown, local officials are requesting residents use alternate routes to avoid move-in traffic.