It’s move-in day at residences across Western University. “it’s very exciting and everyone seems like they’re having a great time,” said Sarah Pfeffer, a first-year political science student. “I’m just starting to get moved in, so I’m still a little bit nervous.” Making that transition easier for new students is the groups of upper-year students who welcome the teens and their parents as they approach the residence. Fun chants like “I smell a first year” and “First year’s out the car” help ease the anxiety of those moving away from home for the first time. “As we pulled up there was singing and dancing,” said mom Nicole Sabol. “I’m nervous for her, she’s a little bit nervous to be away from home obviously, and we’re going to miss her, but we’re super excited for the opportunity.” Pfeffer was one of more than 5,000 students who will be arriving on campus over the next few days to start a new chapter in their lives. “We’re at about 100 per cent occupancy right now with a bit of a waitlist, so we’re continuing to make offers from that waitlist and getting as many folks as we can into campus,” said Chris Lengyell, director of Housing at Western. “We’ve had a residence guarantee here for since 1997, and it’s a way that we really make that commitment to students that there’s a place for them here.” As they move into different residences across campus, construction on the new housing building by the Richmond Street gates on University Drive continues. “It’s an 800-bed residence that will be opening in fall 2027,” said Lengyell. “The consultations for this residence are really interesting. We heard from a lot of students that they really want some of the aspects of what you see in some of our other facilities. They want that idea of having a roommate. They want study lounges. They want those places where they can socialize, meet other people. but there’s also some new things that we’re doing to around health and wellness. There’s a pretty significant fitness building aspect in this building that will be a real, I think, commitment to what it is to sort of students feel holistically that there’s a sense of everything they need in one place”. As parents from all over the world drop off their students at Western, many for the first time, there can be a lot of questions and anxiety. “I’m nervous for me, but I’m very excited for her,” says mom Amanda Pfeffer. Western staff have tried to alleviate some of those concerns by holding orientation for not only the students, but moms and dads too. “We’ve got a parent and family reception that’s happening where we will have some information for parents, how they can stay connected with us and stay connected with each other and their students,” said Lengyell. “We’ve always had resources in places in place for parents in the form of a newsletter, but we’re really trying to recognize the opportunity on a day like this to make them feel welcome in a part of the community as well.” It’s something Amanda thinks is a great idea. “We’re lucky because we live nice and close but that orientation for parents is a fantastic idea,” she said. “You get all those questions that you have answered, and sometimes it’s not so easy to find those answers.” Despite living close to Western, Sarah decided she didn’t want to live at home for first year. “I figured I would be able to be part of the school environment more and make a lot of friends,” she said. That has already happened in her first few minutes of arrival and will continue through O-week this week which features concerts, programming for both large groups and those with sensory overload, and a pair of football games on Aug. 31 and Sept. 6.
