DeKALB | Community Adviser Sana Akhoon unpacked her belongings in her room in Grant Towers on Aug. 1; this wasn’t the date most students moved in because Akhoon and members of Housing and Residential Services spent the next 18 days preparing the residence halls for move-in day.

The preparation for move-in day begins as early as June for Housing and Residential Services. Prior to the start of the fall semester, residents were required to fill out paperwork stating the damages that were in the room prior to them moving in.

“[In] June, we get things figured out for move-outs,” said Jennifer Manning, associate director of Housing and Dining. “We go through what the community advisers have told us or when they checked residents out, and they give us a list of anything they think, ‘Oh this is really bad.’ We just really access the condition of every [residence hall] and make sure that all the big ticket items at least are done and taken care of.”

If damages worsen or new damages occur, residents will be charged and the conditions will be related back to Housing and Residential Services to be fixed.

Although Housing and Residential Services make sure furniture is sent to be reupholstered, beds are lofted, facilities are cleaned and damages are repaired in each residence hall, certain buildings receive more attention than others.

“We treat Neptune and Stevenson a little differently than Grant, New Hall and Gilbert; those are all more renovated and new,” Manning said. “So we spend a little more of our time on Neptune and Stevenson because they’re a little older, and they might need a little more freshening up than other buildings.”

While the residence halls were in the process of being improved, advisers moved in. From Aug. 2 to 19, morning to evening, they spent time training and decorating the residence halls.

“Training consisted of how to handle all different kinds of situations and conflicts like if there’s an active shooter, a noise violation [or] an alcohol and drug violation,” Akhoon said. “As far as decorating — I’m glad I did that. You know there’s some floors that aren’t decorated or they’re just completely bare, and you just don’t get the same vibe.”

Residence hall floors varied as advisers chose how to decorate their floor, if they decided to. Akhoon glued beads onto purple ukuleles with residents’ names that were taped to their respective doors. Akhoon said this was one of the most difficult and tedious parts of preparing her floor for move-in day.

“I like the fact that [the advisers] decorated a little bit,” Daniel Moreno, freshman Grant Hall resident said. “They seemed welcoming; the room is pretty sweet. Everyone was inviting and the halls were clean; I never really had an issue.”

Manning said all of the preparation for move-in day makes summer one of the busiest times of the year for Housing and Residential Services, but it’s worth it.

“We get excited about little things here,” Manning said. “You get a lot of complaints or things that are not right or more negative in nature, so when we do hear positive things or we see positive things happen that benefit the students, then we get excited.”