Aug. 20, 2010

Hundreds of excited students wheeled, carried and dragged their belongings into the residence halls at CSU Monterey Bay on Aug. 20, the first day of the three-day move-in weekend.

By the time classes start on Aug. 23, the 1,800 students who live in residence halls on the main campus and another 750 who live in East Campus housing will be settled into the rooms and apartments that will be their home for the next year.

All the activity happened with the help of about 100 faculty, staff and students who had volunteered for the Otter Welcome Team. They directed traffic, answered questions, carried boxes and gave directions to the new students – most of whom had parents and siblings along to help.

As she has in past years, President Dianne Harrison greeted new students and their parents on the main quad.

New students had a variety of reasons for choosing CSUMB, but several themes were apparent.

"I came because there's a good program in my major, marine biology," said Danielle Jaurez of Los Banos.

Jaurez didn't come alone – her best friend from high school decided to attend CSUMB as well. The two are roommates, along with a third freshman Jaurez contacted over the summer via Facebook. They used the social networking site to discuss what each would bring to outfit their room.

For Nataly Origel of Rio Vista, near Concord, size was the attraction.

Origel initially visited the campus because her sister-in-law had been a student here, and liked what she saw.

"I come from a small town, so I wanted something different, but not really big. CSUMB is small, but not too small. And it's a pretty place to live."

The incoming class includes 820 freshmen and 471 transfer students. Total enrollment is approximately 4,650; about a third of them come from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.