MORGANTOWN — WVU students return to Morgantown this weekend — including 5,550 incoming first-year students.
Classes start Wednesday and between now and then, WVU has a host of Welcome Week activities planned to ease the new students into their new surroundings.
Move-in weekend opens Aug. 10 with Honors College students settling in. The rest — the vast majority — move in Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, after all the bags are unpacked, WVU hosts a Welcome Week picnic for new students from 5:50-7 p.m. and WVUp All Night at the Mountainlair from 5 p.m.-midnight.
On Sunday, new students can get oriented with a Campus Traverse tour led by their resident adviser.
And Sunday and Monday, students can get oriented to the community through Choose Your Adventure. Each day, they can pick from one of a variety of public service projects — at BOPARC, the Harrison County Historical Society, Sundale Nursing Home, the Animal Science Farm and more.
Morgantown residents know that move-in days bring in additional traffic. University Police Chief W. P. Chedester said extra officers and university staff will be on hand to keep traffic moving and officers will be highly visible in congested areas.
“We would like to ask everyone to be safe, exercise caution and understanding,” Chedester said. “I would like to also encourage everyone to be patient, stay alert and avoid distractions when driving due to the increase in pedestrian and vehicular traffic.”
The Morgantown Police Department (MPD) also said it’s gearing up for move-in and the first weeks of classes. “The department will be operating at maximum staffing levels for the next several weeks and will be working in conjunction with the other law enforcement agencies in the local area, including WVU staff and the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration,” it said in a release.
Police will be patrolling and stationed throughout all of the areas of high congestion and activity, MPD said.
Officers will be heavily enforcing all traffic laws with an increased focus on distracted driving, using cell phones while operating motor vehicles, and failure to yield to pedestrians.
They will be concentrating on properties where nuisance parties are occurring, as well as taking action against all alcohol violations and any other activities that would be considered a breach of the peace.
For this weekend, MPD encourages motorists to use alternate routes to avoid the anticipated congestion around the campus and student residential areas. Pay attention to detours and traffic directions. Several roadway improvement projects will also affect traffic in the area.
