Students to move into residence halls Sept. 21-23

About 4,000 students are expected to move into Western Washington University’s residence halls and apartments from Friday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Sept. 23.

The first day of classes at Western is Wednesday, Sept. 26. Western anticipates about 2,700 freshmen and approximately 900 transfer students for fall. Total enrollment is expected to be about 15,000.

“Our entire campus community welcomes our new and returning students and we all are excited about the start of a new academic year,” said Western President Bruce Shepard, who is starting his fifth year as president of Western.

About 70 percent of students living in residence halls will be new to Western and will be introduced to campus traditions with activities that include Welcoming Convocation on Sept. 25. For more information about moving into residence halls, go to http://www.housing.wwu.edu/

On Sept. 24-25 there will be a variety of workshops on study skills, declaring a major and information on managing personal finances, as well as free bus and bike tours of Bellingham, an outdoor movie, and concerts. For more information, visit the New Student Services/Family Outreach website at: nssfo.wwu.edu. New Student Services also provides updates about programs, upcoming events and campus news that helps new students get acclimated to campus. For more information see: ThisWeek@WWU Another good source of information is the Soundings Newsletter for WWU Families.

A number of informative and interesting activities are planned for Western students at the start of the academic year, including the annual Associated Students Info Fair Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 24 and 25, in Red Square. The Wade King Student Recreation Center Late Night for students will be held from 9 p.m. to midnight on Monday, Sept. 24 at the recreation center. Activities will include dancing, fitness class demonstrations, rock climbing, swimming and more. For more information contact Campus Recreation Services at 650-3766.

The Student Bus Pass is available and valid for use beginning Sept. 17, and good on all WTA routes. Students can obtain a bus pass by bringing their Western ID card to the Western Card Office temporarily located in Wilson Library 165 across from the bookstore, to have it encoded with a bus pass. The Western Student Shuttle begins operation Sunday, Sept. 23. Hours of operation are 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Monday – Saturday and 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Sundays. Students must show a Western ID to board. Students can subscribe to receive a text alert when the student shuttle service is cancelled during inclement weather by texting “follow @wwushuttle” to 40404. For complete transportation information students can visit http://www.wwu.edu/transportation/ or call: (360) 650-7960.