August 30, 2011
Last Thursday, as family, friends and volunteers helped incoming
freshmen move into their respective residence halls at St. John’s
University, behind the scenes plans were already being made to
address the arrival of Hurricane Irene and scores of additional
students on Sunday.
With
roughly 1,800 returning undergraduate and graduate students
scheduled to move into residence halls during the height of the
category 1 storm, for safety’s sake the decision was made to
postpone Sunday’s move and other campus activities until Monday,
August 29.
Queens Photo Gallery
Staten Island Photo Gallery
Meanwhile, with Irene still days away from hitting the New York
metropolitan area, move in activities continued throughout Thursday
at the University’s Queens campus.
More than 1,600 incoming freshmen beat the heat and dodged
occasional raindrops as they settled into their new homes away from
home. Unaffected to this point by the major storm moving up the
East Coast, the mood around Donovan, DaSilva, Hollis and St.
Vincent Halls was of excitement.
“I love this place. It’s a beautiful campus and the essence of
it feels so good,” said incoming freshman, Vincent Graziano ’15C.
The native of Feeding Hills, MA got an early start on the day and
was settled into his room in
DaSilva Hall by mid-morning. “I’m in a suite and my room is
just gorgeous,” he added with a smile.
Vincent’s mother, Suzanne, was equally impressed with the
University. “I absolutely love the campus. Everyone here is so
friendly,” said Mrs. Graziano. “St. John’s really is the best place
for Vincent.”
“Living on campus at St. John’s is always a popular option for
our students,” said Eric Finkelstein, Director of Residence Life at
the Queens campus. “Our residence halls are 24-hour communities
with a full range of activities to enrich the academic and social
lives of our students.”
On Saturday, under threatening skies, freshmen move-in
activities at the Staten Island campus
went smoothly, despite the looming storm. This year, 109 freshmen
moved into the apartment-style residences adjacent to campus— a 30
percent increase over last year.
At the Manhattan
campus, in New York City’s Financial District, the majority of
students had moved into residences earlier in the week. However,
since lower Manhattan was under a city-ordered flood evacuation,
students were bused to the University’s Queens campus to wait out
the storm.
St. John’s also has campuses in Oakdale, NY, and
Rome, Italy,
along with an academic center in
Paris, France.
We invite you to learn more about Residence Life
at St. John’s University.