Move out day system at the dorms frustrates students

The sense of relief Ian Ebert felt when he was done with finals was extinguished when he realized how quickly he had to move out of his Morrison dorm.

"(Resident advisors) came and knocked on our door at 8:30 a.m. and said we needed to be out by 10 a.m.," Ebert said. "So we scrambled to get our stuff out and everyone was struggling."

The 10 a.m. deadline for checking out of the dorms was criticized on social media, with people complaining they were rushed and fined unfairly.

Ebert, a sophomore from Charlotte, said he was told he would receive a $25 fine for a late checkout, despite being in line to check out at 10 a.m.

"I was a little surprised at how rude some of them were because (the RAs) were really good all year," he said. 

Sophomore Stuart Howes lived in the suite next to Ebert's and was also critical of the process.

"I think the fine is completely unfair," Howes said. 

"You get fined $25 if you have an improper checkout which during the week is before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m. but on the last day, proper checkouts are only from 8-10 a.m. That gives people no time to checkout."

Howes also said parking was unreasonable on move out day.

"You can only park in the Morrison lot for 30 minutes and then you get a ticket," he said. "It takes about an hour to carry stuff to your car, so 30 minutes is pretty pointless."

Ebert said if he does eventually get fined, he plans to appeal.

"We were all pretty mad and my parents were too, so if I do get a fine, I think I will fight it," he said.

Associate Director of Housing Rick Bradley said students who get fines for improper checkouts or damages in their rooms receive a letter explaining the appeal process with the community director. 

Although Howes wasn't fined, he said he still thinks the system needs revising.

"Between the times and the parking, it's just a bad system," he said.

"I was really surprised at how Morrison handled the situation. The RAs are just doing their jobs, so it's not a problem with them. The bigger problems are the checkout times and the parking policy."

Bradley said this year was tougher than most due to large classes having late finals, causing a lot of traffic on the final checkout day.

And he said he does not foresee a drastic change in the process.

"We have utilized the same checkout process for the past 4-5 years with little to no issues," Bradley said.

But Howes said he does not see as much success in the move out system. 

"It's absurd to me that the University has been doing this for so many years and still has a terrible system," he said.

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