John Shearer: Witnessing UT-Knoxville Students Moving Into Dorms

On Saturday I was asked by the Knoxville News Sentinel to cover the excitement associated with the main move-in day for students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
 
It was neat to go over there and talk to students moving into the new White Hall in the area where the former private apartment complex, Shelbourne Towers, was located on the west end of campus.
 
And since the old Presidential Court dorm buildings a few feet away are slowly being torn down as part of a multi-year replacement project, I also interviewed one of the last students to get to live in Humes Hall. Later this fall, the residents there will move into the nearly completed Orange Hall just on the north side of White Hall, and Humes will close.
 
I feel honored that I have gotten to witness some important UT dorm history in recent years. Two years ago, I was there when the first students moved into the new Fred Brown Hall dorm on campus.
 
And in the spring of 2008, I went over and interviewed some female students who were moving out of the historic women’s dorm, Sophronia Strong Hall, before most of it was eventually torn down to make way for a still-under-construction building.
 
I remember one student I talked to said she had enjoyed the neat experience of getting to live in the same dorm where women had also lived dating back decades.
 
On Saturday, I could not help but see the contrast in the new White Hall and the older Humes Hall. White Hall seemed to have quite a bit of excitement, despite the fact that it has not been completed on the outside and in a few other places.
 
One feature of the building that caught my eye and seems old is the checkerboard brickwork pattern on the outside that resembles the style found on historic Ayres Hall on top of the Hill and, of course, the end zones of Neyland Stadium.
 
In contrast, a subdued atmosphere seemed to permeate Humes Hall’s lobby when I went over there with university housing director Frank Cuevas and some others.
 
One young woman I interviewed did not realize Humes was getting ready to close. But she felt honored to be among the last students to live there while also being excited about moving into new Orange Hall later this fall.
 
Humes has some neat midcentury features in its lobby like woodwork and an exposed mezzanine lobby made out of poured concrete and gravel.
 
But UT officials have decided these 1960s-era dorms do not meet current needs, so they are being torn down and replaced. All that will remain from Presidential Court will be the midcentury modern building that has served as a dining hall.
 
While the 1960s UT dorm buildings do have a rather plain and uninspiring look overall, even though they represent well the time period in which they were built, they likely create warm memories for alumni who remember living in them.
  
So for baby boomers and their children who attended UT and stayed in one of the Presidential Court dorms, I would encourage you to go see them and reminisce one last time. Their days, or at least months, are numbered.
 
But on Saturday, most everyone was focused not on the long-ago past or the long-term future, but simply the present. And a flurry of activity was taking place, too, despite the fact that UT has started having a move-in week to alleviate some congestion.
 
Cars were lined up waiting to turn into dorm entrance roads like at a UT football game, while outside the dorms, students and parents were huddled around their belongings waiting on a cart, similar to the scene at a bustling hotel or busy airport.
 
But it still seemed like a happy atmosphere, including due to the fact that numerous volunteers from churches and elsewhere were waiting to help everyone.
 
As for the new Vol students, the ones I talked with seemed to have both excitement and nervousness about the future.
 
It was one of the great transitions of life taking place, and that will continue this week when classes begin on Wednesday.
 
Jcshearer2@comcast.net