With the dorms’ move-out date fast approaching, I, as a resident this past school year, want to reflect on my experience and what I would like to see improved upon for future residents to enjoy. 
First, looking back to move-in day last September, there were a lot of problems that occurred that made the event seem rather unorganized. My family and I arrived at the scheduled time I was given and were met with the longest line I have probably ever seen. We waited about two or three hours before we even made it to the front, and by this time, a lot of people had been jumping out of their cars and cutting the line, “reserving” bins, and so forth. There seemed to be a lack of staff in certain areas that did nothing to prevent this from happening; their absence also prevented the line from being organized and fair. Furthermore, there was a lack of bins, which was another reason why the line was moving awfully slow.
I must say that I understand that this was the University of Massachusetts Boston’s first year opening residence halls and their first ever move-in day. I can understand why things didn’t go as planned—trying to keep over 1,000 students and their families organized is definitely not an easy task. I do not hold a grudge against housing for how move-in day turned out. However, I do think move-in day was a learning experience and most mistakes that happened that day should not happen again. It was a rather distasteful experience, and did not give me the best first impression of what the dorms and housing had to offer.
I strongly recommend housing break down the move-in process over an entire weekend. I feel that move-in day was a little disastrous because it was scheduled in one day. There were hundreds of students trying to move in at the same time, and it should have been expected that people would possibly arrive earlier or later than their scheduled time. It would be better if students were assigned a certain day and time to move in, and there should be more thorough communication between housing and students. Such communication should entail what students are going to be met with when they arrive and how the move-in process is going to work. This would lessen the amount of people moving in at the same time to a reasonable amount, and it would be easier for the staff to keep the process organized. Not to mention, the overall process would be less stressful for all parties involved.
Another thing I would like to see improved upon for future residents is the dining hall. Honestly, one of the most disappointing aspects of the dorms was the food. The quality of food that was served was average. Of course I wasn’t expecting gourmet; however, there was no novelty in the food being served throughout the semesters as the menu rarely changed. Yes, we did have themed food nights, but those were only once in a while. Lunch and dinner menus typically consisted of only a few items, and breakfast was even more minimal. With this being said, I hope the dining hall expands its menu for next year. More nutritional food should be added, and a little more variety would really make a difference. I feel like students would use their meal swipes more often if this were the case. With how much a meal plan costs (upwards to $4,000), there really should be more thought put into the dining hall and its menu. Although dining points were nice to have, in total, we received $1,500 for both semesters. If you picked this plan, hypothetically, you are then spending $2,500 on the dining hall food, which is quite a bit of money for the minimal menu we received.
All in all, despite these things that did not settle well with me, I actually really loved staying in the dorms. Many things did surpass my expectations, such as the rooms, bathrooms, lounges and activities. Move-in day just needs more organization and the dining hall and its menu need to be worked on. With these things addressed, the dorms will surely be a paradise to future residents.