Congratulations to everyone who made the initial phase of the move to the new Campus Center a painless affair. In just a couple days The Mass Media and a large number of campus groups were moved in and functioning without missing a beat.

For weeks, the move loomed as a chaotic transition for many members of the UMB community. The news that the shift to the new building was delayed for want of an occupancy permit caused more than a few headaches for offices packed up and ready to go since winter break, who dreaded the prospect of a mid-semester move.

But UMB and the Campus Center team responded well to the challenge and made the enormous endeavor easier for everyone. The move was carried off smoothly thanks to coordination aforethought and the ability of several key people to think on their feet. Problems did arise both during and prior to the move, but solutions were quickly found and put in motion.

The cooperation between administration, Campus Center employees, movers and those being moved was astounding. ABC moving lugged giant orange crates full of office valuables into the new building with smiles on their faces. They were extremely careful, cooperative, helpful and polite and comforted a few nervous Nellies with a calm, “Don’t sweat it.”

Anne Devaney, building director, and Geoff Combs, manager of operations and conference services, deserve a lot of credit for heading up the move and directing the huge task. Without their management things could not have run so smoothly. Joyce Morgan, director of Student Life, was a big help with student organizations, keeping on top of everything and ever prepared to answer questions.

The Campus Center security team was pressed by demands for keys and access cards, requests they fielded with extraordinary patience and organization. Computing services worked hard to reconfigure hundreds of computers to the new network. The Mass Media would like to extend a special thanks to Peggy Tippit and her Mac team for getting our computers up and running the same evening of move so we could bring this issue to your hot little hands on time. Thank you!

Particular gratitude should also be given to Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Keith Motley who met with many students and addressed concerns about their new spaces. Many student centers felt the areas they been delegated would not afford the privacy and safe space they had in the past. Motley worked hard to find a solution, and seems to have found a way to make everyone happy. In a recent e-mail Colleen O’Malley of the Queer Student Union wrote that the problem “has been addressed and is being rectified.”

There is, of course, still a lot of moving to be done before the building can really start filling its role as the new face of UMass Boston. And while there will be a period of uneasy adjustment, the success of this first stage of the move has set a great tone for the era ahead.