It's that time of year again. Moving day is more than just saying goodbye to parents and hello to college life.
North Board Street was dotted with large bins on wheels, loaded mini-vans, boxes, bags, electronics, proud and sentimental parents, and eager but apprehensive freshman.
Temple says its fresh batch of owls include 3,600 students who will live in university-owned housing.
Its student body residing on campus, or nearby, has nearly tripled over the last decade, and for many a mom and dad, allowing them to fly from the nest is a proud moment.
"Everybody wants their child to move up in life, and if they can pay attention, that would be helpful to me," said Samuel Beweh.
Getting all this stuff into the typically smallish dorm room is never easy, especially when the four walls appear to be closing in fast.
"At orientation, I didn't have all my stuff, so it seemed much bigger," said new freshman Courtney Logan. "With all my stuff it seems a bit cramped.
Speaking of electronics, each dorm room is equipped with cable television and free wifi access. They've come a long way from having just an outlet for a crock pot and maybe an alarm clock.
Members of the Hoot Squad were around to help keep the students excited about the coming year.
"The hoot squad is just a team of volunteers, and our goal is to make the students feel as welcome and excited to be here as possible," explains Sean Casey. "We just want them to be enthusiastic about their college experience and be happy to be here."
The population in North Philadelphia just got bigger. A total of 30,000 students will attend classes at Temple in this academic year.
