<p>Just found out from Pitt that the marathon will take place May 2, and of course that’s the day we’re planning on moving our daughter out of her dorm! Forbes will be closed off right on campus, making it harder. Why can’t Pitt give us an extra day, considering the circumstances? Bad planning on Pitt’s part.</p>
<p>Pitt schedules were set before the Marathon. This is a case of the city and the marathon trumping Pitt’s schedule. It does sound like a real possibility of a mess. Hopefully it goes smoothly for you and they can avoid this sort of conflict in the future.</p>
<p>Be that as it may, Pitt can still make life easier for everyone by extending the move-out dates. Basically, finals end on Friday, the marathon is Sunday, so Pitt is saying, “Move out on Saturday, period.” That’s unreasonable. We have to drive 400 miles to get there.</p>
<p>If graduating seniors get another day, there is no reason why they can’t make exceptions for others. The marathon should be a great reason.</p>
<p>5th Ave is going to be completely shut down on Sunday from 7:45am until 1:15pm and commencement starts at 2pm in the Pete. I’m not sure how they’d be able to extend move-out into Sunday for 3/4ths of the campus with 5th Ave closed down. For instance, it is impossible to get in and out of Schenley Quad with 5th closed. They’ve already had to cancel some departmental graduation ceremonies taking place prior to commencement that had been scheduled well in advance. Everyone is getting screwed there. Honestly, I’m not sure what they could do but hopefully they’ll figure out something for the future because it seems like a real mess. I think what MD Mom suggested is the most reasonable to extend it to Monday and perhaps have move-out all day long instead of just a half-day, but I don’t think it would have made any sense to add more traffic to Sunday. Make sure to voice your complaints and suggestions though. Call the housing office. Also, if you have a scenario where you are having real trouble getting there on Saturday because you are out of town, perhaps they will make an exception for you as well. They won’t have the queue of cars and side streets shut down, but they may let your son/daughter stay in the dorm so you can move them out at a different time perhaps. Never hurts to call and give them a sob story.</p>
<p>There have been flyers posted all around the dorms/campus suggesting that students move out prior to May 2… unless someone made plans (extremely) far in advance and has no easy way of rescheduling travel arrangements, I don’t see the marathon/move-out overlap as an (insurmountable) issue.</p>
<p>Saturday is going to be insane!</p>
<p>^Haha, I’m definitely not looking forward to it. (Luckily, though, I’ve seen a good number of people move out already/know of many who will leave prior to Saturday…so maybe it won’t be too bad)</p>
<p>As luck would have it, my daughter has a final on Friday and can’t leave early! But I’m certainly happy to hear that people are clearing out already.</p>
<p>We’re in the same boat – final on Friday so we can’t do the move out until Saturday.</p>
<p>We’ll be out Friday.</p>
<p>Lurkness and MTnest, am wondering how this all worked out for you.</p>
<p>So nice of you to ask! Move-out actually went very well. We arrived at Pitt on Saturday about 5:00 and had no trouble finding a parking place in the lot next to Ruskin. The rain held off, and the weather was sunny and hot. The building was hopping, as you would expect, but we were able to get one of those laundry carts for my daughter’s stuff. She was all packed, and we got out of there in a couple of trips. We had dinner at Lulu’s Noodles on Craig Street, and then drove to Monroeville, which was the only place I could find a hotel room! It worked out great that we were out of the Pittsburgh area, far from the marathon. </p>
<p>The next day, we treated ourselves to breakfast at Bob Evan’s (we don’t have them in NYC), and headed for home. Whew! Junior year done!</p>
<p>It went well for us too! There were plenty of kids moving out on Saturday – parking was a premium right in front of PA hall but there were spots down near Sutherland. We got a room out in West Mifflin so we missed all the street closings on Sunday. Sophomore year is over!!! At least, we can move him in early in August :)</p>
<p>Glad to know that last weekend’s move-out went better than anticipated for both of you and that the marathon posed no major impediment. Your reference to Bob Evans, Lurkness, made me smile. Our local Bob Evans, which did a great business, was raised 3 or 4 years ago to make way for a bank. I still miss it.</p>
<p>I hope you have enjoyable summers with your Pitt students. Come August, when my daughter starts there as a freshman, I may be asking for move-in advice.</p>
<p>^^Move in is a breeze.</p>
<p>I remember Freshman move-in as being very hectic. We had to wait a long time for an elevator in Towers. However you child can volunteer to work during Arrival Survival as a sophomore and get to move-in early!!! It was so much easier! DS is doing the same again this Fall so we will be in and out before the rest of the students move-in.</p>
<p>Moving out is definitely easier than moving in! We should probably start a new thread as August rolls around.</p>
<p>YES!!! At all costs, have your kid volunteer to be a Arrival Survival volunteer!!! They’ll have to work a few hours helping other kids and families, but the greatest advantage is the help that early move-in provides THEIR family.</p>
<p>^The $50 worth of Panther Funds they gave out last year weren’t bad, either (not sure if they’re still doling out cash this summer, though… <em>fingers crossed</em>).</p>