A Look Inside the Betty Wiseman Hall Move-In Process
- Emily Garver
- Aug 20
- 2 min read
Belmont’s largest residence hall in university history moved in its first students to Wiseman Hall on August 15.
The brand-new building features 718 beds and houses both freshmen and upperclassmen in suite-style rooms and apartments, but with a big building comes big challenges.
Belmont’s Office of Leadership Development, Residence Life and Towering Traditions members teamed up for a six-day move-in process for residence halls on campus.
Typically, the tradition of moving in freshmen involves TT leaders and resident assistants climbing up several flights of stairs, carrying each box, mini-fridge, IKEA bag of clothing, picture frame and everything in between, while singing, jumping, screaming and chanting with high-energy.
Wiseman Hall, however, has 10 floors.
“I think the hills killed me, but everyone coming together to lift each other up was heartwarming,” Niyah Armstrong, a BOLD crew leader said.
To make the six-day move-in an easier and more efficient process, Residence Life decided to allow the move-in crew to use carts and elevators, the first time in Belmont’s history.
“I've done move in for three years, where this is my third year doing it now as a TT leader. And I've never had it like this before,” said Pheobe Vandeman.
Wiseman Hall required a two-day move-in process because of housing both upperclassmen and freshmen. Freshmen moved in Aug. 15 and upperclassmen on Monday.
“We’ve established a system inside by the elevators to organize the blue carts by which floor it's going to, and then they kind of handle it from there, and then there's people on each floor to take it in,” Vandeman said. “We just had to be smart on where people are stationed. So, it's less of the ‘go crazy carrying’ and more of the logistical aspects.”
The August 15 move-in was executed by TT and Residence Life and August 18 by BOLD and Residence Life.
Solo Lowit, a seasoned RA, knew what to expect.
“I did check in the morning and then I was a floater amongst the floors. It was kind of relaxing because you don’t have to move people in, so you can float around and do what you need to do,” Lowit said.
The line for cars to unload started on Caldwell Avenue and were unloaded on 15th Ave. A ramp was utilized for the stairs, with several TT leaders pushing the carts up the stairs, into the lobby, and in line for the elevators, which were operated manually by RAs.
“The cars are flowing nicely, I feel like it was a similar setup to Patton with cars on either side, and they’re pretty familiar with that part, so that went well,” Vandeman said.
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This article was written by Emily Garver