GORHAM – Ryan Poag and Zach Hamm sat amid boxes, a bean bag chair and a brand-new 32-inch flat-screen TV, essentials for their dorm room at Upton Hastings Hall at the University of Southern Maine.

Both 18, from Brunswick and planning to study mechanical engineering, the two have played on the same lacrosse team since grade school. Poag and Hamm got to skip the usually socially fraught experience of moving into a room with a relative stranger.

But Poag and Hamm said even though they are longtime friends, sharing a room in the honors wing of the hall could be tough because they are both very competitive — on and off the field.

“Zach plays defense and I am on the offense,” said Poag.

The two were among the freshmen settling in Sunday morning during move-in day at USM’s Gorham campus, where about 650 freshmen will be joined by 600 upperclassmen this week. There are no dorms on USM’s Portland campus.

The annual ritual is being played out on college campuses around the state.

Advertisement

At USM, getting the freshmen settled required the help of 45 resident assistants, 65 student volunteers, 15 staff volunteers and a small army of facilities and public safety staff.

“It’s all hands on deck,” said Joy Pufhal, chief of staff of the division of student affairs.

Parents and siblings toted armloads of lamps, fans and coffee makers up stairwells while the freshmen unpacked and hung posters.

Kelsey Parker, a freshman from Pittsfield, Vt., said the one must-have item she took from home was laundry detergent.

“I knew I had to have the same laundry detergent my mom uses so it smells like home,” said Parker.

At USM, students play a much more active role in choosing roommates than in the past, when the task fell largely to college administrators.

Advertisement

Jason Saucier, director of the student life department, said students are encouraged to use a special Facebook site to find a suitable roommate. Many of the freshmen will be sharing a room for the first time, Saucier said, so they are encouraged to get to know each other, to meet over the summer and talk on the phone.

“Because in a couple of weeks it will be the real world when people stop being nice all the time,” said Saucier.

Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:

bquimby@pressherald.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.