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Grey Nuns Residence bustles with activity  

By Anna Sarkissian

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The entrance of the Grey Nuns Residence was crammed with stackable organizers, cases of cup noodles, and suitcases of every shape and size as new students moved in last Saturday.

Grey Nuns Residence Coordinator James Guthrie was tasked with making sure things ran smoothly.

“People are nervous. They’re sending their kid away,” he said. “Small things sometimes get blown out of proportion because people are sensitive.”

In the parking lot, moms and dads used carts to unload musical instruments, clothes, and bedding from minivans packed to the hilt. One father exclaimed his daughter had brought everything but the kitchen sink.

Resident Assistant Laura Glover, who is completing a double major in playwriting and political science, remembered seeing someone carry in a Christmas tree last year. After four hours, nothing extravagant or peculiar had been spotted. “But it’s still early,” she said.

The RAs worked long hours to answer questions and show people around. After checking in, students and parents were ushered upstairs to assess the room and make sure everything was in working order.

The west wing of the Grey Nuns Mother House was converted into an undergraduate residence in 2007. The 136 single and 53 double rooms are bright and spacious – not your typical shoebox-sized dorms.

Residence Life Admissions Coordinator Laurel Leduc was busy making sure that students were comfortable in their new surroundings.

“You get to see them when you open the door of their room and they go, ‘Oh my god, this is so beautiful. This is not what I expected,’” she said.

Nineteen-year-old James Oram had settled into his room on the second floor five days earlier. The walls were decorated with the English flag and posters of his favourite sports teams: Chelsea and the Bruins. With high ceilings and a large window overlooking a pond below, Oram was more than satisfied with his setup.

“I’m actually enjoying it a lot and I feel very comfortable,” he said. Referring to the pubs and narrow streets of Old Montreal, he said “Canada is a lot like England for me.”

Fine Arts student Aditi Dixit flew in from Jakarta, Indonesia with her parents. “She is not used to living alone, all by herself. She’s never done that before,” said her mother, Renu Dixit.

As RA Kim van Poeteren showed them around the bright double room Dixit will be sharing with another student, the family asked questions about safety, the meal plan, and surviving Montreal’s long, harsh winters.

“I’m worried about the snow,” said Dixit, who came to Concordia based on the reputation of the Contemporary Dance department. “Everyone says, ‘You’ll only enjoy the snow for two days.’”

On Sunday afternoon, family and friends gathered for a welcome barbecue outside the residence. Later, they walked over to the Hall Building for an orientation session and a show by Montreal’s On The Spot improv comedy troupe.

The RAs planned a series of group outings to help out-of-towners get acquainted with the city before school starts, including a trip to Ikea, a museum crawl, an art party, and a campus tour.