'They move you really quick:' 560 shifts of volunteers help 4,000 students get settled on UWM campus

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee's population is going up. About 4,000 students will move onto the UW-Milwaukee campus this week. The first arrived Tuesday morning, Aug. 28.

UW-Milwaukee knows how to move. Arcetta Knautz, director of university housing, has been in charge of moving thousands of students onto campus for 14 years.

"We're talking 26 floors in our towers and we only have three days to get those students in, and we do it, and we're good at it," said Knautz.

Knautz has an army of help  -- 560 shifts of volunteers direct traffic, hand out keys and carts and unload cars. They help get everything a student needs up to their room -- with an endless amount of industrial Saran wrap.

"Oh my God, a lot. I can't even fathom how much we go through," said Lexa Van Flet, volunteer.

It may look chaotic, but it works. They're able to get students from the campus curb to their rooms in less than an hour.

"Like a half-hour, 45 minutes. There are lots of people to direct you and they move you really quick," said Jasmina Asanin, third-year student.

When and how quickly students unpack is up to them.

Students move in Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Classes start Monday, Sept. 3.