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| | Photo by Travis Pratt Mount St. Mary’s University freshman Tony Schillfarth of Bel Air gets some help moving into his dorm room Sunday from his mother, Teresa, and sister Brittany.
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EMMITSBURG — Rain fell on the more than 450 students who moved into rooms at Mount St. Mary's University for the first time Sunday afternoon. But they had plenty of help getting their belongings out of their cars and into their dry dorm rooms. About 200 returning students and 25 staff members helped the school's class of 2011 move in, and among those helping was Thomas Powell, university president. This year's incoming class of 456 is 20 percent larger than the first freshman class Powell saw when he became president in 2003. Nearly 3,100 students applied to Mount St. Mary's this year, up from about 2,600 last year. With this year's enrollment, all the school's dorm rooms are full, Powell said. A new residence hall is set to open in January, providing an additional 180 beds. Bicentennial Hall is the first dorm to be built at the school in 30 years, he said. This year is not only important to the new students moving in. The Mount, the second-oldest Catholic college in the nation, will celebrate its 200th birthday in 2008, and 18 months of celebration begin this week. The campus' new Founder's Plaza, home to a 3-ton bronze statue of university founder Father John DuBois, will be dedicated Friday. "The Spirit Continues," a historical documentary of the school produced by Emmy Award-winning Ginger Wolfe Productions and MVI Post, will be shown on campus several times that evening. Of course, Sunday was all about the new students. Communications director Linda Sherman said student safety is at the forefront this year, and the school has implemented a campus-wide alert system. When an incident occurs that could affect the school, such as a hazardous materials spill on U.S. 15 or a fire on campus, students as well as parents will be immediately notified by text message, e-mail, and voice-mail, Sherman said. The school held a simulated emergency response last week so that everyone would know their role in such a situation, Sherman said. The Mount is the first school in the nation to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on such a response plan. With its 200 years of history and its preparedness for the future, university officials say they hope the school will continue to grow. Powell said the board of directors has set a goal to increase enrollment from about 1,700 undergraduate students to 2,000 by 2012. Officials also hope to double enrollment at the Mount's graduate campus in Frederick, he said. The campus now enrolls about 400 students. | 
