Aside from occasional fire drills and a few problems with drinking, this year's freshmen say they are making a smooth and fun transition into campus life at the UA.

Although dorms generate friendliness, they are also home to annoying fire alarms that are subject to go off at random times of the night, said Laura Houghton, a pre-business freshman and Arizona-Sonora resident. When the alarms sound, all the residents must evacuate using the stairs, until everyone is out of the building and it is declared safe to re-enter.

"I live on the ninth floor," Houghton said.

Because of one student's microwave mishap, all the residents of Villa del Puente had to stand outside for nearly an hour once at 11 p.m.

"We had a fire alarm go off because somebody burned their popcorn," Justyn Buske, a media arts freshman said.

Some freshmen are having a difficult time staying out of trouble in the midst of all the fire alarms.

"Three kids got kicked out of Coronado for drinking," according to Chase Merrigan, a business student from Colorado.

"I got written up for drinking the first night I was here," Damien Palma, a political science freshman said.

Houghton said police have been monitoring the area around Coronado.

While some freshmen are having fun, there are some out of state students whose split from home life was tainted by a bit of gloominess.

"Both my parents cried. I already miss my friends," Jennifer Doyle, a pre-business resident of Coronado, said. However, Doyle says she is not yet homesick.

According to Mark Aylwaid, an undeclared Kaibab-Huachuca resident, Tucson is very different from his hometown of Boston, which he sincerely misses.

"It's OK, though, I hold it down for Boston," Aylwaid said.

Merrigan said people in Tucson are not as "laid back" as they are in Colorado. He is having fun regardless.

Most first-year students live in the dorms, which lack the restrictions of living with parents, according Palma, a resident of the stadium dorms.

"The coed floors make things a little easier," Palma said.

The dorms offer seemingly endless possibilities of friendly faces, open doors, and coed floors to welcome new students to the UA, according to Palma. Many freshmen are finding that the social life at the UA is one of the best parts of college.

"Everyone here is so friendly," Aylwaid said. He said he was surprised to find that the people at UA were very easy to talk to.

Some think that some of the food could be healthier.

"A lot of it is really greasy," Houghton said.

"It's not bad. At least it's not all McDonalds or Jack in the Crack," Palma said.

"I came from a Catholic school where the food was pretty bad," Doyle said.

In comparison, the UA's food is better, Doyle said.