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MIS students flock to campus building before sunrise

A flood of students eager to register for Management Information Systems classes showed up at McClelland Hall as early as 4 a.m. yesterday.

The MIS department, which has faced a recent surge of enrollment, averted crisis earlier this month, when it announced that it would not have to restrict the number of students admitted to its advanced standing program.

Phil Weiland, an MIS senior, said he arrived about 8:30 a.m. and waited about an hour and a half before registering for his classes.

"There were probably about 300 people in line when I got there," he said. "People were pretty mad about the whole situation."

Weiland added that there was no violent behavior or yelling, but everyone was frustrated with the situation.

"I don't think it went terribly, but people were mad that they had to wait in line for so long - it was a big waste of time," he said. "They just don't have enough people to support all the people who want to be MIS majors."

But Weiland said while the number of MIS majors can be frustrating, it helps the image of the department.

Merrilee Holmes, McClelland Hall facilities director, said she arrived at 8 a.m. to students waiting peacefully in line.

"No one was even grumbling at eight o'clock in the morning," Holmes said. "When I arrived, everyone was waiting peacefully in line."

Holmes said despite the camp-out, students were able to secure their classes.

"Everyone did manage to register this morning," she said. "The line was gone by eleven o'clock."

She added that students were well-behaved, despite being in line for hours.

"We really appreciated the patience the students showed," she said. "It was all done in just a few hours this morning.

Mark Zupan, dean of the Karl Eller College of Business and Public Administration, said he had only second-hand knowledge about the event, but added that this reflects the growing interest in the MIS department.

"People have given a strong demand for its courses," Zupan said. "People are taking this very seriously."

Zupan said he was surprised by the actions of the students.

"You hear about people camping out ... for Bruce Springsteen concerts, not this," he said. "I'm glad no one was hurt and everything turned out okay."