Rexburg experiences population boom with BYU-Idaho move-in day

It was a busy day for families and students in Rexburg as Brigham Young University-Idaho students settled into their new homes for the upcoming semester.

“Lots of families come, and they’re bringing their new students, and they don’t really know where to go in Rexburg, so they’re all like ‘where do we go?’, and they’re running around like chickens with their heads cut off its kind of cool,” said BYU-Idaho student support volunteer, Michael Bender.

Out-of-state license plates flooded the streets on cars filled with each student’s survival essentials.

“Last night and the night before it was like dead, there was like nobody parked on the street at all, and then today this morning when I woke up and walked across the street to go to campus, it was already flooded with traffic and you can hear all the cars from your apartment window and stuff, it’s crazy,” said Bender.

For parents, like Lisa Gallup, who was dropping off her daughter Rebecca for her first year of college, the day was filled with mixed emotions.

“It’s like a roller coaster because I’m really excited and happy for her but then I’m also sad because she’s so nice to have around,” said Gallup.

For Rebecca, the mixed feelings were shared

“It’s crazy, I don’t know it’s like so exciting but so nerve-wracking,” said BYU-Idaho freshman, Rebecca.

For businesses, the sudden boom of traffic is nothing new, and something they rely on each semester.

“The businesses benefit in great ways, you know the students bring, they all have to eat, they all like to do things. It’s really great for them when the students come back because they’re twenty-thousand plus more people in town especially this weekend when the parents are all in town, and they’re all going out to dinner and that kind of thing,” said Rexburg Mayor, Jerry Merrill.