The Off-Campus Living Expo this Friday combines previous years’ Off-Campus Housing Fair and Buckeye Block Watch. Credit: Lantern file photo
It is already time to begin the search for housing for the 2016-17 school year.
Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services plans to help students make that process as stress free as possible this year with the help of the Off-Campus Living Expo.
The event will take place on Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Performance Hall at the Ohio Union.
Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services aims to assist the OSU off-campus community as a housing and commuting assistance resource for students.
The expo is a combination of the two events: the Off-Campus Housing Fair and the Buckeye Block Watch Bash.
Dilnavaz Cama, the department manager for Off-Campus and Commuter Services, said the housing fair itself has been going on for around 15 years and this year it is not only a combination of two events, but also a chance to include more parents, as the event falls just before parents’ weekend.
“We thought it would be a great opportunity to not only still reach students that are looking to transition off campus right away, but also spending time to educate students before they make that transition,” Cama said. “Students may live on campus, but they still enjoy the off campus neighborhoods; whether it’s their friend’s place, restaurants, whatever it may be, we want to make sure they understand how to best stay safe when they are enjoying themselves in the community ”
Tatyana Mason, an administrative assistant for Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services, and also one of the students in charge of putting on the expo.
“We plan to have around 32 landlords there, so it is a chance for students to interact one-on-one and get information about how to rent properties,” Mason said. “There also will be a variety of OSU departments there that are going to talk about different safety programs that they have.”
The event will also include several interactive activities, including opportunities to take part in a drunk driving simulation, get to meet police officers and their horses, see fire extinguisher demonstrations, witness a DUI demonstration and enter a raffle.
Maria Diturno, a third-year in communication, said she is nervous about housing for the upcoming year and plans to attend on Friday.
“I’m excited to get to talk to a bunch of different landlords and kind of find the right place for me to live next year,” she said.
