For students who are interested in moving off campus, student government is hosting the Off-Campus Transition Fair tonight from 8 to 9 p.m. in the LaFortune Ballroom.
"The fair is really going to be a one-stop shop for students thinking about living off-campus," senate community relations chair Gus Gari said. "All the major landlords from the area will be present."
Gari, who has been overseeing the event along with the off-campus council chair Billy Lyman, said while in the past there had been a seminar that spoke about living off campus, the fair is a totally new idea.
"The seminar about moving off campus has been going on for a few years, but all it involved was a few speakers and attendance was low. We didn't feel like it was as successful as it could be," Gari said. "With the fair we geared it heavily to students and got them excited about the event."
Gari said the fair is meant to appeal to students from all years at the University.
"The freshmen who are thinking about moving in the future can talk to all the landlords and just see what's out there and know their options," Gari said. "We also have a lot of features for sophomores and juniors who are getting ready to sign leases."
Gari says the Ballroom will have booths with the landlords and representatives from every major housing complex in the area, presentations in the alcoves and representatives from Notre Dame Security Police will be on hand to answer any questions.
"We have a presentation that is given by students about moving off campus and off-campus living and we also have a presentation given by a professor from the Law School about signing leases and what your legal rights are," Gari said. "We're aware about students' concerns about crime and safety so that's why we have the police on hand to discuss any of those issues that students might have."
The goal of the fair is to make as much information available to as many students as possible, Gari said.
"What we envisioned was a way to get as many resources out there to students. There's a lot of information available but we were able to put it all in one central location with the fair," Gari said.
Gari said they received a lot of help from Sarah Rodts and the student outreach committee."
As a whole, Gari says he hopes the fair is helpful and informative for students who have been considering moving off campus and that this fair helps them make the transition a little bit easier.
"I'm really proud of the fact that all the major off-campus housing options will be represented. Not all students are always aware of their options so getting these landlords all in one spot was a critical aspect that we wanted to accomplish," he said.
The fair is also meant to be a means of helping students who were not really contemplating moving off campus realize this is a change they can make with relative ease.
"For those who think that it's not a possibility, we want them to know that they are not alone," Gari said. "Student government is here to help you and we have these great sources of information all in once place."
