On Thursday, March 14, the Viking Union Multipurpose Room will hold a fair for students looking to learn about the transition of moving out of the dorms and into an off-campus living space. The Student Housing Fair aims to provide clarification and information to Western Washington University students looking to live off campus.
According to Dawson Kamalu-Nako, a program manager for the office of Off Campus Living, the fair is to educate students on the process.
“One of our main goals here at the office of Off Campus living is to let students know that there are resources that are available to them for free,” Kamalu-Nako said. “The purpose of the Housing Fair is not only for property management companies and landlords to sell their business, but also gives an in-person chance for students who may feel uncomfortable going to said property management companies.”
Going from living in a dorm room to living off campus is a process some students can struggle with, Kamalu-Nako said. The Housing Fair aims to provide support while students navigate that task.
“When it comes to moving off campus it’s important for students to want to do things by themselves, but to know they don’t have to,” Kamalu-Nako said.
Some students can figure out the process without help from the fair or Off Campus Living, but Kamalu-Nako doesn’t think that has to be the case.
“I wish that I had known about this office when I was a freshman back in 2018,” Kamalu-Nako said. “We pride ourselves on trying to reach as many people as possible on campus so that they know that there are resources and people out there that are willing to help them in any way possible.”
Bodey Mitchell, a second-year student at Western, said it was difficult to figure that out for himself and his roommates.
“I wish I did, it’s probably really useful,” Mitchell said. “We were all lazy and we picked housing last minute. It sucked because we didn’t really pay attention to anything. I think if we went it would have been helpful.”
Although it was difficult for Mitchell, in his opinion, the benefits outweigh the cons of making the switch.
“It’s just nice living off campus,” Mitchell said. “I don’t have to have a meal plan, and the meal plan is pretty expensive. Once I moved off campus, my cost of going to college gradually declined.”
Silas Burchim (he/him) is a reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a first year PR student at Western. In his free time he enjoys playing guitar. You can reach him at silasburchim.thefront@gmail.com.
