Whether you’re a lowerclassman about to leave the dorms or an upperclassman unhappy with the fruits of your labor in apartment searching this past year, ASUCD hears your calls for help. Housing Day, put on by ASUCD Office of City and County Affairs, will be held on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Freeborn Hall.
“Housing is one thing all students need in their time at Davis, but access to information can be limited and difficult for students who do not have the resources or time to seek housing. Housing Day alleviates that problem by bringing the information to the students,” said Housing Day coordinator Sabrina Dias in an email interview.
Over 4,800 first-year and transfer students will be leaving the dorms this year, according to Ramona Hernandez, director of financial and business services for Student Housing. That number doesn’t even include the multitude of students living off campus now beginning their search for a place to live next school year.
“Students should check out all their options regarding where they want to live next year,” Hernandez said.
With over 60 apartment complexes at the event, students will get the opportunity to do just that. Some complexes will offer free food, activities or promotional prizes, like T-shirts, Jamba Juice and a photo booth. An informational area devoted to helping students learn about their rights as renters will also be incorporated into the event as well as what sort of things they should look for when attempting to find the right apartment for them, according to Joshua Gelfat, director of ASUCD Office of City and County Affairs, in an email interview.
Additionally, U.S. Housing, a company that runs a printed and online resource to college students regarding housing, will be at the event passing out its local publication, DavisHousing.
“DavisHousing is an apartment guide for the Davis market, but we put the book together in a way that’s usable for readers. It’s not just a big book of ads. Each listing offers an apples-to-apples comparison between apartments,” said David Sachs, marketing and sales executive at U.S. Housing, in an email interview.
Students who attend this event will also be given a chance to win raffle prizes simply by visiting some of the apartment complexes’ booths.
“This year, if students pick up a stamp card from the front of the event, receive stamps from all of the listed complexes, and return it back to the City and County Affair Staff, they will be in the running to win a brand new iPad Mini donated by West Village,” Gelfat said.
This annual ASUCD tradition has even directly benefited some of its coordinators.
“My search for off-campus housing was much easier to do after I used the tips I received during my first Housing Day. You need to know what you are looking for in terms of location, price, amenities and other offerings of the apartment complexes in order to find one that fits you, ” Dias said.
MARIA MARCELINA CRYSTAL VEGA can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
