From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 5 in the campus mall, Student Senate held their annual house day.

This event was put on by the intergovernmental affairs portion of the Student Senate.

The event was for students to get a look at off-campus housing and get more information regarding off-campus living including things such as health code and the party registration system.

A few different rental companies were in attendance, as well as the Eau Claire Police Department and the Eau Claire City-County Health Department were also there.

Phoebe Pilon is a second-year political science major and the housing intern for intergovernmental affairs in the Student Senate.

“It is to get students acquainted with the different housing and management companies that we have around town, what it is like to live off campus, the process of signing a lease and doing all that,” Pilon said.

The Student Senate table was handing out information bags that had an “off-campus student living handbook,” student senate information, stickers, some voting information, the campus attorney’s information and a note about the party registration system.

The handbook is filled with information regarding off-campus living. This includes things such as finding a place and moving to things like staying safe, connected and having fun.

Not only is there information about off-campus living but the handbook also includes University of Wisconsin Eau Claire off-campus housing as another potential option for students.

There are different checklists to look at and questions that a student can ask themselves along with a potential rental company.

The appendices also include information about recycling and spreadsheets for budgeting, a rental checklist for moving in and a chore chart.

Along with this information there were about six different rental companies students could talk to. They answered questions for students and provided them with up-to-date lists of their properties. Some of the tables included a raffle or spin the wheel and win a prize activity for students.

Michelle Mogensen is a property manager for University Area Housing.

“Housing day is important because it provides landlords with an opportunity to interact with potential tenants,” Mogensen said. “At University Area Housing we love the opportunity that house day gives us to meet and talk with students.”

She also said some of the benefits of living off-campus such as more freedom, privacy and flexibility along with building credit, learning life skills and saving money.

Stephanie Schottle is a property manager at Clear Water Real Estate.

“It helps get the word out. I know it seems a little early to start looking, but it is not,” Schottle said. “We start our showings at the beginning of September so honestly, I wouldn’t wait long. Yes, we do still have some properties available, but they are going fast.”

She said that students should look at enough places so that they are able to compare, but not too many where it will get confusing.

Schottle said  there are a lot of places that are very walkable to campus, many of them on or near Water Street.

In addition to property management companies and Student Senate, the Health Department and ECPD were there to answer students’ questions on health code.

If students were not able to make it to House Day but are interested in getting more information about living off-campus or interested in IGA Pilon said they can either check out their Instagram page or email them at Student Senate.

Geske can be reached at [email protected].