Three campus organizations recently cooperated to help educate students about life after they move off campus.
The offices of Mentoring, Advocacy and Peer Support; Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention; and the Military and Veterans Services Center are conducting Living Off Campus informative sessions aimed at providing details about moving off campus.
The three sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, 4 p.m. Wednesday, and 6 p.m. Thursday. All three sessions will be in Union 304. These sessions are free and open to everyone without registration.
Suzy Latare, MAPS coordinator, said students will learn practical tips about living off campus.
“Things are not how they are in a dorm,” she said. “You’re part of a neighborhood and a community now.”
Latare said her position was created about two years ago to serve students who are at risk of dropping out of school. She said one factor that is often overlooked is the separation students feel shortly after leaving the dorms.
“Physically and psychologically they are now separated from the supports on campus,” she said. “They want to be away from the campus, but it means, for a lot of students, that they’re more easily distracted by the fun things.”
Latare said these informative sessions were originally designed to help the university’s international students understand the nuances of renting a house or apartment in a new country. The idea has expanded in the last couple of semesters to include those wanting to move out of the dorms.
Latare said the most important aspect of moving into a rental is to read the lease and make sure it is understood, because it is a legally binding contract.
“Anytime anything comes up, (the landlords) are going to go back to the lease,” she said.
These sessions will also cover budgeting. Latare said it is important to budget for more than just rent and utilities.
“You’re going to have to buy food,” she said. “You have to buy things like lightbulbs and batteries for the smoke detectors. Things that were covered for you in the dorms are now your responsibility.”
Latare said learning to communicate with roommates is vital. For example, she said a common mistake many new renters make is that paying their part of the rent is enough to satisfy their landlord.
“If you pay your half of the rent, but your roommate doesn’t pay their half of the rent, then the rent is not paid,” she said. “The landlord isn’t collecting your rent and their rent. They are collecting the rent.”
She said just because someone is a good friend doesn’t mean they’ll be a good roommate.
“I just talked to a landlord last week who told me ‘I’ve never known of two best friends moving in together that are best friends when they move out,’” she said.
Partying will be covered as well – everything from protecting yourself and your guests to cleaning up the affected areas.
“People will have house parties,” Latare said. “We don’t want to stop that. But we don’t want Warrensburg PD to roll up.”
Roma Hicks, Warrensburg neighborhood services coordinator, and Ray Almaguer, Warrensburg code enforcement inspector, will be there to represent the city and provide information about what is required of tenants by the city.
“VSAP’s role is to share tips and rules for hosting house parties,” said Amy Kiger, VSAP director. “So students who want to socialize in their new place can do so in a way that doesn’t cause problems for themselves or their neighbors.”
In addition to the information, snacks and T-shirts will be provided.
For more information, contact Latare at [email protected].