Today, the annual Off-Campus Housing Fair took place on the SURC’s east patio, with tables set up for representatives of various property ownership groups, as well as representatives for specific properties. These representatives stood by to answer questions from students such as living space availability, as well as restrictions such as no pets or max occupancy for a given living space.

The event started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 2 p.m., allowing students the opportunity to interact with the vendor tables, as well as a table that hosted representatives from CWU’s Student Media outlets. CWU Student Media presented and hosted the event.  Students could grab copies of The Observer or Pulse Magazine, as well as fill out a “passport book” and get entered into a drawing for $100 gift card to The Wildcat Shop and a free scoop of Winegar’s ice cream. The passport book had pages with the logos of various properties, and students had to go to each vendor’s table to get the respective property’s stamp on their page in the book. Getting all the necessary stamps and filling out some contact information on the back got each student one entry into the drawing.  A student could get an extra entry by following the CWU Student Media’s social media profiles, a task that also earned the student a 5 dollar gift card to Winegar’s.

Some tables occupied by property owners and housing properties also offered snacks and beverages, such as Gatorade and candy, along with informative materials. Some of these vendors have been consistently representing themselves at the yearly housing fair event, such as the Accolade Group which represents properties such as the University Court Apartments. Other properties represented were much newer, such as Central Park and Place. Representatives of both groups said that the housing fair was a great place to get exposure and to help students remember them when looking at off-campus housing options. Vendors paid a $400 fee to participate in the event, according to Student Media Business Manager Cait Dalton. The fee also included perks such as advertisements in The Observer and a 30 second promo through Central News Watch.

“The end goal is to give CWU students an opportunity to explore local off campus housing options in one convenient location,” Dalton said.