Move-Out Night to assist temporarily displaced students

It’s a common problem among UW–Madison students renting off-campus apartments and houses: Your old lease ends at noon on Aug. 14. Your new lease doesn’t begin until noon on Aug.15.

What do you do? More importantly, where do you sleep?

The Associated Students of Madison (ASM), UW–Madison’s student government, has a novel answer: Come to the first-ever Move-Out Night in the Student Activity Center (SAC), 333 East Campus Mall.

In an effort to keep students and their belongings safe, ASM, in cooperation with the University Police Department, the dean of students’ SafeU task force and Transportation Services, will keep the SAC open all night and even host secure parking.

“I have heard of students sleeping in their cars in random areas, making move- out night an unsafe experience for students,” says student organizer Hannah Karns, a past ASM co-chair. “I wanted to be able to provide a safe, fun space for students to congregate and spend the night.”

For students, there will be free food, entertainment, giveaways, presentations by student organizations, Wii and appearances by Bucky Badger and dean of students Lori Berquam.

Due to fire code restrictions, space is limited to the first 269 students who enter before midnight on Friday, Aug. 14. Students must have a Wiscard ID to gain entrance to the building, and once inside there is no re-entry. UWPD will be on hand for security. Alcohol is prohibited.

In addition, there will be three free secure parking lots opening at 10 a.m. on Aug. 14.

Lot 91 at the Kohl Center will be available for trailers and cars with furniture, as well as lots 7 (Grainger Hall) and 83 (Fluno Center) for cars and vans. A student ID is also required for parking.

UWPD, students and Per Mar Security will patrol the lots, but cars and trailers must be locked, and it is recommended that students not leave valuable items in the car.

Typically, the lease system works in this manner to allow city landlords to clean, paint and make improvements between tenants. But UW–Madison officials say that the initiative is perfectly designed to fill the gap.

“This is a great idea, and I totally applaud ASM for taking the initiative to address an important student concern,” says Berquam.

Event partners include Visitor & Information Programs, Campus Area Housing, the Office of Admissions, UWPD, the Office of the Chancellor, Tallard Apartments, WeConserve, Einstein Bagels, Wisconsin Alumni Student Board, University Book Store, the Downtown Neighborhoods and Capitol Neighborhood Inc.

 

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