ASMSU office expands resources to student renters

ASMSU has settled on a location in the S.U.B for its Office of Off-Campus Life, where students will be able to procure the services of an attorney, access food-security resources and be assigned a housing case manager to assist in finding a place to live.

The development bolsters existing programs with more space and staffing, advancing ASMSU’s focus on housing. It takes shape as rising housing demand in Bozeman is driving the price of off-campus housing out of reach for students, making it difficult to find a place to live.

“The housing crisis is now. It’s happening all around us,” said ASMSU Vice President Isabella Roccisano. “The housing crisis isn’t going to wait for two years...the students are going to struggle for that time. Having a physical space and being able to [provide] those resources sooner really serves students, especially in our current moment.”

The SUB branch of First Interstate Bank will be retrofitted into a space dedicated to providing free and low-cost resources to students who live off-campus. The aptly-named Office for Off-Campus Life will house ASMSU Legal Services, a staff dedicated to connecting people to housing and space for Bounty of the Bridgers Campus Food Pantry all under one roof. The decision to expand these programs aligns with Roccisano’s and ASMSU President Lucas Oelker’s broader efforts to confront the housing crisis and mitigate the effects felt on the student body.

Connor Tweet, manager of the Off-Campus Life program, has already connected over 70 students from his caseload to housing over the course of this year’s move-in season.

Both excited and alarmed by the high demand for Tweet’s housing work, ASMSU has committed to expanding the program’s staff, Roccisano said. In addition to transitioning his role to full-time, Tweet will be joined by a graduate student assistant to help with the caseload. Roccisano said ASMSU hopes to finance the expanded payroll with funding from the state but is confident the student senate itself could support the expenditures if state funding fell through.

The decision to consolidate housing resources and ASMSU Legal Services into a single location was not made only to save space. Roccisano and Tweet said a considerable volume of ASMSU Legal Service’s caseload involved landlord-tenant disputes.

“When you’re living off-campus, you’re trying to find a lease and you’re trying to make sure your lease is fair,” Roccisano said. “All of these services support students in doing that, and that’s why they have ended up in this office together.”

In addition to one-on-one consultation, the office will hold space for weekly “table-talk” seminars between students and local experts. Tweet said these talks would cover a variety of subjects, but emphasized the importance of renter’s education.

“One of our attorneys from legal services could host an informal table talk about ‘what if this landlord-tenant situation happens, can you help me with that?” Tweet explained.

The student government also plans to send a lobbyist to Helena to push for pro-student legislation in this year’s state senate session. Tenants’ rights will be chief among the lobbyist’s legislative priorities.

“It’s of the interest of the legislature to support students, to support the university system, to make sure that students are able to stay in school without having their landlord kick them out mid-lease,” Roccisano said. “Landlord-tenant issues are something we have spoken about before in the legislature.”

Although optimistic that their work would alleviate some housing pressure for students, both Tweet and Roccisano agreed that a shortage of housing supply — both on and off campus — is the underlying issue. As scarcity pushes the cost of rent upward, many of Tweet’s clients are unable to afford the limited units available.

“I’ve advised students who, to be frank, their budget just wouldn’t reflect being able to live off-campus. They need to be on-campus in graduate housing or using financial aid for a residence hall,” he said.

About 30 of Tweet’s 80 total cases were graduate students. Of particular concern to Tweet are international graduate students who constitute a considerable fraction of his caseload.

“I do think that we need more graduate housing,” he said. “I absolutely think that.”

Until more housing becomes available, ASMSU will focus on opening the space as soon as possible. The bank branch was selected due to its central location and the limited amount of construction required to repurpose it. ASMSU will move into the space in January and aims to complete construction before the end of the academic year, Roccisano said.

“I would love for as many people as possible to know that this is a service, and to know that if they are struggling to find a roommate or struggling to find housing, there are people that can help them,” Roccisano said.

To contact the Office of Off-Campus Life for housing help, call Connor Tweet at (406)-994-7571 or email him connor.tweet@montana.edu.