Northwestern’s Office of Off-Campus Life hosted a Paws ’n Pals event to teach students about disability inclusion and housing rights in Parkes Hall on Thursday.
The event, which spotlighted off-campus living with service and assistance animals, combined bingo and housing rights trivia with information about fair housing protections. OCL also hosted representatives from Open Communities, a local fair housing agency, as an additional resource for students.
Assistant Dean and Director of Strategy and Operations Jason McKean, who also directs OCL, said the event aimed to educate students about their rights under federal and state fair housing laws and inform them of available resources if they encounter discrimination.
For example, he said there are limits to what landlords can ask potential tenants to provide as confirmation of their disability.
McKean said the event’s focus on service, assistance and emotional support animals reflects how many students first encounter housing discrimination while navigating policies related to these animals.
“A lot of our students tend to think that if they have (a service animal) and the apartment that they’re going to has a ‘no pets’ policy, that then they can’t bring that animal,” McKean said. “But, that’s not true. Assistance animals, emotional support animals, service dogs are all required to be able to be in those spaces to support the people, as long as they follow the right steps.”
Medill first-year Camille Wright, who serves as the office assistant for OCL, said the animal-themed format was designed to make a heavy topic more approachable.
In addition to bingo and trivia prizes, each attendee received a dog plushie at the end of the event.
Representatives from Open Communities delivered a brief presentation outlining their work, such as helping tenants understand their rights and investigating landlords through fair housing testing.
Wright said partnering with the organization allows students to prepare for housing challenges before they arise.
“We thought it was important to bring them in so students could hear about them, so they could prepare for any future issues or if they’re currently dealing with issues as it’s related to housing discrimination,” Wright said.
Weinberg junior Caty Hogan, who currently lives off campus, said the event helped clarify aspects of off-campus housing that she was previously unfamiliar with.
Specifically, she said she gained a better understanding of renters’ insurance and policies governing how many unrelated people can live in a single unit.
“I found the trivia pretty educational,” Hogan said. “It makes me feel like I should come to more of these events and learn some more about my rights living off campus.”
The event was part of OCL’s Neighborhood of Knowledge program series, which will run from February through April and focus on topics related to off-campus living, including housing searches, budgeting and cooking.
McKean said OCL’s broader aim is to support students navigating the complex transition to off-campus housing.
“Students may not know all those steps, and they may not have a friend, parent or mentor who can guide them through that,” McKean said. “My hope is that they know they have a resource in my office for whatever questions they might have, and also that they’ve got more specific resources, like Open Communities, in the community of Evanston.”
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