The Associated Students of Madison provided UW-Madison students with a safe place to sleep during move-out weekend Aug. 14 and 15 at the Student Activity Center, 333 East Campus Mall.
Since most campus leases end on Aug. 14 and new leases don't usually begin until Aug. 15, many students are left without a home for the night.
Aside from offering students a shelter for the night, the first annual Move-Out Night allowed students whose leases ended early to stop by for food, entertainment and free parking.
Hannah Karns, former ASM vice chair and one of the event coordinators, said she suggested the idea said after she experienced a homeless night herself.
She said ASM circulated a survey throughout campus and found that over 80 percent of students who responded said they would like ASM to address the issue of homeless periods during move-out weekend.
According to a release, approximately one third of the SAC's capacity was filled with homeless students throughout the night.
Karns said although the turnout was lower than expected, there were many students present who were thankful for the event because they had nowhere else to stay.
""In speaking with the students that were present at the building, these students really had nowhere else to go,"" she said. ""The fact that we were able to provide a safe and secure shelter for them was really great.""
Karns said the most successful part of the event was the free parking. She said approximately 280 vehicles stayed in the parking lot over night, and there were no reported break-ins.
Katy Ziebell, Move-Out Night coordinator, said because ASM partnered with several other student organizations, the event was a great way for students to get involved with other campus organizations.
""Overall, the event went really well,"" she said. ""We're looking forward to the future and what it means for different groups on campus.""
Ziebell said ASM plans to use statistics from a survey given to attendees to plan for a similar event during the 2010 move-out weekend and to increase participation.
""In some capacity we'll continue to do it,"" she said. ""We're excited to get back to the drawing board to see what we can come up with for the future.""
