University’s Off Campus Student Life outlines Good Neighbor Day, volunteer programs for Bozeman neighborhoods

Rebecca Eberlin, director of Off Campus Student Life at Montana State University, presented a summary of student-facing programs and solicited neighborhood collaboration on a proposed Good Neighbor Day set for Sept. 28. Eberlin described existing efforts — renters‑rights education, an Off‑Campus Housing Marketplace, outreach to property managers, and Service Saturdays — and said students make up about 20 percent of the off‑campus population in Bozeman neighborhoods.

Eberlin proposed expanding CatCab, a safe‑ride program piloted with free Uber vouchers on select weekends, to every weekend in the fall. She also offered to organize volunteer opportunities tied to neighborhood needs such as park cleanups, building little free libraries, snow‑angel programs, and leaf‑cleanup volunteers. "I am here... to give students more positive opportunities to learn a little bit more about what it means to live off campus," she said.

Neighborhood representatives responded with suggestions and questions: they asked for outreach and timing for the off‑campus resource fair, discussed summer engagement, suggested welcome‑bag materials for new student renters and collaboration on Snow Angels and Arbor Day tree plantings, and offered to participate on a Good Neighbor committee. Eberlin said her office will continue partnering with campus groups (Trio office, streamline/UTD, CCampus grant partners) and offered to provide contact information and presentation materials for neighborhood distribution.

The council did not vote on any formal action related to the proposal; several neighborhood associations volunteered to pursue committee membership and expressed interest in using neighborhood newsletters and city channels to publicize events.