Students can swap excess items at De Neve exchange

Tristan Joseph started to notice his miscellaneous unwanted items piling up at the end of winter break earlier this school year. The second-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student had run into a problem that he said he thinks many other students face – he had too many items with no space to store them.

The inconvenience inspired him to create an event where students can give away their unwanted items or exchange them with each other.

On Saturday, his vision will become a reality. Students can swap their excess clothing, appliances and furniture for others’ discarded items in De Neve Plaza at the “End of Year Exchange.”

The On-Campus Housing Council is hosting the exchange from noon to 3 p.m. and will donate the items that no one picks up to Goodwill, said Ariana Gobaud, president of the council and second-year human biology and society student.

“Everything left over is for a good cause, so I’m proud of that,” Joseph said.

Both on-campus dorm-dwellers and apartment residents will be able to donate and pick up items at the exchange, Joseph said.

At the event, students will deposit the items they want to trade, receive a wristband and then will be free to take any items they see, Gobaud said. The council members in charge of the event will organize the items into sections, such as furniture, clothing, school supplies, fans and other household goods.

“I’m really excited because we haven’t done something like this before,” Gobaud said. “I won’t be living in the dorms next year, so I’ll be taking my fridge and hopefully get some other cool stuff in return.”

Vendors will also provide boxes for students to carry home their newly acquired items, Joseph said.

Some students said they are excited about the opportunity to exchange the unwanted things they have piled up over the year.

“I’m moving into the apartments next year, and this is a lot cheaper than going out and spending money to buy new stuff,” said Yifang Nie, a third-year biochemistry student and former Daily Bruin contributor. Nie said she plans to exchange clothing at the event.

Maitree Mervana, a second-year business economics student, said she plans to bring a three-drawer plastic organizer that she no longer needs to the exchange if she can attend.

“I think (the event) would be a great way to get rid of things I don’t want anymore and get things that I possibly would want,” Mervana said.