A question and answer forum with East Lansing City Council candidates held Wednesday night at the Union attempted to bring local government politics to MSU students.
About 40 students and residents attended the forum, which gave participants the opportunity to ask council hopefuls their views through written questions.
The candidates also were given three minutes each to address the audience.
The forum was sponsored by ASMSU, MSU’s undergraduate student government, and the city of East Lansing.
This year’s Nov. 8 city council election will set three incumbent council members against two challengers for three seats on the council.
Candidates include Councilmember Nathan Triplett, Councilmember Roger Peters, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris, East Lansing residents Don Power and Hans Larsen.
Paddy La Torre, ASMSU’s community liaison, said student involvement in local politics was particularly important, considering decisions made by council impact students on a regular basis.
“This is what impacts (students) day to day, as compared to the federal government and state government,” La Torre said.
Many of the questions asked of council focused on how council candidates proposed to engage students into city affairs, including ordinances, outreach and the city manager search process.
The party litter ordinance enacted by the council last year was the cause of some concern for Larsen, who said the fine was too stiff for the actions.
“It’s absolutely absurd to expect students to pay $400 just because they had a party,” Larsen said.
After the forum, candidates and students mingled at a reception hosted by ASMSU — a move implemented this year to facilitate more face-to-face discussions between council and interested MSU students, La Torre said.
James Robinson, a English senior and member of the Community Relations Coalition, said he attended the forum to represent student voices.
“We feel especially tied to the future of our organization and the city,” he said.
Peters said the student population makes up a significant part of East Lansing, and said a major goal of city officials should be to encourage education and participation from the student body.
“It’s important that the city continue to reach out to them and provide opportunities to participate in the government,” Peters said.
“It goes both ways.”
Power said during his many years as an East Lansing resident, participation in local government among students has declined exponentially.
“We are what we are today because of the students who participated then,” Power said.
“We are one community — we are East Lansing, we are MSU.”
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